Senate Republicans Vote Against American Jobs By Blocking Bill To End Outsourcing Tax Breaks

Senate Republicans blocked a bill today that would potentially bring millions of jobs back to the United States by refusing to end tax breaks for companies who outsource jobs.

The roll call vote failed to get the needed 60 votes by a margin of 54-42. Millions of jobs have been outsourced over the past decade in part because companies can get a tax break on their expenses related to sending jobs overseas. The Bring Jobs Home Act would have ended these tax breaks, and give companies who bring jobs home a 20% tax credit.
Before the vote Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said:

Quite frankly, a vote against this bill is a vote against American jobs. There is absolutely no excuse, no justification for any member of this body to vote against this legislation. But as of late, Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked legislation, much like the Bring Jobs Home Act, that is good for the American people. That brings me back to the Longfellow quote that I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks: “It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong.” I see the wisdom in that quote each and every time another good bill is blocked by Senate Republicans.

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Because each time after Republicans have voted against legislation good for working families, an odd scene has developed on the Senate floor. A procession of Republicans makes its way to the Senate floor, and individually Senators begin to explain why they voted against a good bill. After voting against an increase in the minimum wage; after voting against equal pay for women; after voting against cost-cutting energy efficiency; after voting against student loan refinancing; following all of these votes, the same spectacle unfolds immediately after: Republicans come to the floor and tried to make their case. So instead of voting for a good piece of legislation that would benefit folks back home, they spend a lot of time here explaining why they did the opposite.

Senate Republicans blocked the bill because they were angry that Harry Reid wouldn’t allow them to offer amendments. Senate Republicans blocked a bill that could have helped end the flow of jobs out of the country, because Mitch McConnell is still mad at Harry Reid. That’s all there is to it.

McConnell’s feud with Reid means that companies will still have an incentive to ship jobs overseas. Sen. Reid was correct. The vote today was a vote against American jobs. The Republican Party has demonstrated once again that they are not on the side of American workers. They don’t care about jobs. Senate Republicans don’t care workers. Unless you are a millionaire or a corporation, Mitch McConnell and his Senate Republicans don’t care about you.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association