II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 687 

To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize a State to reimburse certain 

costs incurred by the State in providing training to workers after a 

petition for certification of eligibility for trade adjustment assistance 

has been filed, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2017 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. FRANKEN, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize a State 

to reimburse certain costs incurred by the State in providing training to workers after a petition for certification of eligibility for trade adjustment assistance has 

been filed, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workforce Training 

5 Enhancement Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The viability of the domestic steel industry 

2 is crucial to the United States economy and national 

3 security. 

4 (2) The steel and taconite iron mining indus5 tries have been severely impacted by the foreign 

6 dumping and overproduction of steel and are contin7 ually faced with unfair trade practices. 

8 (3) In 2014, United States imports of steel and 

9 steel products increased by 36 percent and captured 

10 28 percent of the total United States steel market. 

11 In 2015, United States imports of steel and steel 

12 products continued to increase, and captured 29 per13 cent of the total United States steel market. 

14 (4) In 1974, Congress enacted the Trade Act of 

15 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.), which established the 

16 trade adjustment assistance for workers program 

17 under chapter 2 of title II of that Act (19 U.S.C. 

18 2271 et seq.) to assist workers who have been ad19 versely affected by trade. 

20 (5) The trade adjustment assistance for work21 ers program provides vital benefits and services to 

22 workers whose employment has been adversely af23 fected by foreign trade. Those benefits and services 

24 include education and training, income support, reloVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Mar 24, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S687.IS S687

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1 cation assistance, job search assistance, and the 

2 health coverage tax credit. 

3 (6) Since the inception of the trade adjustment 

4 assistance for workers program, more than 

5 5,000,000 United States workers have been certified 

6 as eligible for benefits and services under the pro7 gram. 

8 (7) As of September 30, 2015, the trade adjust9 ment assistance for workers program had served 

10 more than 2,200,000 workers. 

11 (8) In fiscal year 2015, the Department of 

12 Labor certified 413 petitions for eligibility for the 

13 trade adjustment assistance for workers program, 

14 which provided access to trade adjustment assistance 

15 benefits for 57,631 workers. 

16 (9) In 2015, more than 13,000 new partici17 pants were enrolled in the trade adjustment assist18 ance for workers program and the program provided 

19 services and benefits to more than 47,000 workers. 

20 (10) From fiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 

21 2015, the average processing time for a petition 

22 under the trade adjustment assistance for workers 

23 program was 49.1 days and the average processing 

24 time for fiscal year 2015 was 47.2 days. 


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1 (11) The trade adjustment assistance for work2 ers program provides vital educational and training 

3 services to help trade-affected workers to acquire 

4 new skills and prepare for new employment. 

5 (12) In order to empower workers who have 

6 been adversely affected by foreign trade, States 

7 should have the option of providing the funding for 

8 vital educational and training programs for workers 

9 while their petitions for certifications of eligibility 

10 for trade adjustment assistance are pending. 

11 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF STATES TO REIMBURSE CER12 TAIN COSTS OF PROVIDING TRAINING TO 

13 WORKERS AFTER A PETITION FOR TRADE AD14 JUSTMENT ASSISTANCE IS FILED. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 236(a)(6) of the Trade 

16 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(6)) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C)(i) If the conditions described in clause (ii) are 

19 met, a State may use the funds distributed to the State 

20 under paragraph (2) to reimburse the costs of providing 

21 training to a worker before the worker is approved for 

22 training under paragraph (1) paid by— 

23 ‘‘(I) the State from funds provided by the 

24 State; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the State or local workforce development 

2 areas within the State from funds available under 

3 subtitle B of title I of the Workforce Innovation and 

4 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3151 et seq.); or 

5 ‘‘(III) an eligible entity under section 170 of 

6 that Act (29 U.S.C. 3225) in the State from funds 

7 available under that section. 

8 ‘‘(ii) The conditions described in this clause are met 

9 if— 

10 ‘‘(I) as of the date of the reimbursement under 

11 clause (i) the worker is covered by a certification for 

12 eligibility under subchapter A; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the training the costs of which are being 

14 reimbursed— 

15 ‘‘(aa) commenced after the date on which 

16 the total or partial separations of the group of 

17 workers covered by the certification for eligi18 bility began or threatened to begin; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) meets the requirements for approval 

20 of training under paragraph (1).’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

22 236(a)(4)(B) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

23 2296(a)(4)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘No’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (6)(C), no’’. 

Æ 


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