Van Hollen Supports the American Jobs and Closing Loopholes Act of 2010
Today Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Assistant to the Speaker, spoke on the House floor in support of the American Jobs and Closing Loopholes Act of 2010. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
"Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the American Jobs and Closing Loopholes Act of 2010.
"From the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to the recently enacted HIRE Act, the economic data clearly show the recovery strategy is working. Facts are facts: We've gone from losing 750,000 jobs a month when President Obama took office to gaining 290,000 jobs in April -- the largest increase in four years. From an economy in free fall to an economy that grew by 3.2% in the first quarter of 2010. This is good news for the American people.
"But with the employment picture lagging behind recent improvement in economic growth, we must redouble our efforts to drive job creation here at home, while shutting down loopholes in our tax code that perversely encourage the offshoring of American jobs -- and that's just what this legislation does.
"It starts with the Research and Development Credit. If you're interested in high-skilled, good-paying U.S. jobs in sectors like biotechnology, energy, information technology, software, telecommunications and manufacturing, you should be for this bill. An estimated 117,000 jobs nationwide depend on this provision.
"Or the wildly successful Build America Bonds program, which has driven more than $97 billion in infrastructure investment across the country for our schools, roads, hospitals, energy and water and sewer projects. More than 1.7 million jobs -- many of them in the construction sector -- hinge on our getting this done.
"So does tax relief for American families. Whether it's letting parents take a deduction for their kids' qualified tuition expenses, or giving homeowners an additional standard deduction on their property taxes, this legislation will cut individual taxes by $5 billion.
"Finally, as we work to create jobs here at home in a fiscally responsible manner, we are determined to pay for these initiatives by removing loopholes in current law that ship our jobs offshore.
"To make sure our companies aren't disadvantaged against their foreign competition when they operate abroad, we give them a credit for taxes they've already paid to foreign governments on income earned overseas. The fundamental principle -- which I agree with -- is that our companies should not be subject to double taxation. However, over the years creative tax attorneys have figured out clever ways to split these foreign tax credits off from the foreign income that created them in a way that lets companies claim those credits on their US returns without ever actually paying US tax on the foreign income that generated the credits in the first place. This kind of credit splitting has nothing to do with avoiding double taxation. Instead, it effectively shifts the payment of foreign tax from the company to the US taxpayer. This is completely destructive to the very jobs we are trying to create here at home, and today we are changing this terrible tax policy.
"The American Jobs and Closing Loopholes Act of 2010 will drive innovation, build out our critical infrastructure, and extend tax relief to American families -- and it is paid for by shutting down loopholes in our code that drain jobs out of our country rather than creating them right here at home.
"I urge my colleagues' support and I yield back the balance of my time."
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