[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 25 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2003-S2004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. Coleman, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Wyden, 
        Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Carper, Mr. 
        Bingaman, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Bayh, Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Landrieu, 
        Mrs. Murray, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Biden, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. 
        Reid):
  S. 2157. A bill to amend the Trade Act of 1974 to extend the trade 
adjustment assistance program to the services sector, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Trade 
Adjustment Assistance Equity for Service Workers Act.
  Since 1962, Trade Adjustment Assistance--what we call ``TAA''--has 
provided retraining, income support, and other benefits so that workers 
who lose their jobs due to trade can make a new start.
  The rationale for TAA is simple. When our government pursues trade 
liberalization, we create benefits for the economy as a whole. But 
there is always some dislocation from trade.
  As President Kennedy said, ``those injured by . . . trade competition 
should not be required to bear the full brunt of the impact.'' ``There 
is an obligation,'' he said, for the Federal Government ``to render 
assistance to those who suffer as a result of national trade policy.'' 
We meet that obligation through TAA.
  The TAA program has not been static over time. Several times, 
Congress has revised the program to meet new economic realities. In 
1993, for example, Congress created a new TAA program targeted 
specifically at workers who might suffer dislocation as a result of the 
North American Free Trade Agreement.
  Most recently, in the Trade Act of 2002, Congress completed the most 
comprehensive overhaul and expansion of the TAA program since its 
inception.
  We expanded the program to cover workers affected by shifts in 
production, secondary workers, and farmers, ranchers, and fishermen. We 
extended income support to permit workers to complete needed training.
  We added wage insurance and other incentives to employers to promote 
on-the-job training. And we added a health insurance tax credit, so 
that workers don't need to choose between needed retraining and health 
care for their families.
  I am very proud to have played a leading role in passing this 
landmark legislation. But I am also the first to admit that our work is 
not done. Economic realities continue to change, and TAA must continue 
to change with them.
  One fundamental aspect of TAA that has remained unchanged since 1962 
is its focus on manufacturing. We only give TAA benefits to workers who 
make things. That means that the 80 percent or more of American workers 
in the service sector cannot access this program.
  Excluding service workers from TAA may have made sense in 1962, when 
most non-farm jobs were in manufacturing and most services were not 
traded across national borders.
  But today, most U.S. jobs are in the service sector. And the market 
for many services is becoming just as global as the market for 
manufactured goods.
  In 2001, the service sector accounted for 81 percent of U.S. private 
sector gross domestic product and a similar percentage of total U.S. 
employment. Although trade in goods continues to dominate, cross-border 
services trade rose to 21 percent of the total value of U.S. trade in 
2001.
  Trade in services is a net plus for the U.S. economy. In fact, the 
service sector generated a trade surplus of nearly $74 billion in 2001.
  Just as we have seen with trade in manufactured goods, however, trade 
in services will inevitably cost some workers their jobs.
  Indeed, there have been some well-publicized examples in the papers. 
Software design. Technical support. Accounting and tax preparation 
services. Just recently, a group of call center workers in Kalispell, 
Montana saw their jobs move to Canada.
  Examples abound of service-sector jobs--even high tech service jobs--
relocating overseas. Over the past three years, somewhere between a 
quarter and a half million service jobs have moved to other--mainly 
low-wage--countries.
  The legislation that I am introducing today is a simple matter of 
equity. When a factory relocates to another country, those workers are 
eligible for TAA. When a call center moves to another country, those 
workers are not eligible for TAA. But they should be. And under this 
legislation they will.
  This bill provides TAA benefits to three categories of trade-impacted 
service workers:
  First, it covers workers who lose their jobs due to competition from 
imported services. For example, if a U.S. truck driver loses his job 
because his employer loses routes to a Mexican-domiciled trucking 
company, the U.S. driver would be eligible for TAA.
  Second, it covers workers who lose their jobs when a service facility 
relocates overseas as, for example, in the case of a call center or 
software design operation.
  These workers would be eligible if their employer opens an overseas 
facility, or--as is often the case--if the employer contracts out the 
jobs to a foreign service provider. This ``offshoring'' eligibility 
would apply to both private and public sector service workers whose 
jobs relocate overseas.
  Third, the bill covers secondary service workers. Secondary workers 
are those who provide inputs to a primary firm where the workers are 
eligible for TAA.
  Right now, workers who make parts for manufactured products are 
covered if they lose their jobs when the primary firm closes. But 
workers who supply services to a TAA-eligible firm do not. This bill 
corrects that inequity.
  The benefits service workers will receive under this legislation 
would be exactly the same as those that trade-impacted manufacturing 
workers now receive. They include retraining, income support, job 
search and relocation allowances, and the health insurance tax credit.
  The bill also expands the TAA for Firms program to cover services. 
The TAA for Firms program provides technical assistance to mostly small 
and medium-sized businesses that face layoffs due to import 
competition.
  The program helps firms become more competitive so they can retain 
and expand employment. As with TAA for workers, there is no reason to 
exclude businesses that provide services from this program.
  Hard-working American service workers deserve this safety net. 
Despite what some opponents of TAA suggest, no worker would choose to 
lose his job so he can qualify for TAA. These benefits will always be 
second best to a job. But they can really make a difference in helping 
workers make a new start.
  It is also critical to note that TAA can make an important difference 
in public attitudes. Surveys show that most Americans feel a lot more 
comfortable with globalization and with trade agreements when they know 
they will get help if their jobs are threatened.
  That's why 66 percent of Americans responding to a recent poll agreed 
with the following statement: ``I favor free trade, and I believe that 
it is necessary for the government to have programs to help workers who 
lose their jobs.''
  The world is changing and TAA must keep up with the times. This bill 
will

