Bishop Continues Fight Against Taxpayer Subsidies For Outsourcing

Southampton - Congressman Tim Bishop led an effort to prevent the government from contracting with companies that outsource American jobs. During debate on the one-page Republican Budget Resolution, Bishop offered a motion to insert language barring "spending for any contract entered into by the United States Government with a company that has been determined by the Secretary of Labor to have offshored or outsourced American jobs overseas."

The motion failed 184-242 largely along party lines. Bishop vowed to continue pressing the issue as part of his fight to create American jobs.

"The American people elected this Congress to help create American jobs," Congressman Bishop said. "Outsourcing costs American jobs and should not be subsidized with taxpayer dollars. I am stunned that the majority is prepared to justify this job-killing practice to the American taxpayer who foots the bill."

Bishop has been a leader in Congress on using the power of the federal government to fight outsourcing. Last year, his efforts helped force the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to drop a program that would have used approximately $10 million in taxpayer funds to help train workers in Sri Lanka for jobs in the outsourcing industry.

In the 111th Congress, he sponsored The Stop Outsourcing and Create American Jobs Act of 2010 (H.R. 5622), which aimed to deter corporations from using tax havens to hide assets and create jobs overseas. The legislation also would have required federal agencies to request information about a corporations' outsourcing practices when it applies for government contracts and allows preference for companies that have not outsourced jobs in the last year.

"American workers can compete with anybody on a level playing field and my effort today would have helped get us back in the game," said Bishop. "I hope my colleagues will spend less time worrying about partisan politics and more time on proven measures to create American jobs, like stopping outsourcing."