Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2013

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2052) to direct the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to conduct an interagency review of and report to Congress on ways to increase the global competitiveness of the United States in attracting foreign direct investment, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2052, the Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2013.

Now, we recently saw the latest job numbers. While somewhat positive, the reality is that we have more people out of the workforce than since 1978. People are giving up looking for work, and it doesn't have to be and shouldn't be that way.

There are many foreign companies who want to ``in-source'' their jobs to America, but there have been many barriers standing in their way. There are many foreign companies who should and want to come here. These are good, high-paying jobs that many Americans are looking for.

In 2010 alone, U.S. affiliates of foreign firms employed an estimated 5.6 million Americans. These Americans also made, on average, $77,000 per year.

These U.S. subsidiaries invested $41.3 billion in research and development and made $149 billion in capital expenditures in the United States that same year. In the manufacturing sector alone, FDI inflows were nearly $84 billion in 2012, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.

Unfortunately, according to the testimony of the Organization for International Investment at our legislative hearing last spring, the United States' share of foreign direct investment dropped from 41 percent at its high in 1999 to just 17 percent in 2011. Today, we're here to reverse that trend.

My bill, H.R. 2052, and also, with the gentlelady, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr. Barrow on the other side of the aisle, this is a bipartisan piece of legislation that instructs the Department of Commerce to conduct an interagency review geared to identifying those barriers to foreign investment to the United States. It also instructs the Department of Commerce to make recommendations on ways to lower or eliminate those same barriers.

The United States should be the leader in attracting foreign investment. We have a stable government, safe working conditions, and the most skilled workforce in the world. I believe that our long-term global competitiveness and economic success as a nation is directly tied to our ability to attract foreign investment.

By creating an environment where foreign companies want to move their manufacturing operations or distribution centers to the United States, we are fostering an environment or atmosphere of organic, government stimulus-free economic growth.

We must be aware of the potential impact on the U.S.' ability to attract foreign direct investment when considering new laws and regulations.

We want these companies to come here and help us grow our economy. But there are a number of areas within the purview of the Federal Government where we can improve the domestic climate for foreign direct investment.

It's my hope that the report at the heart of this legislation will highlight those areas, both for the administration, where it can act on its own authority, and for Congress, where the administration lacks the authority.

I would also like to thank some individuals who helped get this legislation off the ground and to the House floor today. First off, I'd like to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), who has championed this issue for several years.

I would also like to thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), the ranking member of this subcommittee, as well as our friend, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barrow), for his leadership.

I believe we can all agree that we shouldn't stop our efforts to put America back to work until every American who wants a job can find one. This legislation is a step in the right direction, Mr. Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I'll continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

Yes, I can assure you. I agree with the gentlelady that it should include both benefits and costs, as we have suggested. And I do want to state that I appreciate working with you. And you have shown great collegiality as well in our negotiations, and I want to thank you for that.

Mr. Speaker, having the right to close, I am going to reserve the balance of my time and allow them to finish their time, if they have any.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I want to close by saying that this truly has been a bipartisan effort. Both sides of the aisle want the U.S. to be in a better position to attract the foreign direct investment which does create jobs in the United States. That has been on the decline. We need to reverse that.

And this is one of those times when you go home and you hear, at your townhall meeting, Why don't you work together? The people need to see how we worked together on this bill and resolved the differences between each other on this. Today we're here to have what I think will be an overwhelmingly positive vote.

With that, I will submit a couple of letters for the Record. One is about 150 entities that signed on to a letter for the Organization for International Investment, and then also another letter from Sanofi dated September 9, 2013.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Organization for International Investment

OFII is the only business association in Washington D.C.

that exclusively represents U.S. subsidiaries of foreign

companies and advocates for their non-discriminatory

treatment under state and federal law.

Members

ABB Inc.; ACE INA Holdings, Inc.; Ahold USA, Inc.; Airbus

North America Holdings; Air Liquide USA; Akzo Nobel Inc.;

Alcatel-Lucent; Allianz of North America; ALSTOM; Anheuser-

Busch; APG; APL Limited; AREVA, Inc.; Arup; Astellas Pharma

US, Inc.; AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals; BAE Systems; Balfour

Beatty; Barclays Capital; Barrick Gold Corp. of North

America.

