File Photo
“It’s time to bring good paying jobs back to the United States to employ American workers and help our economy recover,” Sen. Gillibrand said.
By Forum Staff
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Friday called on the Trump administration to support the inclusion of her bicameral legislation, the End Outsourcing Act, which would utilize the tax code and federal grants, loans and contracts to end the outsourcing of jobs overseas.
The measure would create a new tax benefit to help companies bring jobs back to America, and would require companies that have outsourced jobs within a five-year period to pay back federal tax incentives and grants from facilitates closed due to outsourcing, according to Gillibrand.
“For far too long, companies have been allowed to use tax incentives to move facilities overseas for cheap labor, leaving thousands of New Yorkers—and millions of Americans—struggling without jobs, most commonly in manufacturing,” the senator said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has now put millions more out of work. During this critical time, it’s important that we rebuild a strong economy by returning outsourced jobs and preventing them in the future. I’m proud that my End Outsourcing Act would do both of these things. It’s time to bring good paying jobs back to the United States to employ American workers and help our economy recover.”
In a letter to White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro, Gillibrand and Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) expressed the importance of including the End Outsourcing Act in the next coronavirus response legislation to facilitate the return of American jobs.
Recently, Navarro noted that President Donald Trump desired the next stimulus package to contain at least $2 trillion dollars and to bring outsourced jobs back to the U.S.
“Big corporations got huge tax breaks from President Trump, and far too often, the result has been outsourced jobs and pink slips for Wisconsin workers,” Baldwin added. “In order to stop the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs, our workers need tax reform that rewards their hard work and doesn’t encourage corporations to send their jobs to other countries. This legislation will help keep jobs here at home instead of encouraging outsourcing.”
According to Gillibrand, too many businesses in the U.S. 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, the United States lost more than three 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 legislation would prohibit companies who outsource from using federal tax incentives like tax breaks and federal contracts. In addition, the bill will offer a 20 percent tax credit for companies to bring jobs back to the United States; the tax credit will help pay for permits fees, leases, and general moving costs of relocating a new facility or new jobs into the country. Finally, federal agencies will require companies to make mandatory disclosures—on applications for grants, loans, or loan guarantees—if they have outsourced jobs within the last three years.
