WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a Senate companion bill to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Act of 2014, introduced by Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA), Sander Levin (D-MI), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), and Charles B. Rangel (D-MI). These bills would renew TAA, which is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2014. Reps. Smith, Levin, Rangel, and Kilmer released the following statement calling for the immediate passage of the TAA:
“It is critical that Congress pass Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation before it expires at the end of the year. Both the House and Senate TAA bills provide critical work training, income support, and health care to help dislocated American workers transition and learn new skills for new careers in competitive industries. This vital assistance helps American workers and businesses adapt and compete in a rapidly evolving world economy."
Background: Congress created the TAA program in 1962 in response to the loss of jobs among hard-working Americans as a result of increasing global competition, as well as to promote American competitiveness. TAA benefits have several components: training assistance, income support while in training, and job search and relocation assistance. The program assists workers dislocated by the elimination of tariffs and other barriers to trade. Additional programs assist farmers, fishermen, and firms with the development and implementation of business plans to enable them to regain a competitive foothold.
TAA by the numbers:
* 2,192,910: The number of workers served by TAA since it was created in 1974
* 104,158: The number of workers eligible to apply for TAA in 2013
* 50: The number of states with workers eligible for TAA benefits in 2013
* 75%: The percentage of TAA workers who got a job within six months of finishing the program
* 90%: The percentage of those TAA workers who remained employed at the end of the year