BASF Corporation; Bayer Corp.; BG Group; BHP Billiton; BIC

Corp.; Bimbo Foods, Inc.; bioMerieux, Inc.; BMW of North

America; BNP Paribas; Boehringer Ingelheim Corp.; Bombardier

Inc.; BOSCH; BP; Bridgestone Americas Holding; Brother

International Corp.; BT; Bunge Ltd.; Bunzl USA, Inc.; Case

New Holland; Cobham.

Covidien; Credit Suisse Securities (USA); Cristal USA

Inc.; Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.; Daimler; Dassault Falcon Jet

Corp.; Deutsche Telekom; Diageo, Inc.; EADS, Inc.; Electrolux

North America; EMD Serono Inc.; E.ON North America; Ericsson;

Evonik Degussa Corporation; Experian; Flextronics

International; Food Lion, LLC; France Telecom North America;

FUJIFILM Holdings America; Garmin International, Inc.

GDF SUEZ Energy North America, Inc.; Generali USA; GKN

America Corp.; GlaxoSmithKline; Hanson North America; Henkel

Corporation; Holcim (US) Inc.; Honda North America; HSBC

North America Holdings; Huhtamaki; Hyundai Motor America;

Iberdrola Renewables; ING America Insurance Holdings;

InterContinental Hotels Group; JBS USA; John Hancock Life

Insurance Co.; Kering; Kia Motor Corporation; Lafarge North

America; Logitech Inc.

L'Oreal USA, Inc.; Louisiana Energy Service (LES); Louis

Dreyfus Commodities; Louisville Corporate Services, Inc.;

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton; Macquarie Aircraft Leasing

Services; Maersk Inc.; Magna International; Mallinckrodt;

Marvell Semiconductor; McCain Foods USA; Michelin North

America, Inc.; National Grid; Nestle USA, Inc.; Nissan;

Nomura Holding America, Inc.; Novartis Corporation; Novo

Nordisk Pharmaceuticals; Oldcastle, Inc.; Panasonic Corp.; of

North America.

Pearson Inc.; Pernod Ricard USA; Philips Electronics North

America; QBE the Americas; Randstad North America; Reed

Elsevier Inc.; Research in Motion; Rexam Inc.; Rinnai; Rio

Tinto America; Roche Holdings, Inc.; Rolls-Royce North

America Inc.; Royal Bank of Canada; SABIC Innovative

Plastics; Samsung; Sanofi US; SAP America; Sasol;

Schlumberger.

Schneider Electric USA; Schott North America; Shell Oil

Company; Siemens Corporation; Smith & Nephew, Inc.; Societe

Generale; Solvay America; Sony Corporation of America;

Sprint; Sumitomo Corp.; of America; Swiss Re America Holding

Corp.; Syngenta Corporation; Takeda North America; Tate &

Lyle North America, Inc.; TD Bank; TE Connectivity; Teva

Pharmaceuticals USA; Thales USA, Inc.; The Tata Group;

Thomson Reuters.

ThyssenKrupp North America, Inc.; Tim Hortons; Toa

Reinsurance Company of America; Tomkins Industries, Inc.;

TOTAL Holdings USA, Inc.; Toyota Motor North America;

Transamerica; Tyco; UBS; UCB; Umicore USA; Unilever; Vivendi;

Vodafone; Voith Holding Inc.; Volkswagen of America, Inc.;

Volvo Cars North America; Volvo Group North America, Inc.;

Westfield LLC; White Mountains, Inc.; Wipro Inc.; Wolters

Kluwer U.S. Corporation; Wolseley; WPP Group USA, Inc.; XL

Global Services; Zurich Insurance Group.

Organization for

International Investment,

Washington, DC, September 9, 2013.

Re OFII Support of H.R. 2052, the ``Global Investment in

American Jobs Act of 2013''.

Hon. Fred Upton,

Chairman, Energy and Commerce Committee, Washington, DC.

Hon. Lee Terry,

Chairman, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Henry Waxman,

Ranking Member, Energy and Commerce Committee, Washington,

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the patience and understanding, just coming from a classified hearing.

I want to first thank the chairman and his staff, as well as committee Democratic staff, for working so hard and so diligently and collaboratively to come to an agreement on legislation that will help guide American job and economic growth.

There is a strong incentive to invest in America, which remains the best place on Earth to find talented, motivated employees who are the core of the middle class.

