What could the pandemic relief bill mean for those collecting unemployment? Unemployment extended? By Chasity Maxie | March 9, 2021 at 7:44 PM CST - Updated March 9 at 7:44 PM BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill now heads back to the House of Representatives. It’s the final stop for approval before it lands on President Joe Biden’s desk. If the American Rescue Plan is approved, that would mean two temporary federal programs would be extended until September. The extended benefits would continue through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, or PUA, and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, or PEUC. “If you’re already receiving benefits, assuming that you remain unemployed and remain eligible for the programs, then you will be able to continue to receive those benefits through September. If you were to file in the future, say you get laid off in the next couple of weeks, again, you would also be eligible to file through September,” said Communications Director for the Alabama Department of Labor, Tara Hutchison.