PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 5, 1998
Stabilizing Workforce and Towns Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the President's Economic Adjustment Committee, to ensure that a Stabilizing Workforce and Towns Team (SWAT Team) is mobilized and that such team travels to a community in need after an application for assistance is received by the Secretary. Provides for such application to be submitted by the Governor of the State in which the community that is requesting assistance is located and to contain such information as the Secretary may require in order to determine whether the area is a community in need. Lists the Federal agencies from which members (and additional members) of the SWAT Team shall be composed. Requires the SWAT Team to: (1) establish operations in the community in need and maintain such operations for a minimum of five days; (2) provide to residents of such community information and materials that describe all relevant Federal assistance programs available and the process for applying for such assistance, and to make available the applications for such assistance; (3) provide information to such residents on additional resources available to them to address their economic needs; and (4) designate a SWAT Team member as a liaison to such community to continue advising the community on the long-term recovery of the community. Defines the term "community in need" to mean an area that the Secretary determines is experiencing a sudden and severe dislocation because of the closure or significant downsizing of a plant or industry in the area. Requires the SWAT Team, not later than 60 days after the completion of a SWAT Team response in a community in need, to submit a report to the Congress, such community's congressional delegation, and the President's Economic Adjustment Committee containing a description of the assistance provided by the Team, recommendations regarding assistance to be provided by Teams in future responses, information on the long-term recovery plan for the community in need, and any other information on the provision of Federal assistance to communities in need, including community applications for Federal assistance that the team determines to be appropriate. Directs the Secretary to maintain all SWAT Team reports in a centralized location and make such reports available to the public.
People & committees
Sen. Johnson, Tim [D-SD] · D–SD
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 21, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1715 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1715 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1715 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1715 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.