Delaware has a rich manufacturing tradition. For decades, high quality, highly paid manufacturing jobs sustained our communities – and I believe they can again.
We can make products in America and manufacture them in Delaware if we put the right policies in place. In fact, we have already seen progress with the groundbreaking of a new manufacturing facility on the grounds of the shuttered Chrysler plant in Newark.
If we want to support companies that make their products in America, which creates jobs and strengthens our middle class, we have to make the right choices in our tax code.
That’s why I fought so hard to pass the Bring Jobs Home Act, legislation that would end taxpayer subsidies to companies that ship jobs overseas and incentivize companies to bring jobs back to the United States. This bill would have taken important steps to support high-quality manufacturing jobs in Delaware. Yet because of a disappointing, politically-motivated filibuster by members of the other party, this bill didn’t see the light of day on the Senate floor.
We need new policies that support companies who bring jobs back to the United States – companies like Playtex/Energizer, which manufactures baby bottle liners at a factory in Dover. In order to protect the health and safety of the families that use their products, they brought jobs home from China and back to Delaware.
Companies of all sizes have realized manufacturing in the United States can have real benefits, including to the bottom line, and it is time for Congress to show the same kind of common sense.
As our economy recovers from a devastating recession, I can’t think of a worse way to spend taxpayer dollars then incentivizing American companies to ship our best jobs overseas. Yet, our current tax code does just that. It allows businesses to deduct the cost of moving expenses, whether they are moving from Bridgeville to Birmingham, Alabama or from Bridgeville to Bangalore or Beijing.
I am working to see this loophole closed, yet fixing this fundamental injustice in our tax code is only half the battle.
We also have to invest in rebuilding our manufacturing base and the high-quality jobs that come with it. We can do that by helping companies bring jobs home and letting them keep that tax deduction for moving – if the move is back to the United States. One of the reasons I supported the Bring Jobs Home Act is that it also provides an additional 20% tax credit on the costs associated with moving production back to America.
The best thing we can do for our economy and for millions of talented Americans looking for work is to invest in them. That’s why I’ll keep fighting to find solutions that support American workers and strengthen their communities, from education to infrastructure, so we can continue to see products made in America and manufactured in Delaware.