[[Page S2004]]

help our government to keep its promise to the American people to make 
trade work for everyone.
  I want to thank my colleagues who have joined me in co-sponsoring 
this important legislation, particularly Senator Coleman. I've also 
been working closely with Members in the House, including 
Representatives Smith, Holden, Inslee, Rangel, and Levin.
  I know they share my interest in seeing this bill move quickly 
through the legislative process and I thank them for their support. I 
plan to work hard this year to move this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2157

       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 
     Equity For Service Workers Act of 2004''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE TO SERVICES 
                   SECTOR.

       (a) Adjustment Assistance for Workers.--Section 
     221(a)(1)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
     2271(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``firm)'' and inserting 
     ``firm, and workers in a service sector firm or subdivision 
     of a service sector firm or public agency)''.
       (b) Group Eligibility Requirements.--Section 222 of the 
     Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``agricultural firm)'' and inserting ``agricultural firm, and 
     workers in a service sector firm or subdivision of a service 
     sector firm or public agency)'';
       (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or public agency'' 
     after ``of the firm''; and
       (C) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``like or directly 
     competitive with articles produced'' and inserting ``or 
     services like or directly competitive with articles produced 
     or services provided'';
       (ii) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) 
     and inserting ``; or''; and
       (iii) by adding after subparagraph (B) the following:
       ``(C)(i) there has been a shift, by such workers' firm, 
     subdivision, or public agency to a foreign country, in 
     provision of services, like or directly competitive with 
     services which are provided by such firm, subdivision, or 
     public agency; or
       ``(ii) such workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency 
     has obtained or is likely to obtain such services from a 
     foreign country.'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``agricultural firm)'' and inserting ``agricultural firm, and 
     workers in a service sector firm or subdivision of a service 
     sector firm or public agency)'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or service'' after 
     ``related to the article''; and
       (C) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ``or services'' after 
     ``component parts'';
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) by inserting ``or services'' after ``value-added 
     production processes'';
       (ii) by striking ``or finishing'' and inserting ``, 
     finishing, or testing'';
       (iii) by inserting ``or services'' after ``for articles''; 
     and
       (iv) by inserting ``(or subdivision)'' after ``such other 
     firm''; and
       (B) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) by striking ``for articles'' and inserting ``, or 
     services, for articles or services, used in the production of 
     articles or in the provision of services''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``(or subdivision)'' after ``such other 
     firm''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Basis for Secretary's Determinations.--
       ``(1) Increased imports.--For purposes of subsection 
     (a)(2)(A)(ii), the Secretary may determine that increased 
     imports of like or directly competitive services exist if the 
     workers' firm or subdivision or customers of the workers' 
     firm or subdivision accounting for not less than 20 percent 
     of the sales of the workers' firm or subdivision certify to 
     the Secretary that they are obtaining such articles or 
     services from a foreign country.
       ``(2) Obtaining services abroad.--For purposes of 
     subsection (a)(2)(C)(ii), the Secretary may determine that 
     the workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency has obtained 
     or is likely to obtain like or directly competitive services 
     from a foreign country based on a certification thereof from 
     the workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency.
       ``(3) Authority of the secretary.--The Secretary may obtain 
     the certifications under paragraphs (1) and (2) through 
     questionnaires or in such other manner as the Secretary 
     determines is appropriate.''.
       (c) Training.--Section 236(a)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 
     1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking 
     ``$220,000,000'' and inserting ``$440,000,000''.
       (d) Definitions.--Section 247 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
     U.S.C. 2319) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by inserting ``or public agency'' after ``of a firm''; 
     and
       (B) by inserting ``or public agency'' after ``or 
     subdivision'';
       (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ``or public agency'' 
     after ``the firm'';
       (3) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (17) as 
     paragraphs (9) through (18), respectively; and
       (4) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
       ``(7) The term `public agency' means a department or agency 
     of a State or local government or of the Federal Government.
       ``(8) The term `service sector firm' means an entity 
     engaged in the business of providing services.''.
       (e) Technical Amendment.--Section 245(a) of the Trade Act 
     of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2317(a)) is amended by striking ``, other 
     than subchapter D''.

