[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3274 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3274

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the heads of 
other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to produce a report on 
   enhancing the competitiveness of the United States in attracting 
           foreign direct investment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 2012

 Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. Corker, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Chambliss, 
Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Brown of Massachusetts) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the heads of 
other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to produce a report on 
   enhancing the competitiveness of the United States in attracting 
           foreign direct investment, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global Investment in American Jobs 
Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) It remains an urgent national priority to restore 
        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) United States 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 global investment stock decline significantly 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 benefits the economy and 
        workforce of every State and Commonwealth in the United States.
            (8) According to the latest United States Government 
        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 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 17 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 21 percent of United States 
                exports;
                    (D) promoting innovation with more than 
                $40,000,000,000 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 5.3 percent of United 
        States private sector Gross Domestic Product.
            (10) The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of State 
        have both recently declared increasing inward 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.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the ability of the United States to attract inbound 
        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 consider potential impact upon the ability of 
        the United States to attract foreign direct investment when 
        evaluating proposed legislation or regulatory policy; and
            (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.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND INTERNATIONAL 
              FINANCIAL DATA IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 1990.

    Section 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) Review.--The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination 
        with 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 included.--The 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 the 
                ability of the United States to attract and retain 
                foreign direct investment.
                    ``(C) A review of ongoing efforts of the Federal 
                Government to reduce investment barriers and facilitate 
                greater levels of foreign direct investment in the 
                United States.
                    ``(D) Recommendations based on an assessment of 
                United States laws and policies, including a 
                comparative analysis of efforts of other competing 
                countries, to make the United States more competitive 
                in attracting global investment.
            ``(3) Comment period.--The review conducted under paragraph 
        (1) shall include an open comment period to solicit input from 
        experts and industry stakeholders on matters covered by the 
        review.
            ``(4) Inclusion in report.--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.''.
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