19 USC 2295a, 2311, and 2323

SEC. 235A. FUNDING FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES AND EMPLOYMENT AND CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES. [19 U.S.C. 2295a]

(a) Funding for Administrative Expenses and Employment and Case Management Services.—

(1) In general.—In addition to any funds made available to a State to carry out section 236 for a fiscal year, the State shall receive for the fiscal year a payment in an amount that is equal to 15 percent of the amount of such funds.

(2) Use of funds.—A State that receives a payment under paragraph (1) shall—

(A) use not more than 2/3 of such payment for the administration of the trade adjustment assistance for workers program under this chapter, including for—

(i) processing waivers of training requirements under section 231;

(ii) collecting, validating, and reporting data required under this chapter; and

(iii) providing reemployment trade adjustment assistance under section 246; and

(B) use not less than 1/3 of such payment for employment and case management services under section 235.

SEC. 239. AGREEMENTS WITH STATES. [19 U.S.C. 2311]

(c) Form and Manner of Data.—Each agreement under this subchapter shall—

(1) provide the Secretary with the authority to collect any data the Secretary determines necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter; and

(2) specify the form and manner in which any such data requested by the Secretary shall be reported.

(d) Each agreement under this subchapter shall provide that unemployment insurance otherwise payable to any adversely affected worker will not be denied or reduced for any week by reason of any right to payments under this chapter.

(e) A determination by a cooperating State agency with respect to entitlement to program benefits under an agreement is subject to review in the same manner and to the same extent as determinations under the applicable State law and only in that manner and to that extent.

(f) Any agreement entered into under this section shall provide for the coordination of the administration of the provisions for employment services, training, and supplemental assistance under sections 235 and 236 of this Act and under title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 upon such terms and conditions as are established by the Secretary in consultation with the States and set forth in such agreement. Any agency of the State jointly administering such provisions under such agreement shall be considered to be a cooperating State agency for purposes of this chapter.

(g) Each cooperating State agency shall, in carrying out subsection (a)(2)—

(1) advise each worker who applies for unemployment insurance of the benefits under this chapter and the procedures and deadlines for applying for such benefits,

(2) facilitate the early filing of petitions under section 221 for any workers that the agency considers are likely to be eligible for benefits under this chapter,

(3) advise each adversely affected worker to apply for training under section 236(a) before, or at the same time, the worker applies for trade readjustment allowances under part I of subchapter B,

(4) perform outreach to, intake of, and orientation for adversely affected workers and adversely affected incumbent workers covered by a certification under subchapter A with respect to assistance and benefits available under this chapter, and

(5) make employment and case management services described in section 235 available to adversely affected workers and adversely affected incumbent workers covered by a certification under subchapter A and, if funds provided to carry out this chapter are insufficient to make such services available, make arrangements to make such services available through other Federal programs.

(h) In order to promote the coordination of workforce investment activities in each State with activities carried out under this chapter, any agreement entered into under this section shall provide that the State shall submit to the Secretary, in such form as the Secretary may require, the description and information described in paragraphs (8) and (14) of section 112(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2822(b)) and a description of the State’s rapid response activities under section 221(a)(2)(A).

[Section 3302(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to credits against Federal unemployment tax) was originally enacted as part of section 239 of the Trade Act of 1974:

“(3) If the Secretary of Labor determines that a State, or State agency, has not—

[“(A) entered into the agreement described in section 239 of the Trade Act of 1974, with the Secretary of Labor before July 15, 1975, or

[“(B) fulfilled its commitments under an agreement with the Secretary of Labor as described in section 239 of the Trade Act of 1974, then, in the case of a taxpayer subject to the unemployment compensation law of such State, the total credits (after applying subsections (a) and (b) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of this section) otherwise allowable under this section for a year during which such State or agency does not enter into or fulfill such an agreement shall be reduced by 7½ percent of the tax imposed with respect to wages paid by such taxpayer during such year which are attributable to such State.”.]

(i) Control Measures.—

(1) In general.—The Secretary shall require each cooperating State and cooperating State agency to implement effective control measures and to effectively oversee the operation and administration of the trade adjustment assistance program under this chapter, including by means of monitoring the operation of control measures to improve the accuracy and timeliness of the data being collected and reported.

