I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1491

To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to consolidate and enhance the trade

adjustment assistance and NAFTA transitional adjustment assistance

programs under that Act, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 20, 1999

Mr. MATSUI (for himself, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BENTSEN, and Mr. BECERRA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways

and Means

A BILL

To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to consolidate and enhance

the trade adjustment assistance and NAFTA transitional

adjustment assistance programs under that Act, 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 ‘‘Trade Adjustment As5 sistance Reform Act of 1999’’.
2

•HR 1491 IH

1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF CONSOLIDATED TRADE AD2 JUSTMENT ASSISTANCE.

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

4 245 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2317) is amend5 ed to read as follows:

6 ‘‘SEC. 245. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the De8 partment of Labor for each of the fiscal years 1999

9 through 2004 such sums as may be necessary to carry

10 out the purposes of this chapter.’’.

11 (b) REPEAL OF NAFTA TRANSITIONAL ADJUST12 MENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter D of chapter 2

14 of title II of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2331) is hereby

15 repealed.

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section

17 249A of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2322) is hereby re18 pealed.

19 (B) The table of contents of such Act is

20 amended—

21 (i) by striking the item relating to section

22 249A; and

23 (ii) by striking the items relating to sub24 chapter D of chapter 2 of title II.

25 (c) TERMINATION.—Section 285(c) of such Act (19

26 U.S.C. 2271 note) is amended to read as follows:
3

•HR 1491 IH

1 ‘‘(c) No assistance, vouchers, allowances, or other

2 payments may be provided under chapter 2, and no tech3 nical assistance may be provided under chapter 3, after

4 September 30, 2004.’’.

5 SEC. 3. FILING OF PETITIONS AND PROVISION OF RAPID

6 RESPONSE ASSISTANCE; EXPEDITED REVIEW

7 OF PETITIONS BY SECRETARY OF LABOR.

8 (a) FILING OF PETITIONS AND PROVISION OF RAPID

9 RESPONSE ASSISTANCE.—Section 221(a) of the Trade

10 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2271(a)) is amended to read as

11 follows:

12 ‘‘(a)(1) A petition for certification of eligibility to

13 apply for adjustment assistance for a group of workers

14 under this chapter may be filed with the Governor of the

15 State in which such workers’ firm or subdivision is located

16 by the following:

17 ‘‘(A) The group of workers (including workers

18 in an agricultural firm or subdivision of any agricul19 tural firm).

20 ‘‘(B) The certified or recognized union or other

21 duly authorized representative of such workers.

22 ‘‘(C) Employers of such workers, one-stop ca23 reer centers, or State employment agencies, on be24 half of such workers.
4

•HR 1491 IH

1 ‘‘(2) Upon receipt of a petition filed under paragraph

2 (1), the Governor—

3 ‘‘(A) shall immediately transmit the petition to

4 the Secretary of Labor (hereinafter in this chapter

5 referred to as the ‘Secretary’);

6 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that rapid response assistance

7 and basic readjustment services authorized under

8 other Federal laws are made available to the workers

9 covered by the petition to the extent authorized

10 under such laws; and

11 ‘‘(C) shall assist the Secretary in the review of

12 the petition by verifying such information and pro13 viding such other assistance as the Secretary may

14 request.

15 ‘‘(3) Upon receipt of the petition, the Secretary shall

16 promptly publish notice in the Federal Register that the

17 Secretary has received the petition and initiated an inves18 tigation.’’.

19 (b) EXPEDITED REVIEW OF PETITIONS BY SEC20 RETARY OF LABOR.—Section 223(a) of such Act (19

21 U.S.C. 2273(a)) is amended in the first sentence by strik22 ing ‘‘60 days’’ and inserting ‘‘40 days’’.
5

•HR 1491 IH

1 SEC. 4. ADDITION OF SHIFT IN PRODUCTION AS BASIS FOR

2 ELIGIBILITY FOR TRADE ADJUSTMENT AS3 SISTANCE.

4 Section 222(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

5 2272(a)) is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(a) A group of workers (including workers in any

7 agricultural firm or subdivision of an agricultural firm)

