WASHINGTON, D.C. – With Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) – a program that offers critical support to workers who lose their jobs to foreign trade – scheduled to expire this coming September, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced his support today for legislation that would not only extend, but also expand the vital program. Introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and cosponsored by Senator King, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act would reauthorize the program through 2020 and expand the benefits to cover workers not previously eligible for the program, like those in the service industry or anyone who loses their job to a country that doesn’t have a free trade agreement with the United States, such as China.

“Too many Maine workers have felt the sting of losing their jobs to foreign trade, and through no fault of their own, have been forced to start over in another job or career,” said Senator King. “Trade Adjustment Assistance has proven to be an invaluable resource for those workers as they learn new skills and get back on track. We have an obligation to reauthorize these benefits before the September deadline, and at the same time, we have an opportunity to improve the program and help a larger number of Americans reenter the workforce.”

Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, Trade Adjustment Assistance aids workers who lose their jobs, or whose hours of work and wages decrease, as a result of increased imports. Those eligible for TAA assistance can utilize employment training in another job or career, income support, job search allowances, and relocations services for obtaining jobs outside of their normal commuting area.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Act would provide a long-term authorization for TAA while expanding eligibility for workers. More specifically the bill would:

• Extend the TAA program through the end of 2020.
• Restore eligibility to levels included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to include service sector and public sector workers who lost their jobs due to trade. Currently, only manufacturing-sector workers, farmers, and fishers are eligible for the program.
• Extend eligibility to workers who lost their jobs due to increased imports from countries with which the United States does not have a Free Trade Agreement, including China.
• Provide an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits while workers are in training and 26 additional weeks if workers will complete their training program within the extended period.
• Cover job search and relocation expenses of up to $1,500 and increase supplemental wages that can be paid to workers 50 years of age or older if their new job pays less than their previous job.
• Reauthorize the Health Care Tax Credit (HCTC) and increase the amount from 72.5 to 80 percent of the insurance premium to ensure that workers can afford their health care even after being laid off.
• Fund TAA at the previous level of $575 million for financial assistance to dislocated workers and TAA for firms at $50 million in order to provide expertise to import-affected manufacturers to help them become more competitive.

Trade Adjustment Assistance has been a vital asset to many Maine workers, particularly those in key trade-affected industries such as the lobster, blueberry, and pulp and paper industries, whose jobs have been displaced due to trade. In Fiscal Year 2012, Maine had 352 workers certified by the DOL as TAA-eligible. In 2009, the TAA program was expanded to cover more workers, including service sector workers, but those statutory expansions have expired. While the 2009 law was in place, 914 Maine workers were certified under the expanded criteria, and those workers may not have been eligible under current law.

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