Dear john,

Today, I led an effort to reauthorize the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, a critical program that helps workers affected by import competition obtain skills and credentials to take on new, well-paying jobs.

More than 2.5 million American workers have participated in TAA since Congress first established the program in 1974. TAA now assists almost 100,000 workers annually, providing tuition-free job training, relocation allowances, income support, and a health coverage tax credit. The program expired on July 1, 2022, at which point the Department of Labor stopped accepting new applications and began phasing out activities.

For more than five months, displaced American workers have been unable to apply for the benefits upon which they have been able to depend for nearly half a century. Congress recently made significant investments in infrastructure, semiconductors, and green technology. TAA has clear benefits for displaced American workers, but it also has an important role to play in supporting America’s changing manufacturing sector.

So, I sent a letter urging Congressional leadership to reauthorize TAA immediately and prepare American workers for future manufacturing jobs.

Thank you to AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, San Antonio AFL-CIO President Tom Cummins, and Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy for your support and input on this matter.

Joining me on this letter were Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Donald Norcross (NJ-1), Pat Ryan (NY-19), Mark Pocan (WI-2), Bill Pascrell (NJ-9), Chellie Pingree (ME-1), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), Tom Suozzi (NY-3), Nikema Williams (GA-5), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Linda Sanchez (CA-38), Cindy Axne (IA-3), Al Green (TX-9), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Susan Wild (PA-7), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), André Carson (IN-7), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Raul Grijalva (AZ-3), Brian Higgins (NY-26), John Larson (CT-3), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Dina Titus (NV-3), Dwight Evans (PA-3), Ro Khanna (CA-17), and Angie Craig (MN-2).

To view a copy of the letter, click here.