(b) Section 2 (a) of such Act is further amended by striking out columns I and II and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

(c) The proviso in such section 2 (a) is amended by striking out "50" and "$8.50" and inserting in lieu thereof "60" and "$10.20", respectively.

SEC. 303. Section 2 (c) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by striking out the period at the end thereof and inserting in lieu of such period a colon and the following: "And provided, further, That, with respect to an employee who has five or more years of service as defined in section 1 (f) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, who did not voluntarily leave work without good cause or voluntarily retire, and who had current rights to normal benefits for days of unemployment in a benefit year but has exhausted such rights, the benefit year in which such rights are exhausted shall be deemed not to be ended until the last day of the extended benefit period determined under the following schedule, and the maximum number of days of, and amount of payment for, unemployment within such benefit year for which benefits may be paid to the employee shall be enlarged to include all compensable days of unemployment within such extended benefit period:

but no such extended benefit period shall extend beyond the beginning of the first registration period in a benefit year in which the employee is again qualified for benefits in accordance with section 3 of this Act on the basis of compensation earned after the first of such successive fourteen-day periods has begun. For an employee who has five or more years of service, who did not voluntarily leave work without good cause or voluntarily retire, who has fourteen or more consecutive days of unemployment, and who is not a 'qualified employee' for the general benefit year current when such unemployment commences but is or becomes a 'qualified employee' for the next succeeding general benefit year, such succeeding benefit year shall, in his case, begin on the first day of the month in which such unemployment commences."

SEC. 304. Section 3 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by striking out "$400" and inserting in lieu thereof "$500”.

SEC. 305. Section 4 (a-2) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by striking out subdivision (iv), and by striking out the semicolon at the end of subdivision (iii) and inserting in lieu thereof a period.

SEC. 306. Section 8 (a) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended (1) by inserting after "June 30, 1954" where it first appears the following: ", and before July 1, 1957, and is not in excess of $400 for any calendar month paid by him to any employee for services rendered to him

after June 30, 1957"; (2) by inserting after “June 30, 1954" where it appears for the second time the following: ", and before July 1, 1957, and to not more than $400 for any month after June 30, 1957"; (3) by inserting after "June 30, 1954" where it appears for the third time the following: ", and before July 1, 1957, or less than $400 if such month is after June 30, 1957"; (4) by striking out "1947" in paragraph 2 and inserting in lieu thereof "1957"; and (5) by striking out the table (except the column headings) in such paragraph 2 and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

"$450,000,000 or more..

$400,000,000 or more but less than $450,000,000. $350,000,000 or more but less than $400,000,000. $300,000,000 or more but less than $350,000,000. Less than $300,000,000---.

2 percent 22 percent 3 percent 32 percent

4 percent".

SEC. 307. Section 8 (b) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended (1) by striking out "3 per centum" and inserting in lieu thereof “4 per centum"; and (2) by inserting before the period at the end of the first sentence the following: ", and before July 1, 1957, and is not in excess of $400 paid to him for services rendered as an employee representative in any calendar month after June 30, 1957".

SEC. 308. The amendments made by sections 302, 303, and 305 shall be effective with respect to benefits accruing in general benefit years which begin after the benefit year ending June 30, 1957, and in extended benefit periods which begin after December 31, 1956. The amendment made by section 304 shall be effective with respect to base years after the base year ending December 31, 1956. The amendment made by clause (1) of section 307 shall apply with respect to compensation paid for services rendered in calendar months after June 30, 1957.

[H. R. 4677, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 to provide a 10 per centum increase in the annuities and pensions payable to railroad employees and their survivors

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 (a) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by striking out "3.04", "2.28", and "1.52" and inserting in lieu thereof "3.35”, “2.51", and "1.67", respectively.

(b) Section 3 (c) of such Act is amended by striking out "$4.55" and "$75.90" and inserting in lieu thereof "$5.00", and "$83.50"; respectively.

SEC. 2. Section 5 (h) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by striking out "$33", "$176", and "$15.40" wherever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "$36.30”, “$193.60”, and “$16.95”, respectively

SEC. 3. Section 5 (1) (10) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by striking out "44", "11", "$15.40", "$36.66", "$27.50", and "$14.66" wherever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "49", "12", "$16.95", "$40.33", "$30.25", and "$16.13", respectively.

