2017: Schweikert Voted For The FY 2018 Republican Study Committee Budget Resolution Which In Part Called For Eliminating Trade Adjustment Assistance. In October 2017, Schweikert voted for a budget resolution that would in part, according to Congressional Quarterly, "provide for $2.9 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2018. It would balance the budget by fiscal 2023 by reducing spending by $10.1 trillion over 10 years. It would cap total discretionary spending at $1.06 trillion for fiscal 2018 and would assume no separate Overseas Contingency Operations funding for fiscal 2018 or subsequent years and would incorporate funding related to war or terror into the base defense account. It would assume repeal of the 2010 health care overhaul and would convert Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program into a single block grant program. It would require that off budget programs, such as Social Security, the U.S. Postal Service, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, be included in the budget." The underlying legislation was an FY 2018 House GOP budget resolution. The House rejected the RSC budget by a vote of 139 to 281. [House Vote 555, 10/5/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/5/17; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 455; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 71]
2015: Schweikert Voted Against Extending Trade Adjustment Assistance. In June 2015, Schweikert voted against reauthorizing trade adjustment assistance. According to Congressional Quarterly, the bill "extend[ed] Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs that help U.S. workers harmed by trade agreements until 2021 and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through FY 2025." Also according to Congressional Quarterly, the bill would have "extend[ed] the HOPE and HELP programs for products from Haiti, retroactively renew and extend, through 2017, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), strengthen[ed] U.S. anti-dumping law, and expand[ed] opportunities for U.S. businesses in recreational performance footwear and outerwear." The vote was on a motion to concur with the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the bill. Then House agreed to the motion by a vote of 286 to 138. The bill was then signed by the President. [House Vote 388, 6/25/15; Congressional Quarterly, 6/25/15; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1295]
Trade Adjustment Assistance Programs, Which Include Income Support, Training And A Health Coverage Tax Credit, Are For Workers Laid Off Due To Foreign Competition; Legislation Extended Through 2021. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The measure reauthorizes, through June 30, 2021, trade adjustment assistance (TAA) programs and alternative trade adjustment assistance (ATAA) for workers laid off because of the impact of foreign competition --- but at levels generally consistent to where they were in 2002. [...] The bill retains at 117 weeks the number of weeks for which workers are eligible for TAA income support, and it allows for an additional 13 weeks of assistance under certain circumstances. [...] The bill caps total annual funding for training, administrative expenses and employment and case management services expenses, as well as job search and relocation allowances under the TAA for Workers program, at $450 million for each fiscal year through 2021 (down from $575 million in the 2011 reauthorization). [...] The bill provides $16 million (the 2002 level) for the TAA for Firms program, which helps small businesses adjust to foreign competition. (It received $50 million under the 2009 stimulus law.) [...] The Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) is a health care tax credit for certain TAA-eligible workers and retirees covered by pension plans taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation who have lost their employer-sponsored coverage. The government currently provides an 80% refundable, advanceable tax credit to eligible individuals for the purchase of health coverage lost from their previous job. The subsidy had been 65% before the 2009 stimulus bill raised the percentage." [Congressional Quarterly, 6/24/15]
Legislation Also Expands The Government's Ability To Confront Trade Partners That "Dump" Steel And Other Products In The United States. According to New York Times, "Beyond health care, education and retraining assistance to dislocated workers, the newly approved measure extends a popular trade agreement with much of sub-Saharan Africa and expands the government's ability to confront trade partners that 'dump' steel and other products in the United States at artificially low prices to drive American companies into bankruptcy." [New York Times, 6/25/15]
Trade Adjustment Assistance Was Set To Expire on 9/30/15. According to The White House, "The program was set to expire on September 30, 2015, but thanks to the bill President Obama is signing, we will not only extend TAA." [The White House, 6/29/15]
Because of Pro-Trade Democrats, Trade Adjustment Assistance Was Expanded, Including An Expansion Of A Tax Credit For The Purchase Of Health Insurance, For Their Support For 'Fast Track' Authority. According to the New York Times, "Trade adjustment assistance programs have existed since the Kennedy administration, but pro-trade Democrats demanded a significant expansion as a price for their support for trade promotion authority, often known as 'fast track' approval. The bill extends assistance through June 2022, with an expansion of the program through June of 2021. That includes $2.7 billion in funds for worker retraining and education, while making workers in service industries eligible for a program once reserved for out-of-work manufacturing workers. The bill extends and expands a tax credit for the purchase of health insurance, and it includes subsidies for the wages of workers 50 years of age or older forced to find lower-paid jobs than the ones they lost to international competition." [New York Times, 6/25/15]
2015: Schweikert Effectively Voted Against Granting President Obama 'Fast-Track' Authority For Trade Bills Submitted To Congress, Including Trans-Pacific Partnership And The Transatlantic Trade And Investment Partnership And Against Trade Adjustment Assistance. In June 2015, Schweikert voted against a resolution that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "provide[d] for House floor consideration of the Senate amendment to a package (HR 1314) of Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation and provide for floor consideration of the Senate amendments to a customs enforcement measure (HR 644)." The vote was on adoption of the rule. The House agreed to the resolution by a vote of 217 to 212. H.R. 1314 was later turned into the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, but separate legislation granting fast-track authority was signed into law. H.R. 644 was also later signed into law. [House Vote 359, 6/11/15; Congressional Quarterly, 6/11/15; Congressional Actions, H.R. 2146; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1314; Congressional Actions, H.R. 644; Congressional Actions, H. Res. 305]