Baldwin and Senators: We Need Swift Action to Address Outsourcing of American Jobs, Announce Intent to Introduce Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and a group of Senators from manufacturing-heavy states to urge the leadership of the next Congress to quickly consider legislation to penalize companies outsourcing American jobs and encourage investments in the United States.  Baldwin, Donnelly and Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bob Casey (D-PA) announced they plan to introduce legislation during the next Congress, which begins in January.

“As Senators representing manufacturing-heavy states, we welcome the recent attention President-elect Trump has brought to the issue of outsourcing and its impact on middle-class families,” wrote the Senators. “We also recognize that a meaningful effort to stop the flow of American jobs to countries like Mexico and China will require Congress to cut through the political gridlock and take action to align our policies with the interests of American workers.”

In the letter to congressional leaders, the Senators highlighted three commonsense principles that will be the basis of their legislation:

• Federal contracts, funded by taxpayers, should go to American companies that employ American workers. Federal contracting policy should take into consideration whether companies have outsourced American jobs.

• Tax incentives intended to support United States businesses and the domestic economy should go to companies that invest here at home. Federal laws should claw back incentives and prohibit companies from receiving tax breaks for outsourcing jobs and factories, instead of investing in America.

• Federal policies should encourage businesses to bring jobs home and invest in American communities. Our policies should provide tax incentives for companies to relocate foreign jobs to the United States.

A copy of the letter is available here.