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1 1 (February 17, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecjf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: hfomriu h k~iI v ebat' itt 1914 Updated February 17,2021 Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) Overview and Program Rationale Reduced barriers to international trade are widely acknowledged to offer net benefits by expanding market acces s but may adversely affect domestic industries and workers that face increased competition. Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) is designed tohelp trade- affected workers adjust to job loss resulting fromincreas ed foreign competition. The primary benefits under TAA are funding forretraining and weekly income supportpayments while affected workers are enrolled in training. Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 201 5 In June 2015, Congress enacted the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of2015 (TAARA; Title IV of P.L. 114-27). This law established a setof TAA eligibility and benefit provisions that are currently in effect and set to remain in place through June 30,2021. TAARA further established sunset provisions that will take effect July 1, 2021. At that time, the programwill revert to a more restrictive setof eligibility and benefit provisions for new programp articip ants. This product focuses on the TAA programunder current law and touches on some major aspects of the sunset provisions. For a more detailed discussion of the sunset provisions, seeCRS Report R44153, Trade Adjustment Assistancefor Workers and the TAA ReauthorizationAct of 2015. Program Administration TAA is administeredjointlybytheU.S.Departmentof Labor (DOL) and cooperating state agencies.DOL is responsible for investigating group petitions to establish programeligibility. State agencies are responsible for administering federally-funded benefits to eligible workers. Funding and FY202 Appropriations Appropriations for TAAin FY2021 were $633.6 million. TAA is nonexempt mandatory (direct) spending, which means it is subjectto sequestrationunder the Budget Control Act. In FY2021, sequestrationfor nonexempt, nondefense spending was 5.7%, meaning thatthe post- sequestration funding level was about $597.5 million. Eligibility and Group Application Process To be eligible for TAA benefits, an individual worker must be part of a group of TAA-certified workers. To obtain group certification, a group of dislocated workers files a petition with DOLthat describes how foreign trade contributed to the workers' job losses. DOLthen conducts an investigation to determine if the circumstances of the workers' job losses meet programeligibility criteria. Qualified circumstances ofjob loss are the following: * Increase in directly competitiw imports. The sales or productionof the petitioning firmhas decreased and imports of articles or services directly competitive with the petitioning firmhave increased. * Shift in production. The workers' finm has shifted the production of articles or supply of services that were produced or supplied by the petitioning workers to a foreign country, or the workers' finm has begun to acquire froma foreign country articles or services that are directly competitive with those producedby the workers. * Qualifiedsecondary firm. The workers' finm is a supplier or downstreamproducer to a firm that was certified under either of the prior two criteria, and the secondary firmmeets certain other criteria. * USITC firm. The workers' finm is publicly identified by name by the United States International Trade Commis sion as injured by a market disruption or other qualified action. If DOL's investigation finds that the cause ofthe workers' dislocations meets the statutory criteria, the workers' petition is certified. Workers covered by a certified group petition can thenpursue individual benefits. Under the provisions scheduled to take effectJuly 1, 2021, eligibility will be reduced. Among other changes, eligibility will be limited to productionworkers. Service workers will no longerbe eligible fornew certifications. Training and Reemployment Services Workers covered by a certified TAA petition are entitled to certain benefits and services to aid themin preparing for and obtaining new employment. As noted above, training and reemployment services are administered through state workforce agencies. Case managementandcareer services are typically provided by staff at state-run AmericanJob Centers (also known as One-Stop Career Centers). Statute specifies a group of services that all TAA -certified workers shall receive, including a comprehensive skills assessment and the development of an individualplan to identify an employment objective and training to achieve that objective. Training benefits canbe paid directly to a training provider or through a voucher system. Statute establishes a setof conditions under which training shall be approved: there is no suitable employment available for the worker, the training is available at a reasonable cost, the worker is qualified to undertake thetraining, and there is a reasonable ttps:/'crs reports.congress.gc

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