(Washington D.C.)- The Ways and Means Committee approved a complete overhaul of the federal program to assist workers impacted by globalization.  The Trade and Globalization Assistance Act of 2007 would expand and improve the program and is expected to be considered by the U.S. House in the next weeks.

“At the same time we are taking first steps in a new trade policy that stands up for U.S. businesses and workers in the global marketplace; it is vital that workers, firms, and communities have a reformed and strengthened trade and globalization assistance program,” said. Rep. Sander Levin.

The legislation would expand trade adjustment assistance to cover service workers for the first time, expand criteria so that more manufacturing workers are covered, ensure access to better training and improve health care coverage.  The legislation would also make improvements to the Unemployment Insurance program and establish Manufacturing Re-development Zones to assist entire communities impacted by the manufacturing jobs crisis.

A two page summary of the legislation can be found here.

Background of TAA Program:

Congress created TAA in 1962 to provide U.S. workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition with government-funded training and associated income support to enable them to transition to new good paying jobs.  The TAA program has been periodically reauthorized over the last 35 years, and now includes separate programs for workers, firms and farmers. 

The current TAA program fails to meet the needs of those it was intended to help.  For instance, despite the fact that the service sector employs 80% of the American workforce, TAA does not cover most service sector workers, including information technology workers, accountants, and aircraft maintenance crews, all of which now face competition from abroad.  TAA also excludes many manufacturing workers because of illogical eligibility criteria (e.g., a worker whose factory moves to Mexico is guaranteed TAA coverage, while a worker whose factory moves to China is not). 

TAA is also inadequately funded – and as a result, during periods of economic downturn, many who would like to participate in TAA cannot.  TAA training coverage also has been artificially limited by the Department of Labor and some States’ restrictive interpretations of current law.  The TAA health coverage tax credit, which was heralded as a major improvement to the program in 2002, has not proven to be an effective mechanism for providing health benefits to this population.  Private insurance policies are unaffordable and impose rules designed to limit access to coverage, the application process is cumbersome, and even under the most efficient system the cost of administering the advance credit is excessive.  As a result, only fifteen percent of those who are eligible have access to health benefits, despite the obvious need.

(####)

Home Page  |  Press Releases