My home State of Illinois ranks number one in the Midwest in terms of foreign direct investment, with nearly 1,600 foreign-based firms employing more than 300,000 Illinois residents. In attracting the investment, Illinois has showcased its world-class transportation infrastructure, its diversified economy, its productive workforce, and its cultural diversity and attractions.

It has also maintained its strong labor, health, and environmental standards that helped build the middle class, which I believe is the key to successful foreign direct investment.

Some companies are working to respect the rights of workers as they invest in the United States. On Friday, it was announced that Volkswagen is working collaboratively with the United Auto Workers to unionize its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant. That will help to ensure that the best interests of American workers are a major consideration at the plant and the company as it continues its investment in the United States.

That being said, it is important that the study authorized in this legislation examine both the benefits and the costs of foreign direct investment. Doing so will allow us to determine the ways to drive investment that maintains high labor, health, environmental, and national security standards.

And on that subject, I'd like to enter into a colloquy on the amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Mr. Terry. While I will not oppose this amendment, I must express my reservations.

Mr. Chairman, you worked with me in a very collegial and bipartisan manner to craft a bipartisan bill. H.R. 2052 is a good product.

Now we have before us an amendment that makes three changes that could be perceived to weaken important provisions of the bill. I have concerns about each of them, but I would like to focus on the elimination of cost-benefit language regarding the bill's required review of the current economic impact of foreign direct investment.

During our negotiations, I suggested that language because I believed that we needed to ensure that the review be balanced, and you agreed.

In addition, some of the language in the findings and in the sense of Congress could be read as if there are only benefits of FDI, and we wanted to be evenhanded. While I do believe that there are benefits to FDI, there are also costs that must be considered.

Regardless of the amendment before us now, can you assure me that the bill's requirement of a review of the current economic impact of foreign direct investment required under this bill will include a review of both the benefits and costs of foreign direct investment?

I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska.

Thank you so much.

Reclaiming my time, if I could just say, I will not oppose the amendment, but I do expect to work with you to ensure that the review, should this bill become law, is balanced and to ensure that any report of this committee on H.R. 2052 include the clarification that you just made.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2052, the Global Investment in American Jobs Act, because it will encourage the growth of good, American jobs.

Every time I go home, I'm reminded of how investors overseas spur jobs here at home by tapping into the talent of America. Dutch companies like DSM in Augusta, French companies like Alstom in Waynesboro, and Japanese companies like YKK in Dublin could invest in any country in the world. They're proud to invest in Georgia's 12th District because the families who work for them take pride in their work.

This bill requires the Department of Commerce to investigate how it can be an attractive investment for foreign-owned companies. The United States still has the best workers in the world, and they deserve every opportunity to offer their skills to companies looking to expand.

I'm proud that this bill also enjoys broad bipartisan support. This is how Congress can and should work, Democrats and Republicans coming together to get Americans back to work.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I look forward to building a stronger future for American workers by passing H.R. 2052.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

I thank the gentleman.

We have no further speakers on our side and, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent during the week of September 9, 2013. If I were present, I would have voted on the following.

Monday, September 9, 2013: Rollcall No. 448: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 2052, ``yea''; rollcall No. 449: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 2844, ``yea.''

Tuesday, September 10, 2013: Rollcall No. 450: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 1155, ``yea''; rollcall No. 451: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 2747, ``yea''; rollcall No. 452: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 130, ``yea''; rollcall No. 453: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 304, ``yea''; rollcall No. 454: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 256, ``yea''; rollcall No. 455: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 459, ``yea''.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013: Rollcall No. 456: Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule for H.R. 2775, ``nay''; rollcall No. 457: On Agreeing to the Resolution providing the Rule on H.R. 2775, ``nay''.

Thursday, September 12, 2013: Rollcall No. 458: On Passage of H.R. 2775, ``nay''; rollcall No. 459: On passage of the Journal, ``aye'' 621.

Mr. Speaker, due to attending a classified briefing on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, I missed one recorded vote on September 9. I would like to indicate how I would have voted had I been present for that vote.

On rollcall No. 448, H.R. 2052, the Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2013, I would have voted ``yea'' to direct the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to conduct an interagency review of and report to Congress on ways to increase the global competitiveness of the United States in attracting foreign direct investment.