Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today voted to approve a bill that provides benefits to workers who are hurt by international trade. 

The measure, which passed 70-27, extends the life of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program – an initiative that provides job training and other benefits to American workers who have lost their jobs because of international trade.

            Bingaman strongly backed the Obama administration’s plan to extend TAA before turning to Congressional debate on our nation’s pending trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama. 

            “Trade agreements open new markets to American businesses.  But in some instances, they can have an unintended negative impact on American workers.  I am glad that the Senate voted to extend TAA, which has aided thousands of New Mexicans during the past few years alone,” Bingaman said. 

The bill, which will now be sent to the House of Representatives, does the following:
Invests in American Workers

·         Provides $575 million investment to train workers.  The measure authorizes $575 million for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and prorates funds for the period beginning October 1, 2013 and ending December 31, 2013, thus ensuring states have ample funding to provide long-term job training.  

·         Gives more flexible training options and up to 130 weeks of training.  The bill provides training for up to 117 weeks, giving all workers the opportunity to receive long-term training, and provides an additional 13 weeks of training for workers if the training leads towards the completion of a degree or an industry-recognized credential.  The agreement includes various training options, including opportunities for part-time training and pre-layoff training.

·         Provides accessible wage insurance that works with other benefits.  For workers who seek quick re-employment, the amendment provides wage insurance – 50 percent of the wage differential between the old job and the new job, up to $10,000 – to workers 50 years of age or older.  The amendment allows workers to switch from trade readjustment allowances (TRAs) to wage insurance payments at any time during their training.  The amendment also provides for a worker who completes training and is reemployed to receive reemployment TAA benefits in lieu of TRA benefits for the remainder of the worker’s TRA eligibility.

Expands Program Eligibility and Opportunities to a Broad Class of American Workers 

·         Provides TAA benefits to services sector workers and firms.  The measure clarifies that workers and firms that supply services – including call centers, computer programmers, software designers – are eligible for TAA.  The amendment also makes secondary workers – those whose jobs are affected when a company they supply closes – in the services sector eligible to receive TAA.

·         Covers workers whose firms shift production to non-FTA partner countries.  The bill covers workers whose firms shift production to any country, including China or India, not just countries with which the United States has entered into a free trade agreement.  

·         Provides TAA coverage for U.S. suppliers of component parts. The proposal allows workers at firms supplying component parts to other firms to be eligible for TAA without requiring the firm that buys the component parts to be TAA certified.  It also allows firms that supply component parts to foreign customers to petition for TAA benefits if their customers switch to component parts made outside the United States.

·         Ensures automatic eligibility for workers suffering from unfair trade and import surges.  Unfair foreign subsidies, dumping of foreign goods, and unexpected import surges can injure U.S. industries and cause jobs in those industries to be affected.  The measure ensures that workers in such industries will be automatically eligible to receive TAA benefits if their layoffs occurred within one year before or after an affirmative injury determination by the International Trade Commission. 

Provides Affordable Health Coverage

·         Improving the affordability and availability of health coverage. The Health Coverage Tax Credit program provides health insurance benefits to TAA-eligible workers and retirees covered by pension plans taken over by Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation who have lost their employer-sponsored coverage.  The bill subsidizes 72.5 percent of the cost of the health care premium, provides workers with retroactive payments to help cover the up-front costs of obtaining health coverage, and provides coverage for the worker’s spouse and dependents.  It also provides $150 million in grant funding to help states improve the availability of health insurance options and to help TAA eligible workers and retirees cover their monthly health premium costs. 

Service and Outreach to Workers in Transition

·         Provides eligibility protections for Americans on active duty military service.The bill allows a worker called up for active duty military or full-time National Guard service to restart their TAA enrollment process after completing such service.

·         Clarifies enrollment deadlines and ensures fairness.The measure requires workers to enroll in training within 26 weeks after layoff or certification, whichever is later.  It allows the Secretary to grant TAA benefits to workers who are disqualified due to state error.  And the amendment ensures that workers who win administrative and judicial appeals are not penalized for missing important deadlines during such appeals.

·         Provides funding to help state caseworkers counsel TAA clients. The measure includes a requirement that not less than five percent of the training funds allocated to states be used for case management services, allowing states to provide proper assessment, career counseling, and other case management services.

Helps Small Businesses and Farmers

·         Provides assistance to small businesses.  The TAA for Firms program helps small businesses adjust to foreign competition and create new jobs by providing assistance to improve their competitiveness.  The measure authorizes $16 million for the program and expands the program’s reach by allowing firms to show a decline in sales or productionover one, two, or three years instead of the current one year allowed.

·         Provides benefits and technical assistance to farmers and fishermen. The measure provides targeted training to farmers and fishermen and clarifies that fishermen and aquaculture producers may receive TAA benefits whether they are competing against farmed or wild-caught fish or seafood imports.  Producers who complete the training phases become eligible for up to $12,000 in seed money to use their new skills and implement a business plan. The TAA for Farmers and Fisherman Program is authorized at $90 million.

Streamlines Programs and Improves Accountability

·         Consolidates and streamlines administrative program costs. The measure consolidates administration, case management, job search, and relocation funding under the $575 million cap on training funds.  The amendment eliminates separate funding streams, while allowing states more flexibility to use a portion of the training funds for administration and case management costs.  States must prioritize these funds for training and case management, but administrative costs are capped at 10 percent of the funds.  States can also use these funds to pay for 90 percent of the cost of job search and relocation, up to $1,250.