Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Publication Date: June 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Labor

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Abstract:

The Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program provides monetary assistance to individuals unemployed as a direct result of a major disaster and who are not eligible for regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefits. DUA is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). DUA is administered by the Department of Labor (DOL) through each state's UC agency. In the 109th Congress, P.L. 109-176 was signed into law on March 6, 2006, extending the duration of DUA benefits from 26 to 39 weeks for victims of the Hurricane Katrina and Rita disasters. This extension ends on June 3, 2006, for those qualifying for benefits on account of Hurricane Katrina and on June 24, 2006, for those affected by Hurricane Rita. H.R. 5392 and S. 3030 both propose to extend the DUA benefits to a total of 52 weeks for those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This extension did not apply to any subsequent major disasters. The report will be updated as events warrant.