Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARROW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I too rise in support of H.R. 5910, the Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2012.

Our success as a country depends more and more on being competitive in a global economy. The United States has historically been a very attractive investment for foreign businesses. In fact, foreign-owned businesses add over 5 million good-paying jobs to the U.S. labor force, produce nearly 18 percent of all U.S. exports, pay nearly 17 percent of all U.S. corporate income taxes, and purchase nearly $2 trillion in goods and services from other domestic small businesses.

This bill simply requires the Department of Commerce to work with the heads of other relevant Federal departments to conduct a review of U.S. laws and policies that affect foreign investment in the U.S. and then make recommendations on how we can be more competitive in attracting foreign investment.

As our global competitors continue to develop, we have to evolve as well just to keep up. This bill will give us a fuller picture of our challenges and opportunities so we can develop a coordinated strategy for economic success. It's the key to our economic well-being in the decades to come.

I want to thank Congressman Dold, Congressman Roskam, and Congressman Peters for their collaborative and bipartisan work on this bill. Working together isn't just the right way to do things around here; it's the only way to actually get anything done around here. However much we may tend to forget that in this body, it's the only way to truly represent the Nation as a whole.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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