Waiving Requirement of Clause 6(a) of Rule XIII with Respect to Consideration of Certain Resolutions Reported from Committee on Rules

WAIVING REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (House of Representatives - October 07, 2004)

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Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

The FSC conference report is the wrong solution for America's manufacturing sector. This stack of fliers and literally hundreds of others was given to me by a group of people, the Akron machine shop operators in Akron, Ohio. They represent literally thousands of manufacturing companies in this country going out of business. "Complete Liquidation," Dover, Ohio; "Something for Everyone," Piqua, Ohio; another going out of business, Pettisville, Ohio; Independence, Ohio; Tallmadge, Ohio. All of these represent companies that are cannibalizing themselves, that are selling their equipment, that are going out of business, that simply are closing their doors and laying off American workers.

Ohio, my State, has lost 170,000 manufacturing jobs under President Bush. The Nation has lost 2.7 million jobs. It is not ancient history. It is currently reality. In my State in August, Ohio lost 4,000 more manufacturing jobs. During the Bush administration, one out of six manufacturing jobs in Ohio has disappeared, one out of six; 150 jobs every day in my State alone have disappeared during the Bush administration. President Bush will be the first President since Herbert Hoover to have a net loss of jobs during his administration. And all of these tax bills that the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds) bring in front of this body, they have promised, President Bush promised, 6 million new jobs in this country. So far, we are 7 million short of that 6 million job goal.

President Bush, during the Republican convention, during his speech that all the pundits said was tough because the President stood there strong, mentioned the word "jobs" once, one time; he also did not mention Osama bin Laden at all. But he mentioned the word "jobs" once during that speech.

My mom taught me, if I am going to stand up and criticize, I ought to have something to say in its place; I ought to suggest something else. There is a bill that offers hope to small manufacturers, that will help States like Ohio and Michigan and New York rebuild their manufacturing base. The bipartisan Crane-Rangel bill that the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) worked on would reward companies that produce in America and employ U.S. workers. If they do 100 percent of their production in the U.S., they get 100 percent of the tax benefits. It was endorsed by the Manufacturers Association, by the AFL/CIO. It helps also proprietorships and partnerships. It is budget-neutral, adding nothing to the national debt. If has 170 cosponsors, roughly even number of Republicans and Democrats.

Let me be clear to my Republican friends, if they cosponsored Crane-Rangel and they turn around and vote for this conference report, they are selling out America's small manufacturers and they are selling out our communities. If they turn around and vote for this special interest bill instead of the bipartisan Crane-Rangel bill, they are selling out American manufacturing and selling out American jobs because the conference report takes us in the exact opposite direction.

Instead of rewarding investment in America, this conference bill continues to encourage giant multinationals to ship more jobs overseas. Instead of supporting the small business community, the conference bill rewards special interests, friends of particular Members of Congress, as the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) pointed out. Instead of using honest policy to reach budget neutrality, it fudges the numbers to hide its multibillion dollar cost to American taxpayers. So not only is this a special interest bill that is going to undercut jobs today, it is also going to load even more debt on our children and grandchildren. It is the wrong direction to take the country. It is more of the failed economic policies we have seen out of this Congress and out of this President. It is time we change direction and help rebuild U.S. manufacturing.