Washington, DC - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) welcomed today’s implementation of the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009,
which was included in the American Recovery and Revitalization Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009 represented the most significant expansion of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs since 1974. The new TAA law expands eligibility to service workers and firms, provides increased funding for worker retraining, and makes health care more available and affordable for covered workers, among other improvements. These expanded benefits are available to workers and firms covered by applications submitted on or after today, May 18, 2009.
“I have worked hard to provide America’s workers and entrepreneurs the tools and resources they need to compete in the global marketplace. Today’s implementation of the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act demonstrates that continued commitment. The new and improved TAA will help more workers retrain and will help small businesses improve their global competitiveness," said Baucus. “I look forward to working with the Administration to ensure proper implementation and rapid delivery of these improved benefits."
Chairman Baucus worked closely with Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y) and Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-Mich) to include these important TAA reforms in the ARRA. The new law improves and expands Trade Adjustment Assistance in significant ways. TAA will now be available to trade-affected workers in the services sector - which comprise 80 percent of the U.S. workforce - as well as to workers whose jobs shift to all countries, not just those with which the United States has trade agreements. Training funds available to these workers will increase by 160 percent. The measure also allows for automatic TAA eligibility for workers suffering from import surges and unfair trade, makes training, healthcare and reemployment TAA benefits more accessible and flexible, and improves the TAA for Farmers program. And the law increases assistance available to American businesses seeking to avoid trade-related layoffs by retooling for the global marketplace. All TAA programs are now authorized through Dec. 31, 2010.
More information on these programs can be obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL),
the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. DOL administers the TAA for Workers program and is now accepting petitions for the new TAA for Workers program.
Petitions can be obtained via the DOL website:
http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/DownloadPetitions.cfm. EDA administers the TAA for Firms program. Information and petitions may be obtained through regional Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers: http://www.taacenters.org/. And the FAS administers the TAA for Farmers program. Information may be obtained via the USDA website:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/ITP/TAA/taa.asp.
Source: Ranking Member’s News
