Congress agreed yesterday to its second emergency supplemental appropriation bill (H.R. 3673) totaling $51.8 billion. The latest supplemental appropriation provides $813.4 million for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). The DUA program provides financial assistance to individuals whose employment or self-employment has been lost or interrupted as a direct result of a major disaster declared by the President of the United States. Before an individual can be determined eligible for DUA, it must be established that the individual is not eligible for regular UI benefits (under any state or federal law).

According to a USDOL document produced to address frequently asked questions, state and local workforce staff members are reaching out to evacuees at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sites with laptops to take claims. Additionally, individuals may file DUA claims by calling the toll-free help line 1-866-4-USA-DOL. State workforce agency staff members are making arrangements with local banks to cash UI checks, provide ATM cards and service vouchers. The documents indicate waivers have been granted to displaced workers unable to provide documentation about where they worked. The document states more than 10,000 evacuee claims have been processed in Texas. Tennessee expects to process about 40,000 claims and over 3,400 claims have been processed in Georgia.

The USDOL yesterday announced the release of grants totaling $30.8 million to Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to expand their capacity to process claims and expedite unemployment insurance payments for those left unemployed as a result of Hurricane Katrina. A grant of $1.5 million to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations will cover the cost of facilities and temporary staff dedicated solely to handling UI claims. A $15.7 million grant to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security will help repair or rebuild damaged facilities along the Gulf Coast and to support telephone and internet UI claims taking. The Louisiana Department of Labor will receive $11 million for claims call centers, temporary staffing and mobile field units to serve evacuees. A grant of $2.6 million is being issued to the Texas Workforce Commission to assist the Louisiana Department of Labor process UI claims.

On a related matter, staff to the House Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education Appropriations Subcommittee contacted NASWA yesterday to request information on state workforce agencies need for funding to administer the UI program in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. NASWA is working to collect information from the states in response to this request and will use the NASWA Board of Directors meeting on September 12 to discuss operation of the UI program. According to House staff, Congress will likely consider a third supplemental appropriations bill in response to Hurricane Katrina in late September. Some Members of Congress are concerned the supplemental spending bills have allocated large funding amounts to FEMA rather than earmarked for specified programs.

The House yesterday approved legislation (H.R. 3672) to extend the 1996 welfare law (P.L. 104-193) through December 31, 2005. The bill must next be approved by the Senate, with consideration expected to begin next week. The bill would temporarily waive work requirements and time limits imposed under the Temporary Assistance for Need Families (TANF) program for families displaced by the hurricane. The House bill would reimburse states for welfare benefits provided to families that have relocated to those states, provided the family is not receiving benefits from any other state. States affected by the hurricane would receive a 20 percent increase in their welfare funds for fiscal year 2006 from emergency funding provided under the bill. Louisiana would receive a $33 million increase, Mississippi would receive $17 million more and Alabama's annual allotment would jump $19 million.

TANF was set to expire on September 30, 2002, but the law has been extended ten times, with the most recent extension expiring on September 30, 2005. Given the amount of floor business related to Hurricane Katrina under consideration in both chambers, Congress is conceding it will not approve a long-term welfare reauthorization bill this year.

The 69th NASWA Annual Conference will be held September 12-15, 2005, at Rushmore Plaza in Rapid City, South Dakota. Registration materials have been sent to states and are available on the WorkforceATM where online registration and information for the hotel and conference is available. This year's conference theme is South Dakota - Great Faces. Great Places.

The opening conference plenary session will focus on the impact of globalization on the nation's workforce and the publicly-funded workforce system. The closing plenary session will address the impact of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commissions' decisions, their effects on local economies, workers and businesses, and potential demand-driven responses. Conference workshop sessions will cover: performance measures implementation issues; IT project management; the High Growth Job Training Initiative (HGJTI); Unemployment Insurance (UI) issues; workforce services for returning military personnel; Workforce Investment Act (WIA) reauthorization and WIA state plans with a focus on state efforts to become demand-driven; and working with business on attracting or retaining business. The draft conference agenda is now available on the Workforce ATM.

Individuals considering attending the Conference are advised to reserve flights and hotel rooms immediately. Plan to stay through the final plenary session on BRAC, which promises to be valuable to all states.