TAA for Automation Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3034 To make trade adjustment assistance available to workers whose jobs are eliminated through automation, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 12, 2019 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Ms. STABENOW, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Ms. COR- TEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To make trade adjustment assistance available to workers whose jobs are eliminated through automation, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘TAA for Automation 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3034.IS S3034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 3034 IS SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF WORKERS WHOSE JOBS ARE ELIMI- 1 NATED THROUGH AUTOMATION FOR TRADE 2 ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 222(a)(2) of the Trade 4 Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272(a)(2)) is amended— 5 (1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 6 and inserting a semicolon; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(C)(i) there has been a shift in production of 9 articles or supply of services by such workers’ firm 10 from utilizing the workers to methods or systems 11 primarily utilizing automation; and 12 ‘‘(ii) the shift described in clause (i) contributed 13 importantly to such workers’ separation or threat of 14 separation; or 15 ‘‘(D)(i) the sales or production, or both, of such 16 firm have decreased absolutely; and 17 ‘‘(ii) the use of automation in the production of 18 articles or services like or directly competitive with 19 articles produced or services supplied by such firm 20 has increased; and 21 ‘‘(iii) the increase in the use of automation de- 22 scribed in clause (ii) contributed importantly to such 23 workers’ separation or threat of separation and to 24 the decline in the sales or production of such firm.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3034.IS S3034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 3034 IS (b) AUTOMATION DEFINED.—Section 222(c) of the 1 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272(c)) is amended— 2 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 3 (4) as paragraphs (2) through (5), respectively; and 4 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes- 5 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 6 ‘‘(1) AUTOMATION.—The term ‘automation’ 7 means using technology to produce a good or service 8 previously produced by human work.’’. 9 (c) SPECIFICATION OF BASIS FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 10 Section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272) 11 is amended by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(f) SPECIFICATION OF BASIS FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 13 When the Secretary certifies a group of workers under this 14 section as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance, the 15 Secretary shall specify in the certification the basis for the 16 eligibility of the group under subsection (a).’’. 17 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsections (b) 18 and (c) of section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 19 U.S.C. 2272) are amended by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ 20 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) or 21 (B) of subsection (a)(2)’’. 22 (e) REGULATIONS; RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 23 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 24 the Secretary of Labor shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3034.IS S3034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 3034 IS (1) prescribe regulations to carry out the 1 amendments made by this section; and 2 (2) submit to Congress a report that includes 3 recommendations for any changes to law necessary 4 to carry out the amendments made by this section, 5 including any changes to section 236(a)(2)(A) of the 6 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(2)(A)). 7 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 8 this section shall— 9 (1) take effect on the date that is 2 years after 10 the date of the enactment of this Act; and 11 (2) apply with respect to petitions for certifi- 12 cations of eligibility filed under section 221 of the 13 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2271) on or after the 14 date described in paragraph (1). 15 SEC. 3. WORKFORCE ADVISORY BOARD OR SUBCOMMITTEE 16 ON AUTOMATION. 17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Labor shall 18 establish an advisory board, or form a subcommittee of 19 an advisory board that exists as of the date of the enact- 20 ment of this Act, to provide recommendations to the Sec- 21 retary on addressing the impact of automation on the 22 workforce, including matters relating to jobs and occupa- 23 tions at risk of elimination as a result of automation. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3034.IS S3034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 3034 IS (b) MEMBERSHIP.—In establishing the advisory 1 board or subcommittee under subsection (a), the Secretary 2 shall ensure that the advisory board or subcommittee con- 3 sists of nationally representative members, including the 4 balanced participation of— 5 (1) State boards, as defined in section 3 of the 6 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 7 U.S.C. 3102); 8 (2) labor organizations; 9 (3) industry representatives; 10 (4) nonprofit entities, or community-based or- 11 ganizations, with experience researching the impact 12 of automation on the workforce; 13 (5) academic experts in the field of workforce 14 development, labor economics, and program evalua- 15 tion; 16 (6) engineering and technology experts, such as 17 experts from the National Institute of Standards 18 and Technology; and 19 (7) any other stakeholders the Secretary con- 20 siders appropriate. 21 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than an- 23 nually, the advisory board or subcommittee estab- 24 lished under subsection (a) shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3034.IS S3034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 3034 IS (A) identify— 1 (i) occupations at risk of elimination 2 as a result of automation; and 3 (ii) occupations experiencing above av- 4 erage decline for which there is evidence 5 that technological advancement has con- 6 tributed to that decline; 7 (B) evaluate strategies for workforce devel- 8 opment based on measurements of impact on 9 the workforce due to automation and on other 10 relevant evidence; and 11 (C) provide recommendations to the Sec- 12 retary and to Congress based on that evalua- 13 tion. 14 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary shall dis- 15 seminate the strategies recommended under para- 16 graph (1) to relevant stakeholders and make such 17 strategies available to the public. 18 (d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 19 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 20 apply to the advisory board or subcommittee established 21 under subsection (a). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3034.IS S3034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 3034 IS (e) AUTOMATION DEFINED.—In this section, the 1 term ‘‘automation’’ means using technology to produce a 2 good or service previously produced by human work. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3034.IS S3034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS