Senators urge House leaders to pass trade assistance bill
The Hill – Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) joined 13 other senators in sending a letter Thursday to House leadership urging an extension of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program.
The program, set to expire Feb. 12, provides training and wages for workers who lose their jobs because their employers can’t compete with increasing imports.
"Over 360,000 Americans have been certified for TAA assistance over the past two years, and over 40 percent of them were certified because of the improvements to TAA that were enacted in 2006," Brown said. "It is critical that we preserve all these improvements to TAA.”
The House passed an 18-month extension in December by voice vote but the Senate shortened the bill and bickered over other trade issues that halted the bill's clearance by Congress. The program's reauthorization must originate in the House.
