WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today warned that Rhode Island could lose millions of dollars in federal assistance if Senate Republicans block an extension to critical provisions of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (TAA), which are currently set to expire at midnight tonight. 

In 2009, TAA was expanded to all service workers, and added six additional months of job training with income support for eligible participants under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). However, after these provisions expire tonight, only manufacturing workers will be covered under TAA, and participants will ultimately get less training under the program. In addition, individuals currently receiving TAA, as well as those who receive it going forward, will see only 65% of their qualified health premiums covered by the Health Coverage Tax Cut, a 15% decrease from total coverage provided by the expiring ARRA provisions.

"At a time when Americans are still struggling to look for work and make ends meet, the last thing we should be doing is cutting critical job-training programs that provide critical assistance. First Republicans gave tax breaks to corporations to ship jobs overseas and now they are blocking a renewal of help to those who have seen plants here at home shut down. This program provides support and job training for workers who are trying to learn a new trade and get back to work. Without these provisions, over 500 Rhode Islanders would not have received benefits in the past year," said Reed.  

According to the Administration, 170,000 Americans will lose access to the job training they need to provide for their families and compete in the global economy if Congress fails to extend these provisions beyond today.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, administered by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, provides aid to workers

who have become unemployed as a result of increased imports from, or shifts in production to, foreign countries.  The goal of the program is to help these workers return to suitable employment as quickly as possible.  To facilitate this goal, TAA certified workers may access services that can include job training, income support, relocation allowances, job search allowances, and a health coverage tax credit.

For more information on TAA, or instructions on how to file a petition online before tonight at 11:59 p.m. in order to be considered for TAA benefits and services at the 2009 level, please visit the U.S. Department of Labor website at http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/.