     SEC. 3. TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR FIRMS AND INDUSTRIES.

       (a) Firms.--
       (1) Assistance.--Section 251 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
     U.S.C. 2341) is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or service sector 
     firm'' after ``(including any agricultural firm'';
       (B) in subsection (c)(1)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 
     ``or service sector firm'' after ``any agricultural firm'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting ``or service'' 
     after ``of an article''; and
       (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``articles like or 
     directly competitive with articles which are produced'' and 
     inserting ``articles or services like or directly competitive 
     with articles or services which are produced or provided''; 
     and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Basis for Secretary Determination.--
       ``(1) Increased imports.--For purposes of subsection 
     (c)(1)(C), the Secretary may determine that increases of 
     imports of like or directly competitive services exist if 
     customers of the firm accounting for not less than 20 percent 
     of the sales of the firm certify to the Secretary that they 
     are obtaining such articles or services from a foreign 
     country.
       ``(2) Authority of the secretary.--The Secretary may obtain 
     the certifications under paragraph (1) through questionnaires 
     or in such other manner as the Secretary determines is 
     appropriate. The subpoena power described in section 249 
     shall be extended to the Secretary of Commerce for purposes 
     of carrying out this subsection.''.
       (2) Authorization of appropriations.--Section 256(b) of the 
     Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2346(b)) is amended by striking 
     ``$16,000,000'' and inserting ``$32,000,000''.
       (3) Definition.--Section 261 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
     U.S.C. 2351) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``For purposes of'' and inserting ``(a) 
     Firm.--For purposes of''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Service Sector Firm.--For purposes of this chapter, 
     the term `service sector firm' means a firm engaged in the 
     business of providing services.''.
       (b) Industries.--Section 265(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 
     (19 U.S.C. 2355(a)) is amended by inserting ``or service'' 
     after ``new product''.
       (c) Technical Amendments.--Section 249 of the Trade Act of 
     1974 (19 U.S.C. 2321) is amended by striking ``subpena'' and 
     inserting ``subpoena'' each place it appears in the heading 
     and the text.

     SEC. 4. MONITORING AND REPORTING.

       Section 282 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2393) is 
     amended--
       (1) in the first sentence--
       (A) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting ``(a) 
     Monitoring Programs.--The Secretary'';
       (B) by inserting ``and services'' after ``imports of 
     articles'';
       (C) by inserting ``and domestic provision of services'' 
     after ``domestic production'';
       (D) by inserting ``or providing services'' after 
     ``producing articles''; and
       (E) by inserting ``, or provision of services,'' after 
     ``changes in production''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Collection of Data and Reports on Services Sector.--
       ``(1) Secretary of labor.--Not later than 3 months after 
     the date of the enactment of the Trade Adjustment Assistance 
     Equity for Service Workers Act of 2004, the Secretary of 
     Labor shall implement a system to collect data on adversely 
     affected service workers that includes the number of workers 
     by State, industry, and cause of dislocation of each worker.
       ``(2) Secretary of commerce.--Not later than 6 months after 
     such date of enactment, the Secretary of Commerce shall, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Labor, conduct a study and 
     report to the Congress on ways to improve the timeliness and 
     coverage of data on trade in services, including methods to 
     identify increased imports due to the relocation of United 
     States firms to foreign countries, and increased imports due 
     to United States firms obtaining services from firms in 
     foreign countries.''.
                                 ______