I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1657 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 21, 2017 
Mr. NOLAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize a State 
to reimburse certain costs incurred by the State in pro-
viding training to workers after a petition for certifi-
cation of eligibility for trade adjustment assistance has 
been filed, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workforce Training 
Enhancement Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) The viability of the domestic steel industry 
is crucial to the United States economy and national 
security. 
(2) The steel and taconite iron mining indus-
tries have been severely impacted by the foreign 
dumping and overproduction of steel and are contin-
ually faced with unfair trade practices. 
(3) In 2014, United States imports of steel and 
steel products increased by 36 percent and captured 
28 percent of the total United States steel market. 
In 2015, United States imports of steel and steel 
products continued to increase, and captured 29 per-
cent of the total United States steel market. 
(4) In 1974, Congress enacted the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.), which established the 
trade adjustment assistance for workers program 
under chapter 2 of title II of that Act (19 U.S.C. 
2271 et seq.) to assist workers who have been ad-
versely affected by trade. 
(5) The trade adjustment assistance for work-
ers program provides vital benefits and services to 
workers whose employment has been adversely af-
fected by foreign trade. Those benefits and services 
include education and training, income support, relo-
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cation assistance, job search assistance, and the 
health coverage tax credit. 
(6) Since the inception of the trade adjustment 
assistance 
for 
workers 
program, 
more 
than 
5,000,000 United States workers have been certified 
as eligible for benefits and services under the pro-
gram. 
(7) As of September 30, 2015, the trade adjust-
ment assistance for workers program had served 
more than 2,200,000 workers. 
(8) In fiscal year 2015, the Department of 
Labor certified 413 petitions for eligibility for the 
trade adjustment assistance for workers program, 
which provided access to trade adjustment assistance 
benefits for 57,631 workers. 
(9) In 2015, more than 13,000 new partici-
pants were enrolled in the trade adjustment assist-
ance for workers program and the program provided 
services and benefits to more than 47,000 workers. 
(10) From fiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 
2015, the average processing time for a petition 
under the trade adjustment assistance for workers 
program was 49.1 days and the average processing 
time for fiscal year 2015 was 47.2 days. 
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(11) The trade adjustment assistance for work-
ers program provides vital educational and training 
services to help trade-affected workers to acquire 
new skills and prepare for new employment. 
(12) In order to empower workers who have 
been adversely affected by foreign trade, States 
should have the option of providing the funding for 
vital educational and training programs for workers 
while their petitions for certifications of eligibility 
for trade adjustment assistance are pending. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF STATES TO REIMBURSE CER-
TAIN COSTS OF PROVIDING TRAINING TO 
WORKERS AFTER A PETITION FOR TRADE AD-
JUSTMENT ASSISTANCE IS FILED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 236(a)(6) of the Trade 
Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(6)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(C)(i) If the conditions described in clause (ii) are 
met, a State may use the funds distributed to the State 
under paragraph (2) to reimburse the costs of providing 
training to a worker before the worker is approved for 
training under paragraph (1) paid by— 
‘‘(I) the State from funds provided by the 
State; 
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‘‘(II) the State or local workforce development 
areas within the State from funds available under 
subtitle B of title I of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3151 et seq.); or 
‘‘(III) an eligible entity under section 170 of 
that Act (29 U.S.C. 3225) in the State from funds 
available under that section. 
‘‘(ii) The conditions described in this clause are met 
if— 
‘‘(I) as of the date of the reimbursement under 
clause (i) the worker is covered by a certification for 
eligibility under subchapter A; and 
‘‘(II) the training the costs of which are being 
reimbursed— 
‘‘(aa) commenced after the date on which 
the total or partial separations of the group of 
workers covered by the certification for eligi-
bility began or threatened to begin; and 
‘‘(bb) meets the requirements for approval 
of training under paragraph (1).’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
236(a)(4)(B) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2296(a)(4)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘No’’ and inserting 
‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (6)(C), no’’. 
Æ 
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