Amendments

AMENDMENTS -- (House of Representatives - June 17, 2004)

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Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong opposition to the Thomas "American Jobs Exportation Act" that provides billions of new tax breaks for offshore operations at the expense of exacerbating our Nation's deficits.

At the same time, I am extremely disappointed that millions of U.S. producers, farmers, and small business owners will be left behind. In my Los Angeles district, where the entertainment industry is the main driving force of our local economy, hundreds of thousands of workers are hurt by the phenomenon of runaway production, or the practice of filming overseas for pure economic reasons. The Senate JOBS Act has taken a serious look at this issue and included provisions to encourage domestic film production through tax write-offs. I regret that this was stripped out of the House bill, and, with the closed rule we are operating under today, no member could offer an amendment to address this devastating issue.

I support the underlying goals of what we are attempting today, which is to replace FSC/ETI export incentives with help for U.S. manufacturers. But H.R. 4520 has turned into a big corporate gift that keeps on giving, an overstuffed pin 6ata for lobbyists. Millions of workers, such as the creative workforce hit hard by the outsourcing of film production, are altogether ignored.

H.R. 4520 is an outrageous bill not only because it fails to adequately address the plight of U.S. workers, but it helps move U.S. investment and jobs abroad. There is little wonder then that a modest provision to help keep entertainment jobs in the United States was completely discounted. While I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 4520, I hope better legislation will be negotiated in conference.