To combat the 4.5 million manufacturing jobs that have been lost due to company outsourcing, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) recently introduced a job-saving legislative package to hold companies accountable and encourage the preservation and creation of domestic jobs.
“We should not be rewarding companies that choose to invest in other countries’ economies at the expense of American workers,” said Congressman McNerney. “There are too many people who are still trying to get back on their feet and our focus should be on finding ways to help them.”
Under H.R. 3216, the Stop Outsourcing and Create American Jobs Act, businesses that take advantage of overseas tax havens would be penalized following the creation and identification by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury of a list of “corporate tax haven countries.” H.R. 3216 would also crack down on federally contracted companies that exploit corporate tax loopholes that encourage shipping jobs abroad.
“When you do business with the federal government, you are directly employed by the American taxpayer. It’s outrageous that we continue to contract with companies that abuse these tax loopholes, yet continue to put our economy at a competitive disadvantage by outsourcing jobs that would contribute to re-build a strong middle class.”
This legislation would also give federal agencies the authority to request the history of a corporation’s outsourcing practices when applying for government contracts and would allow the government to impose penalties on businesses who falsify that information, prohibiting them from applying for government contracts for at least two years if they are found guilty.
Additionally, as part of the legislative package, Congressman McNerney introduced H.R. 3217, the Outsourcing Accountability Act which would:
• Require corporations with revenues of $1 billion or more to disclose the number of employees working domestic and abroad;
• Require corporations to disclose to shareholders and the SEC reports that display how many employees are working domestically compared to the number abroad.
“The American people deserve to know which corporations outsource jobs in search of higher profits, even as they slap ‘Made in America’ labels on their products,” said Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO. “The Outsourcing Accountability Act will require real transparency and impose sanctions against corporations that hide the truth from American consumers, workers and taxpayers. We commend Rep. McNerney for introducing the Outsourcing Accountability Act of 2017 and the Stop Outsourcing and Create American Jobs Act of 2017.”
Under the Outsourcing Accountability Act, companies would also be required to report any differences between the numbers of employees working domestically versus abroad from year-to-year.
“The Stop Outsourcing and Create American Jobs Act of 2017 and the Outsourcing Accountability Act of 2017 would help reduce job losses by cracking down on tax loopholes for corporations, and would require large corporations to disclose the number of its employees working outside of the US,” said Daniel Chivello, Business Manager/Financial Secretary at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595. “Too often corporations are seeking short term gains by outsourcing operations offshore, but these are eclipsed by the long-term damage to our economy through loss of innovation while we build the brain trust of other countries.”
McNerney’s 9th Congressional District includes portions of San Joaquin, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties.
