Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced bipartisan legislation to save taxpayer dollars on Unemployment Insurance (UI) and reduce the federal budget deficit. The UI Integrity and Deficit Reduction Act would reallocate existing, unused federal funding to help Americans on UI find jobs faster and root out fraud and abuse in the UI program.
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program provides services to help veterans and individuals likely to spend a long time on unemployment find a new job, including customized career and labor market counseling. Helping individuals find jobs quicker and requiring long-term UI benefit users to participate in evidence-based reemployment programing helps root out fraud and saves money. Every dollar spent on RESEA produces $2.60 in savings for the American taxpayer. RESEA is based on a successful program first established in Nevada that combined reemployment services with eligibility assessments.
The UI Integrity and Deficit Reduction Act would repurpose all unused funds in the seldom-used and outdated Presidential Election Campaign Fund, approximately $17 million, for RESEA.
“Helping someone get off unemployment insurance and into a full-time job is a win-win,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “It bolsters our economy, helps the jobseeker achieve their career goals, and saves taxpayer dollars. It’s a no-brainer: Let’s put unused government dollars to work actually helping Americans.”
“Instead of wasting millions in a slush fund for failed politicians, we can help hardworking Americans find jobs,” said Senator Ernst. “Not only is this a boost for our economy, but it will crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in the unemployment program and get more folks into careers instead of relying on taxpayer-funded unemployment insurance. My UI Integrity and Deficit Reduction Act is just common sense.”
Senator Cortez Masto has consistently advocated for policies that help jobseekers and spur economic growth in the Silver State. She has worked across the board to strengthen and diversify Nevada’s economy and create new jobs by securing funding for infrastructure upgrades, supporting Nevada’s manufacturing industry, and investing in Nevada’s booming clean-energy economy. She has supported programs and grants that provide job training to young Nevadans so they can access good-paying jobs without a four-year degree.
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