Extended funding and agreement deadline for national identity verification

CLASSIFICATION
   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                   Unemployment Insurance
               ADVISORY SYSTEM                              CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
          U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                          OUI/DPM
             Washington, D.C. 20210                         DATE
                                                            April 29, 2024


ADVISORY:        UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 11-23,
                 Change 1

TO:              STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:            JOSÉ JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ
                 Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:         Announcing an Extension of Period of Time that Funding will be Available to
                 Cover Transaction Costs and Announcing the Establishment of a Deadline for
                 States to Enter into Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) for the National Identity
                 Verification Offering (NIDVO) Established in Unemployment Insurance
                 Program Letter (UIPL) No. 11-23

1. Purpose. To advise states that funding is expected to be available to cover transaction costs
   for a period of at least the two years after the date the state deploys NIDVO or two years after
   the date this UIPL is issued, whichever is later. In addition, this UIPL advises states that they
   must enter into a DSA with the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) by June 28, 2024 to
   participate in NIDVO with transaction costs covered by the Department.

2. Action Requested. The Department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
   requests that State Workforce Agency Administrators provide information contained in this
   UIPL to appropriate staff and take appropriate and timely action if the state intends to
   participate in NIDVO.

3. Summary and Background.

   a. Summary – On July 13, 2023, the Department issued UIPL No. 11-23 announcing three
      new funding opportunities to strengthen program integrity and resiliency, as well as an
      opportunity for states to participate in a National ID Verification Offering for both online
      and in-person ID verification services. In that UIPL, states were advised that over the
      next two (2) years, subject to the availability of funding and necessary agreements being
      in place, the Department will use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to make
      available to states the government-operated ID verification systems developed by the U.S.
      General Services Administration (GSA) to verify identities online through
      Login.gov and by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to verify identities in person at
      participating USPS retail locations nationwide. That UIPL also provided that the
      Department will cover the transaction costs for ID verification for participating states
      during this process.


   RESCISSIONS                                               EXPIRATION DATE
   None                                                      Continuing

      As a result of the time the process for preparing for deployment of NIDVO requires, as
      well as the time and effort needed for states to complete activities funded by UIPL No.
      11-23 grants, among other things, states need more time to begin participating in NIDVO
      and taking advantage of federally funded transaction costs. To provide states with an
      expanded opportunity to benefit from NIDVO, the Department is announcing that it will
      cover transaction costs for identity verification for participating states for at least the later
      of two years after the date the state deploys NIDVO or two years after the date of
      issuance of this UIPL, subject to the availability of funding, and all applicable
      agreements being executed. If there is sufficient funding available, the Department may
      cover transaction costs for a longer period of time for all states that have deployed or will
      deploy NIDVO.

      In addition, the Department is establishing a deadline for states regarding participation in
      NIDVO and having transaction costs covered by the Department. States must have
      entered into a DSA with the Department by June 28, 2024. Note that additional
      agreements between the Department and the state are also required prior to deployment of
      NIDVO.

   b. Background – On March 11, 2021, the President signed ARPA into law (Public Law
      (Pub. L.) 117-2). Section 9032, ARPA, created a new Section 2118 of the CARES Act
      and provided for a $2,000,000,000 appropriation to the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to:
      (1) detect and prevent fraud, (2) to promote equitable access, and (3) to ensure timely
      payment of benefits to eligible workers with respect to UC programs. ARPA describes
      allowable uses of these funds, including awarding grants for such purposes to states and
      territories administering UC programs and for systemwide infrastructure investment and
      development. On June 3, 2023, the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) was enacted into law
      (Pub. L. 118-5). Section 24 of Title I of Division B of FRA permanently rescinds
      $1,000,000,000 of the unobligated balances of amounts made available by section
      2118(a) of Title II of Division A of the CARES Act, as added by Section 9032 of ARPA.
      UIPL No. 10-23 was published on July 13, 2023, and rescinded previous funding
      opportunity announcements which were impacted by the statutory funding rescission.

      For additional information on NIDVO, including responses to frequently asked questions,
      refer to the webinar conducted on January 24, 2024. A recording is available at
      https://ui.workforcegps.org/events/2024/01/09/21/13/National-ID-Verification-Offering.
      Note that state staff must create an account with WorkforceGPS to view the content.

4. Guidance.

   a. Extended period of Federal funding covering NIDVO transaction costs.

      Section 4.c of UIPL No. 11-23 provides that the Department is offering government-
      operated ID verification systems to states that support online verification services through
      partnership with GSA’s Login.gov and in-person verification services through
      partnership with USPS and that these offerings are being made available to states by the



        Department using ARPA funds to directly cover at least two years of transaction costs,
        subject to the availability of funding and necessary agreements being in place. Because
        of the time needed for preparing and deploying NIDVO, as well as the time and effort
        needed for states to complete activities funded by UIPL No. 11-23 grants, among other
        things, the Department acknowledges that states would benefit from having an extended
        period to participate in NIDVO and receive the advantage of federally funded transaction
        costs. Therefore, the Department will cover transaction costs for identity verification for
        participating states for at least the later of two years after the date the state deploys 1
        NIDVO or two years after the date of issuance of this UIPL, subject to the availability of
        funding. This means that:

              •   States that deployed NIDVO before April 29, 2024 are expected to have
                  transactions covered until at least April 29, 2026.

              •   States that have not yet deployed NIDVO will be expected to have transaction
                  costs covered until at least the date that is two years after the date they deploy
                  NIDVO.

        If there is sufficient funding available, the Department may cover transaction costs for a
        longer period of time for all states that have deployed or will deploy NIDVO.

    b. Deadline to enter into NIDVO Data Sharing Agreement.

        In addition, the Department is establishing a deadline for states regarding participation in
        NIDVO and having transaction costs covered by the Department. States must have
        entered into the required DSA with the Department by June 28, 2024. Note that
        additional agreements between the Department and the state are also required prior to
        deployment of NIDVO.

        To support this timeline, the Department has created a template DSA which complies
        with the confidentiality requirements set forth in 20 C.F.R. Part 603. States are
        encouraged to proceed with the template language as-is. States may request additional
        discussion through their ETA Regional Office.

        An extension of this deadline will only be considered if there are strong and compelling
        justifications beyond the control of the state that make it extremely difficult for this
        deadline to be met.


5. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate ETA Regional Office.




 A state is considered to have deployed NIDVO when technical connections to at least one of the identity
verification services is completed and the state begins referring individuals to the service(s).



6. References.

      •   Division B, Title I, Section 24, of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Pub. L. 118-
          5);
      •    American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), including Title IX, Subtitle A, Crisis
          Support for Unemployed Workers (Pub. L. 117-2); and
      •   UIPL No. 11-23, Announcement of Grant Opportunities and National Identity (ID)
          Verification Offering under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), issued July 13,
          2023, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-11-23.

7. Attachments. None.