Assistance for Workers Harmed by COVID–19 Act

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6205 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6205

  To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide adjustment assistance to 
  certain workers adversely affected by disruptions in global supply 
chains from the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2020

 Ms. DelBene introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to provide adjustment assistance to 
  certain workers adversely affected by disruptions in global supply 
chains from the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), 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 ``Assistance for Workers Harmed by 
COVID-19 Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In recognition that trade policy can result in 
        disparate and disruptive changes to the economy, the Trade 
        Adjustment Assistance program was enacted to help workers 
        adversely impacted by global trade.
            (2) The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has severely 
        disrupted global supply chains due to China's role as the main 
        supplier of intermediate outputs for manufacturing companies 
        around the world. A drop in the Chinese supply of these inputs 
        negatively impacts production for American manufacturers.
            (3) COVID-19 has also depressed cargo volumes at major 
        ports in the United States and closed off certain foreign 
        markets to American exporters.
            (4) Workers adversely impacted by these effects deserve 
        access to trade adjustment assistance.

SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR DISRUPTIONS IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS 
              CAUSED BY THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19).

    Section 222(a)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272(a)(2)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ``or'' at the 
        end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C)(i) the sales or production, or both, of such 
                firm have decreased absolutely;
                    ``(ii)(I) exports of articles produced or services 
                supplied by such firm have decreased, or
                    ``(II) imports of articles used in the production 
                of articles described in subclause (I) have decreased,
                in whole or in part from disruptions in global supply 
                chains affected by the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19); 
                and
                    ``(iii) the decrease in exports described in clause 
                (ii)(I) or the decrease in imports described in clause 
                (ii)(II), as the case may be, contributed importantly 
                to such workers' separation or threat of separation and 
                to the decrease in the sales or production of such 
                firm.''.
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