Trade Adjustment Assistance

Floor Speech

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, the job market these days is tough. I have heard from countless Rhode Islanders who have worked all their life, but who have lost their jobs and are now struggling to make ends meet. Sadly, many of these jobs have been lost because big companies are taking advantage of cheaper labor overseas.

We should take action to stop this pattern, and I have introduced legislation to end tax giveaways to companies that ship jobs overseas that I hope we will pass. In the meantime, we need to do everything we can to help those displaced workers get back on their feet.

Therefore, I am pleased that the Senate has acted to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program for American workers who have lost their jobs due to the effects of international trade. TAA benefits are designed to help displaced workers transition back into the job market, and that is precisely what we need during this prolonged period of high unemployment. In my State of Rhode Island, the unemployment rate has been over 10 percent for 30 straight months and currently stands at 10.6 percent.

TAA benefits will help advance our economic recovery and get Americans back to work. In the past 2 years, over 1,400 Rhode Islanders have been helped by the job training services provided through, and the readjustment allowances have offered those workers a modest bridge until they can get back on their feet.

I have said throughout the economic downturn that we need to stand up for people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and this is especially true for trade-displaced workers. President Kennedy made this point when he signed TAA into law in 1962. He said then, regarding the effects of U.S. trade policy on our workers, that ``those injured ..... should not be required to bear the full brunt of the impact. Rather, the burden of economic adjustment should be borne in part by the federal government.''

I know that American workers can compete and succeed in the global markets when given a level playing field. But for too long, our policy has been to encourage cheaper imports from countries with lax environmental standards and few protections for their workers.

TAA benefits help workers in the manufacturing and service sectors to adjust to a rapidly changing global economy. This legislation will ensure that this help remains available, especially with so many people still out of work in Rhode Island and throughout the country.

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