The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program is designed to help the more than 1 million workers per year who lose their jobs because of permanent layoffs or plant closures, due in part because of imports. Studies show, however, that the TAA program fails to meet the seven goals of a successful reemployment assistance program: (1) TAA benefits are not equally accessible to all affected workers as a result of the flawed certification process and varied unemployment insurance qualification criteria; (2) the TAA program is often slow in reaching workers as a result of the complex certification process; (3) TAA participants may receive services that are not tailored to their needs because only a limited mix of the program's authorized services are provided; (4) TAA lacks the ongoing counseling and support often cited as necessary to ensure the completion of training; (5) liberal use of the program's waiver provision resulted in as many as half of the TAA recipients not participating in training; (6) TAA rarely works with participants after they complete training to help ensure they find jobs related to their training; and (7) TAA does not have a system in place to monitor performance and evaluate the effectiveness of the program. In light of these problems, Congress may wish to consider a simplified approach that assists workers regardless of the reason for their dislocation. (KC)