Wyden proposes expanded worker safety net for AI-era disruptions

The bill would set new minimum standards for unemployment insurance and extend the availability of benefits during economic downturns.[1] It would also expand the types of workers covered by regular unemployment insurance and create a jobseeker’s allowance intended to help some workers who might otherwise fall through the cracks.[1] CBS reported that unemployment benefits could last 52 weeks if the unemployment rate reached 8.5%, twice the current standard maximum of 26 weeks.[2] Those provisions are proposals in Wyden’s bill, not changes described as already in effect.[1]

The proposal would give workers displaced by AI additional financial security as they pursue education and retraining for higher-paying jobs.[1] Roll Call’s summary says its income-support program could last up to two years while workers retrain for employment.[3] The bill would also create a pilot program offering tuition assistance to workers in job-training programs.[3] These provisions address different parts of a transition: the proposal combines income support with education and training assistance, rather than describing tuition assistance as a replacement for unemployment benefits.[1][3]

Wyden’s proposal would impose an excise tax on data-center operators and remove tax breaks for data centers.[1] The tax package would remove access to bonus depreciation, opportunity-zone benefits and research-and-development tax credits.[1] CBS also reported provisions for a 5% tax on digital-advertising revenue, an AI-usage tax and a 50% excess-profits tax.[2] The bill would tax AI companies based on token usage, with the rate rising if unemployment rises, and require major companies and federal agencies to report AI-related layoffs to the Labor Department for public release.[2]

Economists cited by CBS noted that AI had not yet created major workforce displacements, and that most layoffs had been concentrated in the technology industry.[2] CBS also reported a warning that AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs and raise unemployment to between 10% and 20% within one to five years.[2] The proposal has drawn a competing concern: Roll Call reported that a speaker argued taxing AI could slow its development or cause it to move elsewhere.[3] Wyden released the bills days before midterm elections that would decide control of the 120th Congress.[3]