House Approves Fast-Track Trade Authority Bill, Including Health Benefits for Trade-Displaced Workers

The House on July 27 voted 215-212 in favor of a compromise trade bill that includes provisions to help American workers displaced by international trade purchase health insurance, the New York Times reports. The bill was supported by most Republicans and passed largely along party lines, with 27 Republicans voting against and 25 Democrats voting in favor of the legislation, which would allow President Bush to present trade agreements to Congress for straight votes without amendments. Prior to the vote, Bush made a "rare" visit to Capitol Hill to personally lobby for the measure (Mitchell, New York Times, 7/28). The bill would provide uninsured trade-displaced workers with a refundable tax credit to cover 65% of the cost of their health insurance premiums. The workers could use the tax credits to purchase health insurance through COBRA, the 1986 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which allows unemployed workers to retain employer-sponsored health coverage by paying 102% of the premiums, or through state-sponsored insurance purchasing pools and high-risk pools. Secondary workers -- those who lose their jobs because they provide services for American industries affected by international trade -- also would receive the tax credits (Howard Price, Washington Times, 7/28). Democrats who voted against the bill said that the tax credits would not be sufficient to "ensure that displaced workers would be able to afford coverage in the private health market" (New York Times 7/28).

On to the Senate
The compromise bill resolves differences in House and Senate versions of trade legislation passed earlier this year. In May, the Senate passed a version of the legislation that would provide as many as 100,000 uninsured trade-displaced workers with advanceable tax credits to cover as much as 70% of the cost of health insurance purchased through COBRA or state insurance pools. The House last month approved a version of the bill that would provide uninsured trade-displaced workers with a health insurance subsidy set at 60% of the cost of coverage. The original House bill, passed last December, contained no health provisions (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 7/26). The compromise trade bill has "substantial support" in the Senate, and it is "nearly assured" passage by next week, the New York Times reports (New York Times, 7/28). During his weekly radio address on July 27, Bush "urged" the Senate to pass the compromise bill before it adjourns for the August recess at the end of this week (Washington Times, 7/28).