1.This Act may be cited as the
Global Investment in American Jobs Act
of 2012
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)It remains an urgent national priority to
improve economic growth and create new jobs.
(2)National security
requires economic strength and global engagement.
(3)Businesses today
have a wide array of choices when considering where to invest, expand, or
establish new operations.
(4)Administrations of
both parties have consistently reaffirmed the need to maintain an open
investment climate as a key to domestic economic prosperity and
security.
(5)The United States
has historically been the largest worldwide recipient of global investment but
has seen its share of inbound global investment decline relative to its gross
domestic product in recent years.
(6)Governors and mayors throughout the United
States face increasing competition from other countries as they work to recruit
investment from global companies.
(7)Foreign direct investment can benefit the
economy and workforce of every State and Commonwealth in the United
States.
(8)According to the
latest Federal statistics, the United States subsidiaries of companies
headquartered abroad contribute to the United States economy in a variety of
important ways, including by—
(A)providing jobs for
nearly 5,300,000 Americans with average compensation that is approximately 33
percent higher than the national private-sector average, as these jobs are
often in high-skilled, high-paying industries;
(B)strengthening the
United States industrial base and employing nearly 15 percent of the United
States manufacturing sector workforce;
(C)establishing
operations in the United States from which to sell goods and services around
the world, thereby producing nearly 18 percent of United States exports;
(D)promoting
innovation with more than $41,000,000,000 in annual United States research and
development activities;
(E)paying nearly 17
percent of United States corporate income taxes; and
(F)purchasing more
than $1,800,000,000,000 in domestic goods and services annually from local
suppliers and small businesses, amounting to 80 cents for every dollar spent on
input purchases.
(9)These companies
account for 5.8 percent of United States private sector Gross Domestic
Product.
(10)The Secretary of
Commerce and the Secretary of State have declared increasing inbound global
investment to be among their top priorities.
(11)The President
issued a statement in 2011 reaffirming the longstanding open investment policy
of the United States and encouraged all countries to pursue such a
policy.
(12)The President signed an Executive order in
2011 to establish the SelectUSA initiative, aimed at promoting greater levels
of business investment in the United States.
(13)The President’s Council on Jobs and
Competitiveness in 2011 recommended the establishment of a National Investment
Initiative to attract $1,000,000,000,000 in new business investment from
abroad.
(14)The United States
and the European Union recently unveiled a set of principles aimed at promoting
a more open climate for international investment and intended as a model for
countries around the world.
(15)Maintaining the
United States commitment to open investment policy encourages other countries
to do the same and enables the United States to open new markets abroad for
United States companies and their products.
3.It is the sense of
Congress that—
(1)the ability of the United States to attract
inbound investment, particularly net new investment, is directly linked to the
long-term economic prosperity, competitiveness, and security of the United
States;
(2)in order to remain
the most attractive location for global investment, Congress and Federal
departments and agencies should be mindful of the potential impact upon the
ability of the United States to attract foreign direct investment when
evaluating proposed legislation or regulatory policy;
(3)it is a top
national priority to enhance the competitiveness, prosperity, and security of
the United States by—
(A)removing
unnecessary barriers to inward global investment and the jobs that it creates
throughout the United States; and
(B)promoting policies
to ensure the United States remains the premier destination for global
companies to invest, hire, innovate, and manufacture their products; and
(4)while foreign direct investment can enhance
our economic strength, policies regarding foreign direct investment should
reflect national security interests.
4.Amendment to
Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of
1990Section 3 of the Foreign
Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990
(22 U.S.C.
3142) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(d)Review of United
States laws and policies on foreign direct investment in the United
States
(1)The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination
with the Federal Interagency Investment Working Group and the heads of other
relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall conduct an interagency review
of United States laws and policies on foreign direct investment in the United
States and develop recommendations to make the United States more competitive
in attracting and retaining strong investment flows from abroad.
(2)Additional
matters to be includedThe
review conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A)A review of the
current economic impact of foreign direct investment in the United States and
broader trends in global cross-border investment flows, including an assessment
of the current United States competitive position as an investment location for
companies headquartered abroad.
(B)A review of United
States laws and policies that uniquely apply to foreign direct investment in
the United States, with particular focus on those laws and policies that may
have the effect of diminishing or promoting the ability of the United States to
attract and retain foreign direct investment.
(C)A review of
ongoing Federal Government efforts to improve the investment climate, reduce
investment barriers, and facilitate greater levels of foreign direct investment
in the United States.
(D)Recommendations
based on the review carried out pursuant to subparagraph (B), including a
comparative analysis of efforts of other competing countries, to make the
United States more competitive in attracting global investment.
(E)The impact of
foreign direct investment on innovation and national economic
competitiveness.
(F)A review of State
and local government initiatives to attract foreign investment.
(3)The review conducted under paragraph (1) shall include an
open comment period to solicit public input on matters covered by the
review.
(4)The Secretary of
Commerce shall include the results of the review conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1) in the first report prepared under subsection (a) of this section
on or after the date of the enactment of the Global Investment in American Jobs Act of
2012.
.
Passed the House of
Representatives September 19, 2012.
Karen L. Haas,
Clerk