Displaced Worker Assistance and Pending Free Trade Agreements
On September 22, the Senate passed legislation renewing an aid and retraining program for workers who have lost their jobs because of overseas competition ― a move that paves the way for congressional passage of three long-stalled free trade agreements. The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Extension Act, which passed by a 70-to-27 vote, offers displaced workers such benefits and services as job training, job search and relocation allowances, income support, and assistance with health care costs. The bill passed as an amendment to legislation to provide for an extension of the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program, an expired program…
