Trade Adjustment Assistance For Workers Reauthorization Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2218 To expand the trade adjustment assistance for workers program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 24, 2021 Ms. STABENOW (for herself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To expand the trade adjustment assistance for workers program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Trade Adjustment Assistance For Workers Reauthoriza- 5 tion Act of 2021’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Subtitle A—Petitions and Determinations VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2218 IS Sec. 101. Filing petitions. Sec. 102. Group eligibility requirements. Sec. 103. Eligibility of staffed workers and teleworkers. Sec. 104. Application of determinations of eligibility to workers employed by successors-in-interest. Sec. 105. Notifications to political subdivisions of certain certifications. Sec. 106. Pilot program for expanded eligibility. Sec. 107. Provision of benefit information to workers. Subtitle B—Program Benefits Sec. 111. Modification of qualifying requirements for workers. Sec. 112. Modifications to trade readjustment allowances. Sec. 113. Automatic extension of trade readjustment allowances. Sec. 114. Employment and case management services. Sec. 115. Training for workers. Subtitle C—Other Matters Sec. 121. Agreements with States. Sec. 122. Eligibility criteria for reemployment trade adjustment assistance. Sec. 123. Subpoena power. Sec. 124. Data collection with respect to training. Subtitle D—General Provisions Sec. 131. Extension of trade adjustment assistance program. Sec. 132. Applicability of trade adjustment assistance provisions. Sec. 133. Sense of Congress. TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTIFICATION ACT Sec. 201. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. TITLE III—HEALTH CARE TAX CREDIT Sec. 301. Permanent credit for health insurance costs. TITLE I—TRADE ADJUSTMENT 1 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 2 Subtitle A—Petitions and 3 Determinations 4 SEC. 101. FILING PETITIONS. 5 Section 221(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 6 U.S.C. 2271(a)(1)) is amended— 7 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 8 follows: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2218 IS ‘‘(A) One or more workers in the group of 1 workers.’’; and 2 (2) in subparagraph (C)— 3 (A) by striking ‘‘or a State dislocated 4 worker unit’’ and inserting ‘‘a State dislocated 5 worker unit’’; and 6 (B) by adding at the end before the period 7 the following: ‘‘, or workforce intermediaries, in- 8 cluding labor-management organizations that 9 carry out re-employment and training services’’. 10 SEC. 102. GROUP ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 222(a)(2) of the Trade 12 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272(a)(2)) is amended— 13 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 14 (A) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or failed to 15 increase’’ after ‘‘absolutely’’; and 16 (B) in clause (iii)— 17 (i) by striking ‘‘to the decline’’ and in- 18 serting ‘‘to any decline or absence of in- 19 crease’’; and 20 (ii) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 21 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the pe- 22 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2218 IS ‘‘(C)(i) the sales or production, or both, of such 1 firm have decreased; 2 ‘‘(ii)(I) exports of articles produced or services 3 supplied by such workers’ firm have decreased; or 4 ‘‘(II) imports of articles or services necessary 5 for the production of articles or services supplied by 6 such firm have decreased; and 7 ‘‘(iii) the decrease in exports or imports de- 8 scribed in clause (ii) contributed to such workers’ 9 separation or threat of separation and to the decline 10 in the sales or production of such firm.’’. 11 (b) REPEAL.—Section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974 12 (19 U.S.C. 2272) is amended— 13 (1) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking ‘‘im- 14 portantly’’ each place it appears; and 15 (2) in subsection (c)— 16 (A) by striking paragraph (1); and 17 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 18 through (4) as paragraphs (1) through (3), re- 19 spectively. 20 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY OF STAFFED WORKERS AND TELE- 21 WORKERS. 22 Section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 23 2272) is amended by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2218 IS ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF STAFFED WORKERS AND TELE- 1 WORKERS.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 3 (a), workers in a firm include staffed workers and 4 teleworkers. 5 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 6 ‘‘(A) STAFFED WORKER.—The term 7 ‘staffed worker’ means a worker who performs 8 work under the operational control of a firm 9 that is the subject of a petition filed under sec- 10 tion 221, even if the worker is directly em- 11 ployed by another firm. 12 ‘‘(B) TELEWORKER.—The term ‘tele- 13 worker’ means a worker who works remotely 14 but who reports to the location listed for a firm 15 in a petition filed under section 221.’’. 16 SEC. 104. APPLICATION OF DETERMINATIONS OF ELIGI- 17 BILITY TO WORKERS EMPLOYED BY SUCCES- 18 SORS-IN-INTEREST. 19 Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 20 2273) is further amended by adding at the end the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF WORKERS OF SUCCESSORS-IN- 23 INTEREST.—If the Secretary certifies a group of workers 24 of a firm as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2218 IS under this chapter, a worker of a successor-in-interest to 1 that firm shall be covered by the certification to the same 2 extent as a worker of that firm.’’. 3 SEC. 105. NOTIFICATIONS TO POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF 4 CERTAIN CERTIFICATIONS. 5 Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 6 2273), as amended by section 104, is further amended by 7 adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(g) NOTIFICATIONS TO POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS 9 OF CERTAIN CERTIFICATIONS.— 10 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION TO SECRETARY OF COM- 11 MERCE.—Upon issuing a certification or certifi- 12 cations of eligibility under subsection (a) pursuant 13 to one or more petitions filed under section 221 cov- 14 ering more than 1,000 workers within a political 15 subdivision during a calendar year, the Secretary 16 shall notify the Secretary of Commerce. 17 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO POLITICAL SUBDIVI- 18 SIONS.—Upon receiving a notification under para- 19 graph (1) with respect to a political subdivision, the 20 Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assist- 21 ant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Develop- 22 ment, shall— 23 ‘‘(A) notify the political subdivision of eco- 24 nomic assistance grants, loans, and other finan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2218 IS cial assistance available from the Economic De- 1 velopment Administration; and 2 ‘‘(B) if the political subdivision applies for 3 any such assistance and meets the requirements 4 for receiving the assistance, provide the political 5 subdivision with priority for receiving that as- 6 sistance.’’