Aid May Grow for Laid-Off Workers

All told, the changes would double spending on the program, which cost the government just under $1 billion last year.

Republicans as well as Democrats have long called for an overhaul of Trade Adjustment Assistance. President Bush has praised the program and promised to improve it. But the politics of trade have been complicated since Democrats took control of Congress with the help of many candidates who campaigned against further trade liberalization.

In the past, Trade Adjustment Assistance has been renewed alongside legislation granting the president fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals without congressional interference. But Bush's fast-track authority expired in June, and House Democrats have made it clear that they do not intend to restore it.

In addition, many Republicans feel scalded by Democratic delays on free-trade deals that the Bush administration has negotiated with Peru and Panama. Those agreements, and more politically divisive agreements with South Korea and Colombia, have not been brought to a vote since a deal to move them forward was made in May.

Now, even some Republican champions of Trade Adjustment Assistance say they are reluctant to sign on to its renewal unless Democrats reconsider their opposition to fast-track authority.

"Frankly, TAA is a very integral part of our efforts to reduce barriers and expand trade . . . and my view is they ought to go together," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the senior Republican on the Finance Committee.

The Bush administration was actively working on a reauthorization proposal for Trade Adjustment Assistance when fast-track expired, the program's advocates said. Now, the administration appears to have backed off to recalibrate its strategy.

Last week, White House spokesman Tony Fratto declined to comment on the Democratic proposals for expansion, except to question their cost and the wisdom of covering service workers. With those job losses, he said, "it becomes impossible to draw lines that show the displacement is owing to trade."

Some TAA advocates worry that, in this hostile atmosphere, two months is too little time to pass legislation to extend the program and double its size. Others are confident that even disgruntled Republicans will be reluctant to abandon the chief source of federal aid for victims of globalization.

"The results of the last election, the polling, everything as we move into the next election cycle continues to indicate significant angst, frustration and anger from working people around these issues," said Bruce G. Herman, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, which promotes the rights of low-wage workers. "Trade-impacted workers are not concentrated in blue states or blue districts. They're in everybody's district."