From the Office of Your Congressman, John Lewis
Though I’m somewhat of a globetrotter, my permanent residence is in Atlanta, GA. I recently contacted my Congressman, Rep. John Lewis, about the outsourcing of American jobs. It appears that Congress is taking some action on this issue. Below is Mr. Lewis’s letter in full.
Thank you for contacting me about the increasing rate of U.S. companies outsourcing jobs to other countries around the world. I appreciate hearing from you and having the benefit of your views. Since President Bush took office, the United States has lost as many as 500,000 private sector jobs, because they were shipped overseas. According to a recent study by the University of California, 14 million more American jobs are at risk if we do not act. However, President Bush has no plan to keep jobs in America. Americans know trade is good for our economy when we export American goods, not when we export American jobs.
On June 16, 2004, I joined the Democratic members of Congress in proposing a broad plan to get Americans back to work and to encourage U.S. companies to keep jobs in America. The American Jobs Plan is a comprehensive package that would plug tax loopholes that reward companies for outsourcing job opportunities for American workers, and instead would invest in education, highways, and broadband Internet access in this country to help stimulate employment opportunities in Georgia and other states. Unfortunately, the Republican House leadership refused to allow a vote on this plan on the House floor.
The American Jobs Plan proposes repealing $125 billion in current tax breaks that help ship jobs overseas, replacing them with two new tax incentives targeted to companies, both large and small, that create new jobs in the United States. Under the plan, corporations would be encouraged to use the savings they would gain from the new tax incentive package to invest in job training, education, and research and development. The plan, which is fully paid for, also gives U.S. companies priority for obtaining government contracts if they keep jobs in America.
With 2.7 million manufacturing jobs lost around the country in the last three years and eight million Americans looking for work, it’s time our government made a new commitment to our citizens to keep our jobs here at home. Even though the Democratic proposal did not get to the floor, I will continue to fight for more jobs for Americans. Again, thank you for taking the time to write me about this important issue. Please feel free to contact me in the future.
Sincerely,
John Lewis
Member of Congress