SEC. 4. All pensions under section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, all joint and survivor annuities and survivor annuities deriving from joint and survivor annuities under that Act heretofore awarded, and all annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935, are increased by 10 per centum.

SEC. 5. The amendments made by the first three sections of this Act shall be effective only with respect to annuities (other than annuities to which section 4 applies) accruing for months after the month in which this Act is enacted. Section 4 of this Act shall be effective only with respect to pensions due in calendar months after the month following the month in which this Act is enacted, and with respect to annuities accruing for months after the month in which this Act is enacted. All recertifications required by reason of such amendments shall be made by the Railroad Retirement Board without application therefor.

[H. R. 4760, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 to provide that a deceased employee shall be "completely insured" if at his death he was entitled to an annuity which began to accrue during 1948 on the basis of an application filed before 1948

66

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 5 (1) (7) (iii) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by inserting immediately after "will have begun to accrue to him before 1948" the following: or will have begun to accrue to him during 1948 if his application for such annuity was filed before 1948". SEC. 2. No annuity shall accrue to any individual, by reason of the amendment made by the first section of this Act, for any month prior to the month in which this Act is enacted.

[H. R. 5022, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Retirement Act to permit an individual with forty years' service to retire regardless of his age, and to increase certain annuities by providing a new_alternative base for computing monthly compensation in the case of service before 1937

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph 1 of section 2 (a) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "1. Individuals who will have completed forty years of service (determined without regard to any limitation contained in section 3 (b)) or who will have attained the age of sixty-five."

SEC. 2. (a) Clause (1) of section 3 (c) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "(1) that with respect to service prior to January 1, 1937, the monthly compensation shall be the average compensation paid to an employee with respect to calendar months included in his years of service in the years 1924-1931, or the average compensation paid to such employee with respect to calendar months included in his years of service in the years 1940-1947, whichever is the greater, and".

(b) The proviso in section 3 (c) of such Act, as amended, is amended by striking out "in the period 1924-1931" and inserting in lieu thereof "in the period 1924-1931 or the period 1940-1947".

SEC. 3. The amendments made by this Act shall apply only with respect to annuities accruing under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended, for months after the month in which this Act is enacted. All recertifications required by reason of such amendments shall be made by the Railroad Retirement Board without application therefor.

(NOTE.-H. R. 6040 is identical with H. R. 6016.)

[H. R. 6016, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act so as to protect benefits of bona fide railroad employees, remove certain inequities, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended as follows:

DEFINITIONS OF BASE YEAR AND BENEFIT YEAR

SECTION 1. Section 1 (m) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended to read as follows:

"(m) The term 'benefit year' with respect to any individual means the period of three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days beginning with the first day of the first registration period after June 30, 1957, with respect to which the individual first files a valid claim for benefits, and thereafter the period of three hundred and sixty-five days beginning with the first day of the first registration period with respect to which the individual next files a valid claim for

benefits after the termination of his last preceding benefit year. Any claim for benefits made in accordance with section 5 (a) shall be deemed to be a 'valid claim' for the purposes of this subsection if the individual is with respect to his base period a 'qualified employee' as defined in section 3 with respect to his base year."

Section 1 (n) of such Act is amended to read as follows:

"(n) The term 'base year' means the twelve completed calendar months immediately preceding the first day of the individual's benefit year."

DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE

SEC. 2. Section 3 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. An individual shall be a 'qualified employee' if the Board finds that his compensation with respect to his base year will have been not less than an amount equal to the product of eighty-seven and his daily wage computed pursuant to section 2 (a), and that during his base year more than five calendar months will have been months of service used in computing his years of service for purposes of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, and more than one of such months of service shall have been in the last half of such base year."

No individual who, since earning substantial compensation has received one hundred and thirty daily unemployment benefits, or exhausted his unemployment benefit rights, shall be a qualified employee with respect to further unemployment benefits until he has again earned substantial compensation, and no individual who, since earning substantial compensation has received one hundred and thirty daily sickness benefits or exhausted his sickness benefit rights, shall be a qualified employee with respect to further sickness benefits until he has again earned substantial compensation. As used in the preceding sentence, "substantial compensation" means compensation in an amount not less than the product of twenty and the amount of the individual's last daily benefit.

WAITING PERIOD

SEC. 3. Clauses (i) and (ii) of section 2 (a) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act are each amended by striking out "seven" and inserting "nine" in lieu thereof.