8 shall be certified by the Secretary as eligible to apply for

9 adjustment assistance under this chapter pursuant to a

10 petition filed under section 221 if the Secretary deter11 mines that—

12 ‘‘(1) a significant number or proportion of the

13 workers in such workers’ firm or an appropriate sub14 division of the firm have become totally or partially

15 separated, or are threatened to become totally or

16 partially separated; and

17 ‘‘(2)(A)(i) the sales or production, or both, of

18 such firm or subdivision have decreased absolutely;

19 ‘‘(ii) imports of articles like or directly competi20 tive with articles produced by such firm or subdivi21 sion have increased; and

22 ‘‘(iii) the increase in imports under clause (ii)

23 contributed importantly to such workers’ separation

24 or threat of separation and to the decline in the

25 sales or production of such firm or subdivision; or
6

•HR 1491 IH

1 ‘‘(B) there has been a shift in production by

2 such workers’ firm or subdivision to a foreign coun3 try of articles like or directly competitive with arti4 cles which are produced by such firm or subdivi5 sion.’’.

6 SEC. 5. INFORMATION ON CERTAIN CERTIFICATIONS.

7 Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

8 2273) is amended by adding at the end the following sub9 section:

10 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall collect and maintain

11 information—

12 ‘‘(1) identifying the countries to which firms

13 have shifted production resulting in certifications

14 under section 222(a)(2)(B), including the number of

15 such certifications relating to each country; and

16 ‘‘(2) to the extent feasible, identifying the coun17 tries from which imports of articles have resulted in

18 certifications under section 222(a)(2)(A), including

19 the number of such certifications relating to each

20 country.’’.

21 SEC. 6. ENROLLMENT IN TRAINING REQUIREMENT.

22 Section 231(a)(5)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19

23 U.S.C. 2291(a)(5)(A)) is amended—

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(A)’’;
7

•HR 1491 IH

1 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the comma at the

2 end; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(ii) the enrollment required under clause

5 (i) occurs no later than the latest of—

6 ‘‘(I) the last day of the 16th week

7 after the worker’s most recent total sepa8 ration from adversely affected employment

9 which meets the requirements of para10 graphs (1) and (2);

11 ‘‘(II) the last day of the 8th week

12 after the week in which the Secretary

13 issues a certification covering the worker;

14 or

15 ‘‘(III) 45 days after the later of the

16 dates specified in subclause (I) or (II), if

17 the Secretary determines there are extenu18 ating circumstances that justify an exten19 sion in the enrollment period;’’.

20 SEC. 7. WAIVERS OF TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(c) of the Trade Act

22 of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2291(c)) is amended to read as fol23 lows:

24 ‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary may issue a written statement

25 to a worker waiving the enrollment in training require-
8

•HR 1491 IH

1 ment of subsection (a)(5)(A) if the Secretary determines

2 that such training requirement is not feasible or appro3 priate for the worker, as indicated by 1 or more of the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(A) The worker has been notified that the

6 worker will be recalled by the firm from which the

7 qualifying separation occurred.

8 ‘‘(B) The worker has marketable skills as deter9 mined pursuant to an assessment of the worker,

10 which may include the profiling system under section

11 303(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(j)),

12 carried out in accordance with guidelines issued by

13 the Secretary.

14 ‘‘(C) The worker is within 2 years of meeting

15 all requirements for entitlement to old-age insurance

16 benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (42

17 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) (except for application therefor).

18 ‘‘(D) The worker is unable to participate in

19 training due to health of the worker, except that a

20 waiver under this subparagraph shall not be con21 strued to exempt a worker from requirements relat22 ing to the availability for work, active search for

23 work, or refusal to accept work under Federal or

24 State unemployment compensation laws.
9

•HR 1491 IH

1 ‘‘(E) The first available enrollment date for the

2 approved training of the worker is within 45 days

3 after the date of the determination made under this

4 paragraph, or, if later, there are extenuating cir5 cumstances for the delay in enrollment, as deter6 mined pursuant to guidelines issued by the Sec7 retary.

8 ‘‘(F) There are insufficient funds available for

9 training under this chapter, taking into account the

10 limitation under section 236(a)(2)(A).

