Trade Adjustment Assistance Program

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, or TAA, which provides a lifeline to workers who have lost their jobs due to outsourcing or other trade-related business decisions.

TAA provides up to 2 years of robust job training benefits, and according to the U.S. Census, recipients increase their earnings by an average of over $50,000 over a 10-year period.

This is not just an economically sound thing to do, it is the right thing to do. We cannot realize the full benefits of trade if we are leaving our friends and our neighbors behind.

In my home State of Connecticut alone, over a thousand people have been helped by this program to find new jobs and to improve their skills, according to the Department of Labor.

Unfortunately, the program expired 2 years ago, and Congress has failed to reauthorize it. That means over 121,00 workers who have submitted petitions seeking resources to improve their job skills have been ignored.

Elected officials on both sides of the aisle like to talk about supporting American workers. It is time that we put our money where our mouth is.

I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the American Worker and Trade Competitiveness Act and demand that it be brought to a vote.

The American people are watching. They want to know if we have their back. We cannot afford to wait any longer.

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