Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act

Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to repeal group eligibility requirements for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) 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; or (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.

Requires the Secretary of Labor, with respect to textile and apparel workers, to make group eligibility determinations without regard to the sales, imports, and production factors of the group eligibility requirements.

Requires funds provided to a state to cover the administrative costs associated with its TAA responsibilities to be sufficient to cover all costs associated with operating the program, including caseworker costs.

Increases the amount of payments for training of adversely affected workers under the Act.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the credit for health insurance costs of certain TAA and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) pension recipients.

Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Labor each to carry out compatible and coordinated programs to simplify the TAA and credit eligibility process.

[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1729 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1729

  To amend the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to the trade adjustment 
              assistance program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 28, 2007

Mr. Hayes (for himself, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. McHenry, Mr. Coble, Mr. Price 
  of North Carolina, Mr. Etheridge, Mr. Butterfield, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. 
  Shuler, Mr. Miller of North Carolina, and Mr. Watt) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to the trade adjustment 
              assistance program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF DISPLACED TEXTILE AND APPAREL WORKERS FOR TRADE 
              ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE.

    Section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``A group'' and inserting ``Subject to 
                subsection (d), a group''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by amending clause (ii) to 
                read as follows:
            ``(ii) 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.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Textile and Apparel Workers.--In the case of workers in a 
firm that produces textiles or apparel products, the Secretary shall 
make the determination under subsection (a) of the eligibility of such 
workers for trade adjustment assistance under this chapter without 
regard to paragraph (2) of subsection (a).''.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR STATES.

     Section 241 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2313) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Funds that the Secretary provides to a State to cover 
administrative costs associated with the performance of the State's 
responsibilities under section 239 shall be sufficient to cover all 
costs of the State associated with operating the trade adjustment 
assistance program, including case worker costs.''.

SEC. 4. INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR TRAINING.

    Section 236(a)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2296(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``$220,000,000'' and inserting 
``$440,000,000''.

SEC. 5. INCREASE IN CREDIT FOR HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS OF TAA AND PBGC 
              PENSION RECIPIENTS; SIMPLIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY 
              DETERMINATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 35 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``65 percent'' and 
inserting ``80 percent''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (b) of section 7527 of such 
Code is amended by striking ``65 percent'' and inserting ``80 
percent''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to amounts paid in taxable years beginning after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (d) Joint Program To Simplify TAA Process.--The Secretary of the 
Treasury and the Secretary of Labor shall each, after consultation with 
each other, carry out compatible and coordinated programs to simplify 
the process for individuals to become eligible for a trade readjustment 
allowance, the credit allowed under section 35 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, and the program for the advance payment of such credit 
under section 7527 of such Code.
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