PUBLIC REPORTING OF U.S. JOBS SENT ABROAD:

Voting 226 for and 184 against, the House on Oct. 18 passed a bill (HR 3624) that would require publicly traded companies to annually report to the Securities and Exchange Commission the number of people they employ in each foreign country, each U.S. territory and each of the 50 states. The geographical breakdowns would enable investors and consumers to assess the extent to which American corporations are exporting jobs and relocating employees within the United States. In part, this would enable the public to determine the extent to which domestic layoffs are attributable to outsourcing.

Sponsor Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, said her bill would “disincentivize companies from outsourcing and lying to the public and employees about it. If a company knows the information will be disclosed, they’ll think twice about such unpopular actions.” The bill also would “give investors and consumers the information they need to identify companies that are supporting American jobs.”

Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said, “The information sought by [the bill] would at best tell an incomplete story and at worst could be deeply misleading. The only possible explanation for this bill is to use the information to try to shame public companies. It is unclear to me how shaming companies benefits the everyday investor or encourages companies to create jobs in the United States.”

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

ARKANSAS

Voting no: Westerman

TEXAS

Voting no: Gohmert, Ratcliffe