Stabenow, Peters Request Meeting with President Trump to Discuss Ways to Promote American Jobs and Manufacturing

As the White House continues its “Made in America” activities this week, U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) today requested a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss ways to promote American jobs and manufacturing and end outsourcing. The Senators reminded President Trump of his promise to put forward a comprehensive plan to end outsourcing and create jobs, and they called on him to work with Congress to ensure that American jobs are not shipped overseas. 

“Your administration declared this week to be “Made In America” week to showcase American manufacturers and American-made products,” wrote the lawmakers. “In Michigan, manufacturing is a key component of our economy. As Senators who have long supported domestic manufacturing, we share a common goal in rewarding manufacturers that make products domestically and create good-paying jobs. Thus, we respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss an economic agenda that promotes American manufacturing by preventing outsourcing and implementing strong Buy American laws.”

Earlier this year, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow announced her American Jobs Agenda, which will ensure we are making products in America, closing loopholes that send jobs overseas, and holding countries like China accountable for unfair trade practices. 

In February, U.S. Senator Gary Peters introduced the Outsourcing Accountability Act  to help consumers identify which companies are sending jobs overseas by requiring publicly traded companies to disclose their total numbers of employees by location, including by state and by country. Currently, publicly traded companies are required to disclose total number of employees, but not where they are based, making it very difficult to accurately track the number of jobs they are eliminating in the United States and moving overseas.

The full text of the letter is below and a signed PDF is attached. 

July 20, 2017

President Donald J. Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Your administration declared this week to be “Made In America” week to showcase American manufacturers and American-made products. In Michigan, manufacturing is a key component of our economy. As Senators who have long supported domestic manufacturing, we share a common goal in rewarding manufacturers that make products domestically and create good-paying jobs. Thus, we respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss an economic agenda that promotes American manufacturing by preventing outsourcing and implementing strong Buy American laws.

As you know, outsourcing has devastated communities and workers in the American heartland. For decades, the federal government has enabled outsourcing through loopholes in the federal tax code and waivers to Buy American laws. These policies have put American industry and workers at a significant disadvantage. We strongly believe that in order to reverse the long-standing effects of outsourcing, we must eliminate tax incentives that essentially force hardworking Americans to help pay for the costs of outsourcing their own jobs and policies that keep federal contracts flowing to companies that are not invested in creating jobs and products domestically.

We recognize that you have promised to take a comprehensive approach to preventing outsourcing and enforcing Buy American provisions, but congressional action is still needed to ensure that U.S. jobs and billions in taxpayer dollars are not sent abroad. Given our shared interest, we request a meeting to discuss a broad range of legislative proposals that will promote U.S. jobs and lead to economic growth. Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to hearing from you on this important matter.