Sen. Pryor Proposes Jobs Legislation To Help American Firms (UPDATED)

Sen. Mark Pryor (D) rolled out new legislation aimed at job creation, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

“Arkansas is a manufacturing powerhouse. Yet, we’re seeing too many jobs shipped overseas. It’s time to bring jobs back home,” Pryor said.

Pryor’s legislation, dubbed the “American-Made Strong” proposal, would:

• Deny tax breaks for U.S. companies that move overseas by stopping companies from deducting the cost of moving personnel and operations to a location outside the U.S.
• Create a new tax cut and maintain an existing deduction to encourage U.S. companies to bring jobs back to America. Companies that qualify would receive a new tax credit equal to 20% of the cost associated with bringing jobs and business activity back to the U.S. Companies would be able to apply the 20% percent tax credit against their corporate income tax.
• Help rural states recruit overseas companies by establishing a “competitive” grant program. The grants would be used by states to issue forgivable loans of $5,000 per full-time employee.
• Extend current tax credits, such as increased expensing and bonus depreciation that Pryor contends would help small- and medium-sized U.S. companies and farms.

The legislation proposed by Pryor also includes requirements for companies hired to build America’s highways, public works, and other infrastructure projects to use American products when possible. Pryor said the requirement would boost employment in the U.S. steel, cement and forestry industries.

It also makes permanent a “Build America” bond program that is used for capital projects such as courthouses, schools, public utilities, and hospitals. Pryor would extend the uses to allow the bonds to fund levees and flood control projects.

Another proposed aspect of the legislation would create a voluntary, standardized labeling program designating products with an  “America Star” tag.  The program, similar to the “Energy Star” program, would be overseen by the Department of Commerce and would identify products made, manufactured or assembled in the United States.

“My ‘American-Made Strong’ jobs legislation will end the outrageous tax giveaways for companies that ship jobs overseas and instead provide incentives to bring good-paying jobs back to the U.S.” Pryor said. “It will require infrastructure to be built with American-made products so we keep America working. And it will make it easier for businesses to produce and consumers to buy quality products made right here in the USA.”

Other details of the legislation would help start-up companies by allowing tax-free savings of up to $10,000 per year that could be used for equipment, facilities, legal fees, or other expenses. Also, the measure would provide a 25% federal income tax credit for angel and venture fund investment in qualified small businesses.

UPDATE: David Ray, spokesman for Cong. Tom Cotton, who is challenging Pryor in this year’s U.S. Senate race, provided the following comments regarding Pryor’s plan.

“It’s going to take more than putting stickers on products to create jobs in America. Our economy shrank by nearly 3% last quarter in part because Senator Pryor has spent the last six years supporting every job-killing measure President Obama has proposed including Obamacare, which the CBO says will cost our economy the equivalent of over 2 million jobs and Dodd-Frank, which experts predict will result in nearly 3 million fewer jobs being created. By electing Tom Cotton this fall, Arkansas will have a true friend of small business owners and job creators in Washington. That’s why the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has endorsed Tom Cotton,” said Ray.