WASHINGTON - Maine U.S. Sen. Susan Collins took to the Senate floor today to advocate for reauthorization of Trade Adjustment Assistance. The federal program, which provides job training and other assistance for workers whose jobs were lost due to increased foreign competition, expired at the end of last year. Collins said it should be renewed.
"Trade Adjustment Assistance, better known as TAA, plays an essential role in helping hard working Americans who, through no fault of their own, lose their jobs as the result of what is often the result of unfair foreign competition," Collins said.
In the past 15 years, Maine has lost 38 percent of its manufacturing jobs, amounting to nearly 31,000 positions, Collins said. Not all of the losses were due to increased and unfair foreign competition, but Collins said workers in Maine's manufacturing sector have been harmed by the outsourcing of good-paying jobs to countries with much lower wage and environmental standards.
