[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1807 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1807

To amend the trade adjustment assistance program under the Trade Act of 
 1974 to establish a demonstration project to provide self-employment 
    training and assistance to eligible adversely affected workers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2003

 Mr. Reynolds introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the trade adjustment assistance program under the Trade Act of 
 1974 to establish a demonstration project to provide self-employment 
    training and assistance to eligible adversely affected workers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Trade Adjustment Assistance for 
Self-Employment Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR SELF-EMPLOYMENT TRAINING AND 
              ASSISTANCE UNDER THE TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Project.--Subchapter C of chapter 2 of title 
II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2311 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 246 the following new section:

``SEC. 246A. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR SELF-EMPLOYMENT TRAINING AND 
              ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
        of enactment of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Self-
        Employment Act of 2003, the Secretary shall establish an 
        alternative trade adjustment assistance program for workers 
        that provides the benefits described in paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Benefits.--
                    ``(A) Training.--A State shall use the funds 
                provided to the State under section 241 to provide, for 
                a period not to exceed 2 years, to a worker described 
                in paragraph (3)(B), self-employment training.
                    ``(B) Payment for start-up costs.--A State shall 
                use the funds provided to the State under section 241 
                to provide to a worker described in paragraph (3)(B) 
                who successfully completes the self-employment training 
                described in subparagraph (A), and for which a self-
                employment business plan described in paragraph 
                (3)(B)(ii) is approved, an amount to pay, in whole or 
                in part, the start up costs attributable to the 
                business enterprise of the individual.
            ``(3) Eligibility.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide the 
                opportunity for 1 or more workers in a group of workers 
                on whose behalf a petition is filed under section 221 
                to request that the individual workers be certified for 
                the alternative trade adjustment assistance program 
                under this section at the time the petition is filed. 
                The Secretary shall determine whether the individual 
                workers in the group are eligible for the alternative 
                trade adjustment assistance program by the date 
                specified in section 223(a).
                    ``(B) Individual eligibility.--A worker that the 
                Secretary has certified as eligible for the alternative 
                trade adjustment assistance program under subparagraph 
                (A) may elect to receive benefits under the alternative 
                trade adjustment assistance program if the worker--
                            ``(i) is covered by a certification under 
                        subchapter A of this chapter;
                            ``(ii) agrees to submit to the appropriate 
                        State agency for approval a self-employment 
                        business plan;
                            ``(iii) is likely to obtain self-employment 
                        in accordance with such plan not later than 26 
                        weeks after the date of separation from the 
                        adversely affected employment;
                            ``(iv) is likely to be engaged in self-
                        employment on a full-time basis; and
                            ``(v) is likely not to return to the 
                        employment from which the worker was separated.
            ``(4) Total amount of payments.--
                    ``(A) Training.--The amount of payments described 
                in paragraph (2)(A) made on behalf of a worker may not 
                exceed $2,500 per worker during the 2-year eligibility 
                period.
                    ``(B) Start-up costs.--The amount of payments 
                described in paragraph (2)(B) made to a worker may not 
                exceed $10,000 per worker during the 2-year eligibility 
                period.
            ``(5) Limitation on other benefits.--Except as provided in 
        section 238(a)(2)(B), if a worker is receiving payments 
        pursuant to the program established under paragraph (1), the 
        worker shall not be eligible to receive any other benefits 
        under this title.
    ``(b) Termination.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), no 
        payments may be made by a State under the program established 
        under subsection (a)(1) after the date that is 5 years after 
        the date on which such program is implemented by the State.
            ``(2) Exception.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a worker 
        receiving payments under the program established under 
        subsection (a)(1) on the termination date described in 
        paragraph (1) shall continue to receive such payments provided 
        that the worker meets the criteria described in subsection 
        (a)(3)(B).
    ``(c) Definition.--In this section, the term `self-employment 
training' means entrepreneurial training, business counseling, 
technical assistance, and related activities, including training and 
services provided by federally-funded resource partners of the Small 
Business Administration, that are engaged in for the purpose of 
establishing a business and becoming self-employed, as approved by the 
appropriate State agency, or the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of the Trade Act 
of 1974 is amended by striking the second item relating to section 246 
and inserting the following:

``Sec. 246. Demonstration project for self-employment training and 
                            assistance.''.

SEC. 3. BENEFIT INFORMATION TO WORKERS.

    Section 225(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2275(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``In providing 
full information to workers about benefit allowances, training, and 
other employment services available under this chapter in accordance 
with this subsection, the Secretary shall include information on the 
demonstration project for self-employment training and assistance under 
section 246A.''.
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