. 7 SEC. 106. PILOT PROGRAM FOR EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY. 8 Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 9 2273), as amended by section 105, is further amended by 10 adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(h) PILOT PROGRAM FOR EXPANDED ELIGI- 12 BILITY.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor 14 may establish a pilot program under which the Sec- 15 retary may certify under subsection (a) as eligible to 16 apply for adjustment assistance under this sub- 17 chapter groups of workers who do not meet the eligi- 18 bility requirements under section 222. 19 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary may not 20 provide to workers covered by a certification of eligi- 21 bility under paragraph (1) benefits that are reduced 22 relative to the benefits received by other workers 23 under this subchapter. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2218 IS ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Before im- 1 plementing the pilot program under paragraph (1), 2 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 3 includes— 4 ‘‘(A) a detailed plan for the program; and 5 ‘‘(B) a justification for each requirement 6 under section 222 to be waived under the pro- 7 gram. 8 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—The pilot program under 9 paragraph (1) shall terminate at such time as the 10 Secretary considers appropriate. 11 ‘‘(5) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 12 days after the termination under paragraph (4) of 13 the pilot program under paragraph (1), the Sec- 14 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the out- 15 comes for the workers who participated in the pro- 16 gram.’’. 17 SEC. 107. PROVISION OF BENEFIT INFORMATION TO WORK- 18 ERS. 19 Section 225 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 20 2275) is amended— 21 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after the sec- 22 ond sentence the following new sentence: ‘‘The Sec- 23 retary shall make every effort to provide such infor- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2218 IS mation and assistance to workers in their native lan- 1 guage.’’; and 2 (2) in subsection (b)— 3 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 4 paragraph (3); 5 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 6 following: 7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall provide a second notice to 8 a worker described in paragraph (1) before the worker has 9 exhausted all rights to any unemployment insurance to 10 which the worker is entitled (other than additional com- 11 pensation described in section 231(a)(3)(B) funded by a 12 State and not reimbursed from Federal funds).’’; 13 (C) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by 14 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘print or dig- 15 ital’’ before ‘‘newspapers’’; and 16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(4) For purposes of providing outreach regarding 18 the benefits available under this chapter to workers cov- 19 ered by a certification made under this subchapter, the 20 Secretary may take any necessary actions, including the 21 following: 22 ‘‘(A) Collecting the email addresses and tele- 23 phone numbers of such workers from the employers 24 of such workers to provide outreach to such workers. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2218 IS ‘‘(B) Partnering with the certified or recognized 1 union, a community-based worker organization, or 2 other duly authorized representatives of such work- 3 ers. 4 ‘‘(C) Hiring peer support workers to perform 5 outreach to other workers covered by that certifi- 6 cation. 7 ‘‘(D) Using advertising methods and public in- 8 formation campaigns, including social media, in ad- 9 dition to notice published in print or digital news- 10 papers under paragraph (3).’’. 11 Subtitle B—Program Benefits 12 SEC. 111. MODIFICATION OF QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS 13 FOR WORKERS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(a) of the Trade Act 15 of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2291(a)) is amended— 16 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 17 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and 18 (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; and 19 (3) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by para- 20 graph (2), by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’ 21 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 23 (1) WEEKLY AMOUNTS.—Section 232 of the 24 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2292) is amended by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2218 IS striking ‘‘section 231(a)(3)(B)’’ each place it ap- 1 pears and inserting ‘‘section 231(a)(2)(B)’’. 2 (2) LIMITATIONS.—Section 233(a) of the Trade 3 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2293(a)) is amended— 4 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 5 231(a)(3)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 6 231(a)(2)(A)’’; and 7 (B) in paragraph (2)— 8 (i) by striking ‘‘adversely affected em- 9 ployment’’ and all that follows through 10 ‘‘(A) within’’ and inserting ‘‘adversely af- 11 fected employment within’’; 12 (ii) by striking ‘‘, and’’ and inserting 13 a period; and 14 (iii) by striking subparagraph (B). 15 SEC. 112. MODIFICATIONS TO TRADE READJUSTMENT AL- 16 LOWANCES. 17 (a) PAYMENT TO COMPLETE TRAINING.—Section 18 233 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2293) is amend- 19 ed— 20 (1) in subsection (a)— 21 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting after 22 ‘‘104-week period’’ the following: ‘‘(or, in the 23 case of an adversely affected worker who re- 24 quires a program of prerequisite education or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2218.IS S2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2218 IS remedial education (as described in section 1 236(a)(5)(D)) in order to complete training ap- 2 proved for the worker under section 236, the 3 130-week period)’’; 4 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘65 addi- 5 tional weeks in the 78-week period’’ and insert- 6 ing ‘‘78 additional weeks in the 91-week pe- 7 riod’’; and 8 (C) in the flush text, by striking ‘‘78-week 9 period’’ and inserting ‘‘91-week period’’; and 10 (2) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol- 11 lows: 12 ‘‘(f) PAYMENT OF TRADE READJUSTMENT ALLOW- 13 ANCES TO COMPLETE TRAINING.—Notwithstanding any 14 other provision of this section, in order to assist an ad- 15 versely affected worker to complete training approved for 16 the worker under section 236 that includes a program of 17 prerequisite education or remedial education (as described 18 in section 236(a)(5)(D)), and in acco [Text truncated for display. 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