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New Bill Would Encourage Companies to Keep Jobs in U.S.
The Teamsters are issuing their support for new legislation introduced last week that would attempt to curb jobs from moving overseas by providing incentives for businesses to keep work in this country.
The End Outsourcing Act, introduced by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) in the House and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in the Senate, would use federal spending as a tool to end the practice. The bill would prevent employers from deducting expenses related to outsourcing, deny certain tax breaks to outsourcing employers, and require federal agencies awarding contracts, loans, loan guarantees and grants to establish a negative preference for employers who have outsourced in the last three years.
“For too long, we have allowed federal contracts, loans, grants and the tax code to reward companies that prioritize their own profit over the livelihoods of American workers,” Pocan said. “Congress must incentivize companies to invest in American jobs, workers and communities.”
“It’s time to stop helping companies that ship jobs overseas, and reward those bringing jobs back home,” Gillibrand said. “No one should fear losing their job because their company doesn’t want to invest in American labor. This legislation will be a key step to bringing jobs back to the United States.”
The legislation would eliminate the incentive to keep corporate earning overseas by taxing foreign profits at the same rate as domestic profits. In addition, the bill would claw back tax credits and grants given to employers for new building specific facilities if the employers outsource jobs at such facilities. And it would create an insourcing tax credit for new business activity located in underutilized business zones or low-income communities.
Too many U.S. businesses have sent domestic manufacturing jobs overseas to low-cost, low-wage countries as companies aim to cut costs and increase profit. Meanwhile, families and communities in states across the country are feeling the loss. Between 2001 and 2015, this nation lost more than 3 million jobs to China alone – nearly three quarters in manufacturing. The End Outsourcing Act is designed to reverse this trend and ensure that federal contracts, loans and grants funded by taxpayers support companies that employ American workers.
The outsourcing of millions of good-paying jobs overseas has led to lower paychecks here in the U.S. That, in turn, has made it more difficult for many workers to provide for their families. It is good to see Congress taking a step to stem the tide of these losses.