American Worker Transition and Community Assistance Act

Bill: 111-s-2742
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2009-11-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advisory bodies
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Department of Commerce
Economic development
Employment and training programs
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Executive agency funding and structure
Government trust funds
Infrastructure development
Labor-management relations
Manufacturing
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2009-11-05
text: 
American Worker Transition and Community Assistance Act - Declares that the purposes of this Act are to ensure that groups of workers and communities adversely affected by federal climate change policy receive certain employment and training services and economic adjustment assistance, respectively.
 
Establishes the Climate Change Worker and Community Assistance Fund.
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a Climate Change Worker and Community Assistance Program. 
 
Authorizes certain groups of adversely affected workers to petition the Secretary of Labor and the governor of the state for certification of eligibility to apply for Program benefits, including a climate change adjustment allowance, employment services and training as well as on-the-job training, a job search allowance, a relocation allowance, a health allowance, and lump sum payments to employee retirement plans.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with cooperating states in providing program benefits to adversely affected workers.
 
Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for fraud committed by persons applying for Program benefits.
 
Establishes the National Climate Change Advisory Committee to formulate, and submit to the President, Secretary, and the appropriate congressional committees, a strategic plan for addressing the effect of federal climate change policy on each segment of the workforce.
 
Establishes in the Department of Commerce an Office of Climate Change Community Economic Adjustment.
 
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Climate Change Community Economic Adjustment Program.
 
Authorizes a community that includes a group of adversely affected workers certified eligible for climate change readjustment allowances to petition the Secretary of Commerce for a determination that it is adversely affected by federal climate change policy. Requires the Secretary of Commerce in affirmative determinations to certify the community as eligible for economic adjustment assistance under the Program.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to award grants to an eligible community to: (1) develop, and update, a strategic plan for the redevelopment and economic adjustment of the community; and (2) carry out one or more projects or training programs that is consistent with its plan.
 
Subjects all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on projects funded under this Act to prevailing wage rate requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-11-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-11-05
text: Introduced in Senate