Date: 2007-10-31
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Thank you. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker. the typical income of American households has actually declined between 2002 and 2006 in inflationadjusted terms. Last year. the number of Americans without health insurance actually increased by over 2 million. For years now. Americans have had to deal with stagnating incomes and rising costs for basics like health care. food. energy and housing. For many reasons. Americans are deeply concerned about the future of their economy and their place in it. One cause of their concern is the negative consequences they see from international trade. Indeed. Americans find themselves increasingly caught in the crosshairs of the global economy. They have watched neighbors. friends and loved ones lose their jobs when plants close and move overseas. Americans have become even more skeptical about trade agreements. and for good reason. They have watched jobs move to China. and in return they get leadpoisoned toys. Given these very real concerns. it is critical that we include in trade agreements strong and enforceable labor and environmental protections. And we must provide substantial assistance to workers who are negatively affected by this trade. On the first part. I want to thank the committee for what they have done in terms of the trade agreements with these labor and environmental protections and I want to thank them for this legislation today. This legislation we are considering addresses this very important point of what happens to those workers who have the negative consequences of international trade. This legislation helps ensure that displaced workers can help make ends meet while they find a new job. or in the case of older workers. until they reach retirement age. The -bill requires a layoff or plant closing notification if 50 or more employees. including parttime employees. at a single job site are laid off in a 30day period. It eliminates a loophole that has allowed employers to avoid giving notices by shifting employees around job sites. The bill increases notice to employees of a plant closing or mass layofffrom 60 to 90 days. and that is very important. And it also says that TAAeligible employees can extend their COBRA coverage for as long as they remain TAAeligible. up to 21/2 years. And TAAeligible employees who are 55 years or older and who have worked for an employer for more than 10 years can extend their COBRA coverage until they are eligible for Medicare at age 65. or covered by another health care plan. The coverage is available to workers today. but only up to 18 months. The bill extends that provision. This is the most important provision for those workers who lose their income and lose their job. trying to hold their families together. and also see the loss of their health care. COBRA is of no cost to the government. The employee must pay the employer share. the employee share. and the 2 percent administrative cost. Over 40 million Americans have used COBRA coverage. But in any given year. only 2 to 3 million Americans are on the program. and close to 200.000 people are losing that coverage every month. This is an important benefit to these workers and certainly to people who have preexisting conditions and know they will not be able to go in and find insurance that they can afford or that is even available to them. It is important that we make certain that these older workers are able to bridge the time until they reach Medicare eligibility so they will have continuity of health care. This is good legislation. I hope my colleagues on the floor will support this legislation.