Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress makes the following findings: The viability of the domestic steel industry is crucial to the United States economy and national security. The steel and taconite iron mining industries have been severely impacted by the foreign dumping and overproduction of steel and are continually faced with unfair trade practices. In 2014, United States imports of steel and steel products increased by 36 percent and captured 28 percent of the total United States steel market. In 2015, United States imports of steel and steel products continued to increase, and captured 29 percent of the total United States steel market.
In 1974, Congress enacted the Trade Act of 1974 ( 19 U.S.C. 2101 et seq. ), which established the trade adjustment assistance program under chapter 2 of title II of that Act ( 19 U.S.C. 2271 et seq. ) to assist workers who have been adversely affected by trade. The trade adjustment assistance program provides vital benefits and services to workers whose employment has been adversely affected by foreign trade. Those benefits and services include education and training, income support, relocation assistance, job search assistance, and the health coverage tax credit.
Since the inception of the trade adjustment assistance program, more than 5,000,000 United States workers have been certified as eligible for benefits and services under the program. As of September 30, 2015, the trade adjustment assistance program had served more than 2,200,000 workers. In fiscal year 2015, the Department of Labor certified 413 petitions for eligibility for the trade adjustment assistance program, which provided access to trade adjustment assistance benefits for 57,631 workers.
In 2015, more than 13,000 new participants were enrolled in the trade adjustment assistance for workers program and the program provided services and benefits to more than 47,000 workers. From fiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 2015, the average processing time for a petition under the trade adjustment assistance for workers program was 49.1 days and the average processing time for fiscal year 2015 was 47.2 days. The trade adjustment assistance program provides vital education and training services to assist trade-affected workers to acquire new skills and prepare for new employment.
From 2012 through 2015, more than 9,800 steelworkers and iron ore miners in 17 States lost their jobs as a result of increases in imports of steel and steel products and were certified as eligible to apply for the trade adjustment assistance program. In fiscal year 2015, more than 6,500 steelworkers were certified as eligible for trade adjustment assistance, including workers who were laid off or furloughed in 2014. In order to empower workers who have been adversely affected by foreign trade, States should have the option of providing the funding for vital educational and training programs for workers while their petitions for certification of eligibility for trade adjustment assistance is pending.
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