11 ‘‘(G) The duration of training appropriate for

12 the individual to obtain suitable employment exceeds

13 the individual’s maximum entitlement to basic and

14 additional trade readjustment allowances and, in ad15 dition, financial support available through other

16 Federal or State programs, including title III of the

17 Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1651 et

18 seq.) or chapter 5 of subtitle B of title I of the

19 Workforce Investment Act of 1998, that would en20 able the individual to complete a suitable training

21 program cannot be assured.

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall specify the duration of the

23 waiver under paragraph (1) and shall periodically review

24 the waiver to determine whether the basis for issuing the

25 waiver remains applicable. If at any time the Secretary
10

•HR 1491 IH

1 determines such basis is no longer applicable to the work2 er, the Secretary shall revoke the waiver.

3 ‘‘(3) Pursuant to the agreement under section 239,

4 the Secretary may authorize the State or State agency to

5 carry out activities described in paragraph (1) (except for

6 the determination under subparagraphs (F) and (G) of

7 paragraph (1)). Such agreement shall include a require8 ment that the State or State agency submit to the Sec9 retary the written statements provided pursuant to para10 graph (1) and a statement of the reasons for the waiver.

11 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall submit an annual report to

12 the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Com13 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Representa14 tives identifying the number of workers who received waiv15 ers and the average duration of such waivers issued under

16 this subsection during the preceding year.’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

18 231(a)(5)(C) of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2291(a)(5)(C)) is

19 amended by striking ‘‘certified’’.

20 SEC. 8. PROVISION OF TRADE READJUSTMENT ALLOW21 ANCES DURING BREAKS IN TRAINING.

22 Section 233(f) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

23 2293(f)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph

24 (1) by striking ‘‘14 days’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days’’.
11

•HR 1491 IH

1 SEC. 9. INCREASE IN ANNUAL TOTAL AMOUNT OF PAY2 MENTS FOR TRAINING.

3 Section 236(a)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19

4 U.S.C. 2296(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking

5 ‘‘$80,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000’’.

6 SEC. 10. ELIMINATION OF QUARTERLY REPORT.

7 Section 236(d) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

8 2296(d)) is amended by striking the last sentence of such

9 subsection.

10 SEC. 11. COORDINATION WITH ONE-STOP CAREER CEN11 TERS, THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT,

12 AND THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT OF

13 1998.

14 (a) COORDINATION WITH ONE-STOPS.—Section 235

15 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2295) is amended

16 by inserting ‘‘, including the services provided through

17 one-stop career centers’’ before the period at the end of

18 the first sentence.

19 (b) COORDINATION WITH JOB TRAINING PARTNER20 SHIP ACT AND WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT OF

21 1998.—Section 239(e) such Act (19 U.S.C. 2311(e)) is

22 amended—

23 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting after ‘‘Job

24 Training Partnership Act’’ the following: ‘‘or under

25 provisions relating to dislocated worker employment

26 and training activities under chapter 5 of subtitle B
12

•HR 1491 IH

1 of title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998,

2 as the case may be,’’; and

3 (2) by inserting after the first sentence the fol4 lowing: ‘‘Such coordination shall include common re5 porting systems and elements, including common

6 elements relating to participant data and perform7 ance outcomes (including employment, retention of

8 employment, and wages).’’.

9 SEC. 12. SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter B of chap11 ter 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2295

12 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 238A. SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.

14 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—Any adversely affected worker

15 covered by a certification under subchapter A of this chap16 ter may file an application with the Secretary for the pro17 vision of supportive services, including transportation,

18 child and dependent care, and other similar services.

19 ‘‘(b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may approve an

20 application filed under subsection (a) and provide sup21 portive services to an adversely affected worker only if the

22 Secretary determines that—

23 ‘‘(1) the provision of such services is necessary

24 to enable the worker to participate in or complete

25 training; and
13

•HR 1491 IH

1 ‘‘(2) the provision of such services is consistent

2 with the provision of supportive services to partici3 pants under the employment and training assistance

4 for dislocated workers program under title III of the

5 Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1651 et

6 seq.), as in effect on the date of the enactment of

7 the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of

8 1999, or under the provisions relating to dislocated

9 worker employment and training activities under

10 chapter 5 of subtitle B of title I of the Workforce

11 Investment Act of 1998, as the case may be.’’.

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con13 tents of such Act is amended by inserting after the item

14 relating to section 238 the following:

‘‘Sec. 238A. Supportive services.’’.

