New Democrat Coalition Leadership Urges Colleagues to Support Upcoming Trade Adjustment Assistance and Preferences Bill
Washington, DC – Today, Leaders of the New Democrat Coalition strongly urged their colleagues to support the reauthorization of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) program and the extension of many trade preferences, including the African Growth & Opportunity Act. These have been long held and unifying priorities for the Democratic party.
“On a level playing field American workers can out-compete anyone in the world,” said the New Democrat Coalition Leaders. “Trade Adjustment Assistance helps trade-affected workers get the job training and education they need to quickly reenter the workforce. Since the program lapsed in 2014, the current TAA program has become inadequate. For American workers and our nation’s economic future Democrats and Republicans must come together to pass the TAA reauthorization bill. If not, thousands of workers will continue to be shut out of this vital program and the program will ultimately expire on September 30.”
For 40 years, the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers program has served as the United States' only workforce program specifically targeting reemployment of workers dislocated from jobs due to the negative effects of competition in the global marketplace. Since the inception of the Trade Act of 1974, roughly 2.2 million American workers have used the TAA program for skill enhancement, credential attainment, and other resources and support for reemployment.
For years, New Dems have been strong leaders for reauthorizing and improving the TAA program. A majority of the New Democrat Coalition Members supported its passage when the House last considered TAA.
New Democrat Coalition Leadership Members Ron Kind, Gerry Connolly, Jim Himes, Jared Polis, John Carney, and Derek Kilmer along with Trade Taskforce Co-Chairs Rick Larsen and Greg Meeks endorsed this statement.
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