Corporations Would Report Foreign Job Moves in House-Passed Bill

Legislation designed to monitor publicly traded companies’ relocation of jobs overseas was passed by the House Oct. 17.

The bill (H.R. 3624), introduced by Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), would require companies to annually disclose the number of employees, listed by U.S. state, territory or foreign country, and to show how the numbers changed from the previous year.

The “Outsourcing Accountability Act of 2019" would apply to publicly traded companies that file annual reports under the 1934 Securities Exchange Act. Companies subject to the measure also would have to list employees who work for their subsidiaries.

Lawmakers voted 226-184 in favor of the measure, with only Reps. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.) crossing party lines to back it.

The Republican-controlled Senate is unlikely to advance the bill or a companion measure (S. 1843) that hasn’t moved since it was introduced in June by Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

Labor groups supportive of the bill say the mandate would help dissuade companies from relocating jobs overseas, particularly in the manufacturing and telecommunication industries. Those jobs have been lost to countries where workers are paid less and don’t get the same legal protections as in the U.S., they say.

“This bill will show whether corporations are truly creating American jobs or if they are instead moving jobs overseas,” Axne said on the House floor shortly before the vote.

Business groups oppose the bill. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in July when the bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee that it “would not in any way be decision-useful to investors, and instead would be a costly requirement that shareholders would ultimately pay for.”

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), ranking member of the Financial Services panel, slammed the bill as a “political talking point.”

“Let us be clear, the bill we’re considering right now has nothing to do with outsourcing,” McHenry said. “The bill is simply designed to create more opportunities for corporate activists and the trial bar to name and shame companies.”

The House also rejected two amendments proposed by Republicans that would have exempted certain companies from the new requirements.