The Hindu : U.S. Senate votes to bar outsourcing of federal contracts

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Saturday, Mar 06, 2004

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U.S. Senate votes to bar outsourcing of federal contracts

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MARCH 5. The United States Senate has voted to restrict federal contractors from using tax money to ship jobs overseas, reflecting the mood in an election year, when the economy and job losses are high on the Democratic agenda.

The Dodd Amendment — sponsored by Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut — was passed on Thursday by a comfortable majority of 70 to 26 and inserted into the Corporate Tax Bill. Democrats voted unanimously for the amendment; Republicans were split over the proposal and worried about the prospects of retaliation.

The amendment is only one of the several that deal with different aspects of outsourcing, focussing on low-cost economies such as India and China. Separately, the House of Representatives is also "working" on the subject.

"American workers are hurting. Our nation's chief export shouldn't be jobs for foreign workers. Thankfully, this measure says enough is enough," said Senator Dodd. The amendment, when signed into law, will prohibit the taxpayer's money from being used to outsource jobs. It focusses on three areas of government contracting: privatisation of federal work, federal procurement of goods and services and state government procurement using federal funds.

"The taxpayers' hard-earned money shouldn't be used to bankroll the loss of taxpayers' jobs to overseas workers. American workers are the best in the world, and by investing in them, we invest in our nation's future. This measure is a significant step forward in the right direction," Senator Dodd said in a statement.

In Connecticut, he said, more than 14 out of every 100 manufacturing jobs had been lost in the last three years. Since 2001,the U.S. had lost nearly 2.7 million manufacturing jobs. As many as 3.3 million jobs may be sent overseas in the next 15 years causing American workers to lose up to $136 billion in wages.

The Republicans gained a small victory by way of inclusion of a provision that the policy would not come into effect until the Department of Commerce certified that the ban would not harm the economy or add to further job losses. But even here, the Democrats are looking at a win-win situation. Senator Dodd said that through the so-called concession, the administration would eventually have to "stand up and make the case that outsourcing is a good thing."

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