Receiving unemployment insurance (UI) is way too difficult. Workers are not always informed of their eligibility, and employers often seek to prevent former employees from receiving benefits. Despite leaving jobs for justifiable reasons — for instance, unsafe work conditions — the act of quitting disqualifies many applicants. Meanwhile, workers in the gig economy are generally ineligible. But beyond the more technical program requirements and red tape, simply submitting a benefits claim can be confusing.

I know because I’ve gone through the claims process myself. The biggest hurdles I faced were not primarily about proving I had a good reason for becoming unemployed. Rather, I was tripped up by the user interface of the claims website and the application questions, as has likely been the case for countless others.

The immediate reason for describing my experience is to demonstrate why Congress would be wise to pass the UI administrative funding proposed by President Joe Biden for the next fiscal year, which includes a $200 million increase in state grants. The proposed funding is in the current House appropriations bill, but could get cut out in the coming negotiations.