Trade Adjustment Assistance Equity For Service Workers Act of 2004

Bill: 108-hr-3881
Sponsor: Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9]
Introduced: 2004-03-03 in the House
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Appropriations
Authorization
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Department of Labor
Dislocated workers
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Employee health benefits
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Government Operations and Politics
Government employees' health insurance
Government paperwork
Governmental investigations
Graduate education
Health
Health insurance
Health insurance continuation
Higher education
Imports
Income tax
Insurance premiums
Labor statistics
Local employees
Location of industries
Medical economics
Medically uninsured
Medicare
Occupational retraining
Pension trust guaranty insurance
Service industries
Social Welfare
State employees
Surveys
Tax credits
Taxation
Trade adjustment assistance

Summary:
action_date: 2004-03-03
text: 
Trade Adjustment Assistance Equity for Service Workers Act of 2004 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend trade adjustment assistance (TAA) to workers in a service sector firm or its subdivision or public agency.
 
 Revises group eligibility requirements for TAA to include: (1) a shift, by a public agency to a foreign country, of production of articles, or in provision of services, like or directly competitive with articles produced or services provided by the workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency; and (2) the situation where such workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency obtains or is likely to obtain such services from a foreign country.
 
Repeals group eligibility requirements that: (1) the country to which the workers' firm has shifted production of the articles be a party to a free trade agreement with the United States; (2) such country be a beneficiary country under the Andean Trade Preference Act, African Growth and Opportunity Act, or the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act; or (3) there has been or is likely to be an increase in imports of articles that are like or directly competitive with articles which are or were produced by such firm or subdivision.
 
Requires the Secretary of Labor to certify as eligible to apply for TAA any adversely affected secondary workers in a service sector firm or its subdivision or public agency.
 
Specifies criteria for determination of the existence of increased imports of like or directly competitive articles or services.
 
Increases from $220 million to $440 million the amount of fiscal year payments for training of adversely affected workers under the Act.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to waive training requirements for an individual receiving a trade readjustment allowance if he or she has an advanced degree or postgraduate certification in a specialized field and there is a reasonable expectation of employment at equivalent wages in the foreseeable future. 
 
Permits as a training program for an adversely affected worker to continue enrollment at an institution of higher education for purposes of obtaining a degree for a maximum 104-week period, and there is a reasonable expectation of employment at equivalent wages in the foreseeable future.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to provide technical assistance for the establishment of industrywide programs for new service development.
 
Modifies the trade monitoring system to include imports of services.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to tax credits for health insurance costs of certain TAA and Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) pension recipients with respect to: (1) redefining &quot;eligible individual&quot; to include any individual who is covered by a TAA petition, under certain conditions; (2) allowing a 100 percent tax credit for the first month of such costs; (3) modifying the cost requirements and the period of creditable coverage; (4) adding a special rule for eligible PBGC pension recipients; (5) continued qualification of family members after an eligible individual becomes Medicare eligible; and (6) offering by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Treasury jointly of Federal fallback coverage in States not offering State qualified health insurance.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-03-10
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
action_date: 2004-03-03
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2004-03-03
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2004-03-03
text: Introduced in House