(2) Definition.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘control measures’ means measures that—

(A) are internal to a system used by a State to collect data; and

(B) are designed to ensure the accuracy and verifiability of such data.

(j) Data Reporting.—

(1) In general.—Any agreement entered into under this section shall require the cooperating State or cooperating State agency to report to the Secretary on a quarterly basis comprehensive performance accountability data, to consist of—

(A) the core indicators of performance described in paragraph (2)(A);

(B) the additional indicators of performance described in paragraph (2)(B), if any; and

(C) a description of efforts made to improve outcomes for workers under the trade adjustment assistance program.

(2) Core indicators described.—

(A) In general.—The core indicators of performance described in this paragraph are—

(i) the percentage of workers receiving benefits under this chapter who are employed during the second calendar quarter following the calendar quarter in which the workers cease receiving such benefits;

(ii) the percentage of such workers who are employed in each of the third and fourth calendar quarters following the calendar quarter in which the workers cease receiving such benefits; and

(iii) the earnings of such workers in each of the third and fourth calendar quarters following the calendar quarter in which the workers cease receiving such benefits.

(B) Additional indicators.—The Secretary and a cooperating State or cooperating State agency may agree upon additional indicators of performance for the trade adjustment assistance program under this chapter, as appropriate.

(3) Standards with respect to reliability of data.—In preparing the quarterly report required by paragraph (1), each cooperating State or cooperating State agency shall establish procedures that are consistent with guidelines to be issued by the Secretary to ensure that the data reported are valid and reliable.

SEC. 249B. COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION OF DATA AND REPORTS; INFORMATION TO WORKERS. [19 U.S.C. 2323]

(a) In General.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall implement a system to collect and report the data described in subsection (b), as well as any other information that the Secretary considers appropriate to effectively carry out this chapter.

(b) Data to Be Included.—The system required under subsection (a) shall include collection of and reporting on the following data for each fiscal year:

(1) Data on petitions filed, certified, and denied.—

(A) The number of petitions filed, certified, and denied under this chapter.

(B) The number of workers covered by petitions filed, certified, and denied.

(C) The number of petitions, classified by—

(i) the basis for certification, including increased imports, shifts in production, and other bases of eligibility; and

(ii) congressional district of the United States.

(D) The average time for processing such petitions.

(2) Data on benefits received.—

(A) The number of workers receiving benefits under this chapter.

(B) The number of workers receiving each type of benefit, including training, trade readjustment allowances, employment and case management services, and relocation and job search allowances, and, to the extent feasible, credits for health insurance costs under section 35 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

(C) The average time during which such workers receive each such type of benefit.

(3) Data on training.—

(A) The number of workers enrolled in training approved under section 236, classified by major types of training, including classroom training, training through distance learning, on-the-job training, and customized training.

(B) The number of workers enrolled in full-time training and part-time training.

(C) The average duration of training.

(D) The number of training waivers granted under section 231(c), classified by type of waiver.

(E) The number of workers who complete training and the duration of such training.

(F) The number of workers who do not complete training.

(4) Data on outcomes.—

(A) A summary of the quarterly reports required under section 239(j).

(B) The sectors in which workers are employed after receiving benefits under this chapter.

(5) Data on rapid response activities.—Whether rapid response activities were provided with respect to each petition filed under section 221.

(c) Classification of Data.—To the extent possible, in collecting and reporting the data described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall classify the data by industry, State, and national totals.

(d) Report.—Not later than December 15 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a report that includes—

(1) a summary of the information collected under this section for the preceding fiscal year;

(2) information on the distribution of funds to each State pursuant to section 236(a)(2); and

(3) any recommendations of the Secretary with respect to changes in eligibility requirements, benefits, or training funding under this chapter based on the data collected under this section.

(e) Availability of Data.—

(1) In general.—The Secretary shall make available to the public, by publishing on the website of the Department of Labor and by other means, as appropriate—

(A) the report required under subsection (d);

(B) the data collected under this section, in a searchable format; and

(C) a list of cooperating States and cooperating State agencies that failed to submit to the data required by this section to the Secretary in a timely manner.

(2) Updates.—The Secretary shall update the data under paragraph (1) on a quarterly basis.