On the recordSeptember 22, 2011
I will be brief. The amendment is simple and straightforward. It just returns the TAA Program back to its original intent. It was designed to help workers who were displaced from their jobs or lost their jobs as a result of trade practices, primarily as a result of free-trade agreements between the United States and other countries. It is one of the reasons why, I believe, the majority has brought this issue before us before proceeding to the free-trade agreements with South Korea, with Panama, and with Colombia. What this does is it returns it back to that. It clearly recognizes there are workers who have been hurt by unfair trade practices unrelated to trade agreements, whether it is what China does or other nations do, and those things need to be dealt with, but they need to be dealt with separately. This program was originally designed to help workers who were harmed in the short term. That is why it is called adjustment. These are workers who are trying to adjust as a result of some disruptions that may have occurred as a result of a trade agreement. I think what we can take solace in knowing is that the best thing you can do for a worker who has lost his job is to get him a job. Ultimately, that is what free-trade agreements do. They create jobs in America, as the White House has recognized.…