BENEFIT COMPUTATION AND LIMITATIONS

SEC. 4. Section 2 (a) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by striking out the second sentence thereof, including the schedule, and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "The daily benefit rate of any qualified employee shall be an amount equal to 60 per centum of the daily rate of compensation after withholding taxes, for the employee's last employment in which he engaged for an employer in the base year, but not to exceed $8.50. For purposes of the preceding sentence, an employee's daily rate of compensation after withholding taxes shall be, as determined by the Board, such employee's daily rate after reduction by the amount equal to the sum of—

"(1) the amount equal to the same percentage of such daily pay rate as shall be imposed by section 3201 of the Internal Revenue Code on compensation at the time of such last employment, and

"(2) the amount equal to one-fifth the amount which shall be required to be withheld at the time of such last employment by section 3402 (c) of such Code on a weekly pay period basis, on wages paid in a weekly pay period in an amount equal to the product of five and such daily rate."

DISQUALIFYING CONDITIONS

SEC. 5. Section 4 (a-1) (ii) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by adding after "Social Security Act, or" "meets the qualifying work and the age or disability requirements for full annuity payments, pensions or benefits under one or both of such Acts and upon applying therefor could receive them, and any day in any period with respect to which the Board finds that he is receiving or will have received." Such section is further amended by striking out the colon preceding the words "Provided further" and striking out the remainder of this section after the colon and preceding the semicolon at the end thereof.

Sections 4 (a-2) (i) and 4 (a-2) (ii) are each amended by striking out "thirty" and by adding before the semicolon at the end thereof: "and ending with the fourth calendar week with respect to each which the Board finds he shall have earned compensation of not less than $25."

Section 4 (a-2) (iii) of such Act is amended by striking out ", and the Board finds that such strike was commenced in violation of the provisions of the Railway Labor Act or in violation of the established rules and practices of a bona fide labor organization of which he was a member."

Section 4 (a-2) of such Act is amended by renumbering subsection (iv) thereof as "(vi)" and by inserting after subsection (iii) the following:

"(iv) any of the days beginning with the day with respect to which the Board finds that he was discharged or suspended for misconduct connected with his work, and ending with the fourth calendar week with respect to each of which the Board finds he shall have earned compensation of not less than $25.

"(v) any of the days which the Board finds is in a maternity period of the employee."

Section 4 of such Act is amended by inserting after section 4 (a-2) the following:

"(a-3) There shall not be considered a day of sickness with respect to any employee-

“(i) any day which is a Sunday or which the Board finds is generally observed as a holiday in the locality in which he registered for such day, unless such day was immediately preceded by a day of unemployment or sickness and immediately followed by a day of unemployment or sickness or was the last day in a registration period and was immediately preceded by a day of unemployment or sickness: Provided, That if two or more consecutive days are a Sunday and one or more holidays, then with respect to any employee shall not be considered as days of sickness unless they were immediately preceded by a day of unemployment or sickness and immediately followed by a day of unemployment or sickness, or the last of such days was the last day of a registration period and such days were immediately preceded by a day of unemployment or sickness.

"(ii) any day which is disregarded as a day of unemployment of the employee as determined by the Board pursuant to subsection (a-2).

"(iii) any day which is in a maternity period unless the Board finds that sickness on such day is unrelated to the normal consequences of pregnancy or childbirth.

"(iv) any of the days which the Board finds to have occurred more than ninety days after the last day with respect to which the individual will have earned compensation, excluding from such ninety days any period beginning before the expiration thereof with respect to which the Board finds he was unemployed due to a stoppage of work described in section 4 (a−1) (iii) and excluding any registration period which begins, or any continuous registration periods the first of which begins before the expiration of such ninety days. For purposes of the preceding sentence a 'registration period' shall be deemed continuous with the preceding registration period if established within ten days after the last day of such preceding period."

DEFINITION OF DAY OF SICKNESS

SEC. 6. Section 1 (k) (2) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by inserting "but would otherwise be available for work" after the phrase "he is not able to work."

DISCONTINUING MATERNITY BENEFITS

SEC. 7. Section 1 (k) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by deleting from the first sentence thereof "or which is included in a maternity period."

Section 1 (1) (i) of such Act is amended by deleting ", and the term 'statement of maternity sickness' means a statement with respect to a maternity period of a female employee, in each case."