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H.R. 3689: HELP Act

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H.R. 3689: HELP Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-10-06 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2015-10-06 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

HELP Act

Plain summary

Healthy Employee Loss Prevention Act of 2015 or the HELP Act Authorizes the following groups to petition for eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance to the Critical Employment Advisory Commission (established by this Act) and the governor of a state: a group of adversely affected workers; the certified or recognized union or other duly authorized representative of such workers; or employers of such workers, one-stop operators or one-stop partners, including state employment security agencies, or the state dislocated worker unit, on their behalf. Defines "adversely affected worker" to mean an individual who, because of lack of work in adversely affected employment, has been been totally or partially separated from such employment, or has been totally separated from employment with the company in a subdivision of which adversely affected employment exists. Directs the Commission to certify a group of adversely affected workers as eligible for adjustment assistance if: they were coal miners, coal utility workers, or other workers in the coal industry or a coal-dependent industry; a significant number of the company's workers have become, or are threatened to become, totally or partially separated or have experienced, or are threatened to experience, a significant reduction in wages; and the company's sales or production, or both, have caused a shift contributing to the worker's separation or threat of separation. Requires any complete or partial separation or reduction in wages to be directly attributable to: actions by the federal government, the low-cost of other forms of energy, the existence of state-to-state electricity market competition, or other reasons the Commission determines. Requires the payment of a readjustment allowance to an adversely affected worker covered by an eligibility certification who files an application for any week of unemployment, provided certain conditions have been met. Requires the Commission to: make available employment and case management services, directly or through state agreements, to adversely affected workers as well as adversely affected incumbent workers; and approve training for such workers in cases where suitable employment is not available. Authorizes states to use certain funds for adversely affected workers for payment of job search and relocation allowances. Establishes the Commission and the Transition Adjustment Assistance Fund to carry out this Act.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Peter Welch (D-VT)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong114-hr3689 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114