Trade Adjustment Assistance Enhancement Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am joined by my colleague Senator Ron
Wyden in introducing the Trade Adjustment Assistance, TAA, Enhancement
Act of 2015. This legislation would reauthorize trade adjustment
assistance programs to help American workers who lose their jobs as a
result of foreign competition. These programs are an investment in the
American worker and are essential to helping those who are negatively
affected by international trade to get the skills and training to
prepare for jobs in other industries.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Enhancement Act of 2015 would cover
affected workers in the manufacturing, service, and agricultural
sectors. In addition to covering workers whose jobs shift to countries
with which the United States has a Free Trade Agreement, the bill would
also extend to job losses from non-FTA countries, such as China or
India. It would make eligible for assistance those who have been laid
off due to unfair foreign subsidies or dumping practices, as long as
the layoff occurs within 1 year of an affirmative injury determination
by the International Trade Commission.

Our bill would also authorize an investment of up to $575 million per
year to train workers in new, in-demand skills, thereby providing them
with the opportunity to find lasting employment that will ensure
greater economic stability in years to come. It would also provide
extended unemployment insurance for those enrolled in an approved
training program. For older workers seeking quick reemployment, our
bill would provide wage insurance to cover up to 50 percent of the wage
differential between the old job and the new job. It would also provide
assistance to those who must commute a greater distance or relocate
altogether to find new employment.

Under our bill, farmers, fishermen, and aquaculture producers would
also be eligible for targeted training and assistance programs designed
to help increase their competitiveness. The bill would further clarify
that fishermen and aquaculture producers may receive TAA benefits
whether they are competing against farmed or wild-caught fish or
seafood imports.

Small, rural communities in my home State of Maine have been hit hard
by closures or partial shutdowns of mills, manufacturing plants, or
other businesses that, in many cases, represent a large portion of jobs
in the surrounding communities. In the past year, the communities of
Lincoln, Millinocket, and Bucksport have experienced such devastating
job losses. Moreover, the second and third-order economic effects on
other businesses is significant. When these jobs are abruptly lost on
such a massive scale, entire communities and the surrounding area are
devastated. In times of such great upheaval, the laid off employees,
who lost their good jobs through no fault of their own, need the time,
support, and resources to learn new skills and seek viable employment
opportunities.

TAA programs have made a tremendous difference in the lives of those
working in trade-affected industries in Maine, such as the pulp and
paper manufacturing, lobster, and blueberry industries. In fiscal year
2013, more than 700 Mainers benefitted from these programs, which led
to an employment retention rate of more than 90 percent. In the last
year alone, the Department of Labor approved TAA benefits for the
hundreds of workers who lost their jobs with the closures of the Verso
Paper mill in Bucksport, the Lincoln Paper and Tissue mill in Lincoln,
the Great Northern Paper mill in East Millinocket, and the UTC Fire and
Security plant in Pittsfield. Previously, TAA benefited former
employees of the Great Northern Paper mill in Millinocket when it
closed, in addition to lobstermen and wild blueberry producers who
needed help increasing the competitiveness of their unique commodities.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Eastern Maine Community
College and tour its Fine Woodworking and Cabinet Making Shop. I met
with a group of students formerly employed at the Bucksport Verso Paper
mill, who now have the opportunity to learn a new skill because of the
funds available through TAA.

TAA has been vitally important in helping Maine workers, and those
across the Nation, who have been harmed by trade get the skills and
training they need to prepare for jobs in other industries.
Reauthorization of trade adjustment assistance programs must be a part
of the national trade policy debate, and I am pleased that the Senate
recognized the importance of TAA by approving the bipartisan amendment
that I authored to the Budget Resolution related to reauthorizing TAA.
I urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan Trade Adjustment
Assistance Enhancement Act of 2015 to continue crucial investments in
the American worker and protect them from unfair trade practices and
increased imports.

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