15 SEC. 13. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

16 (a) SECTION 225.—Section 225(b) of the Trade Act

17 of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2275(b)) is amended in each of para18 graphs (1) and (2) by striking ‘‘or subchapter D’’.

19 (b) SECTION 240.—Section 240(a) of such Act (19

20 U.S.C. 2312(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘subchapter B

21 of’’.

22 SEC. 14. AVAILABILITY OF CONTINGENCY FUNDS.

23 Section 245 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

24 2317), as amended by this Act, is further amended—
14

•HR 1491 IH

1 (1) by striking ‘‘There are authorized’’ and in2 serting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized’’;

3 and

4 (2) by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(b) CONTINGENCY FUNDS.—Subject to the limita6 tion contained in section 236(a)(2), if in any fiscal year

7 the funds available to carry out the programs under this

8 chapter are exhausted, there shall be made available from

9 funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated amounts

10 sufficient to carry out such programs for the remainder

11 of the fiscal year.’’.

12 SEC. 15. REAUTHORIZATION OF ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE

13 FOR FIRMS.

14 Section 256(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

15 2346(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 1998’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘1998, 1999, and 2000 through 2004’’.

17 SEC. 16. PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON WORKERS AND

18 ECONOMIC CHANGE IN THE NEW ECONOMY.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com20 mission to be known as the ‘‘Presidential Commission on

21 Workers and Economic Change in the New Economy’’ (in

22 this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

23 (b) DUTIES.—
15

•HR 1491 IH

1 (1) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a

2 thorough study of matters relating to economic dis3 location and worker adjustment to such dislocations.

4 (2) CONDUCT OF STUDY.—In carrying out the

5 study under paragraph (1), the Commission shall

6 examine—

7 (A) the impact of trade, technology, and

8 the changing nature of work organizations on

9 workers and the economy, including worker dis10 locations resulting from these factors;

11 (B) the effectiveness of existing education

12 and job training programs at the Federal level

13 in assisting workers in adjusting to economic

14 change, including the adequacy of the design of

15 such programs and resources devoted to such

16 programs;

17 (C) the strategies for providing workplace

18 education and training to assist workers in ac19 quiring new skills;

20 (D) the role of public-private partnerships

21 in implementing worker education and training;

22 and

23 (E) the role of income support and eco24 nomic security programs in facilitating worker
16

•HR 1491 IH

1 adjustment in rapidly changing economic cir2 cumstances.

3 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com4 posed of 15 members appointed by the President. The

5 members of the Commission shall include individuals who

6 are—

7 (1) Members of Congress;

8 (2) workforce development professionals;

9 (3) educators;

10 (4) heads of appropriate State agencies;

11 (5) business leaders; and

12 (6) representatives of labor organizations who

13 are nominated by a national labor federation.

14 (d) POWERS AND PERSONNEL.—The Commission

15 shall have such general powers and authority with respect

16 to personnel matters in the same manner and to the same

17 extent as the general powers and authority with respect

18 to personnel matters provided to the Twenty-First Cen19 tury Workforce Commission under sections 336 and 337

20 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

21 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the

22 first meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall

23 prepare and submit to the President and the Congress a

24 report that contains—
17

•HR 1491 IH

1 (1) a detailed statement of the findings and

2 conclusions of the Commission relating to the study

3 carried out under subsection (b);

4 (2) a compendium of best practices and policies

5 carried out by employers and public-private partner6 ships in providing workers with the education and

7 training needed to effectively adjust to economic

8 change; and

9 (3) any recommendations relating to legislative

10 and administrative actions that the Commission de11 termines to be appropriate.

12 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

14 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000.

15 SEC. 17. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION PROVISION.

16 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act, and the amend17 ments made by this Act, shall take effect on the date of

18 the enactment of this Act.

19 (b) TRANSITION.—The Secretary of Labor is author20 ized to establish such rules as the Secretary determines

21 to be appropriate to provide for an orderly transition from

22 the provisions of law amended or repealed by this Act.

Æ