[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 109 (Thursday, June 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4757-S4758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3369. Mr. SANDERS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3224 proposed by Mr. Roberts (for himself and Ms.
Stabenow) to the bill H.R. 2, to provide for the reform and
continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of
Agriculture through fiscal year 2023, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end, add the following:
TITLE __OUTSOURCING PREVENTION
SEC. _01. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Commerce.--The term ``commerce'' means trade, traffic,
commerce, transportation, or communication among the several
[[Page S4758]]
States, or between the District of Columbia or any Territory
of the United States and any State or other Territory, or
between any foreign country and any State, Territory, or the
District of Columbia, or within the District of Columbia or
any Territory, or between points in the same State but
through any other State or any Territory or the District of
Columbia or any foreign country.
(2) Employer.--The term ``employer'' means any business
entity with 1 or more locations in the United States that--
(A) is engaged in commerce, or in an industry affecting
commerce; and
(B) employs--
(i) 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or
(ii) 50 or more employees who in the aggregate work at
least 2,000 hours per week (exclusive of hours of overtime).
(3) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means an
executive agency (as defined in section 105 of title 5,
United States Code) and a military department (as defined in
section 102 of such title).
(4) Outsourcing.--The term ``outsourcing'' means the
closing, by an employer, of a site, facility, or operating
unit in the United States and the opening of another site,
facility, or operating unit by the employer in a foreign
country.
(5) Part-time employee.--The term ``part-time employee''
means an employee who--
(A) is employed for an average of fewer than 20 hours per
week; or
(B) has been employed for fewer than 6 of the 12 months
preceding the date on which notice described in section
_02(a)(1) is required.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Labor.
(7) Site, facility, or operating unit.--The term ``site,
facility, or operating unit'' means a single site of
employment or 1 or more facilities or operating units within
a single site of employment.
SEC. _02. LIST OF OUTSOURCING EMPLOYERS.
(a) Notice Requirement.--
(1) In general.--An employer that intends to engage in the
outsourcing of a site, facility, or operating unit shall
notify the Secretary not less than 120 days before such
outsourcing.
(2) Determination of outsourcing by secretary.--The
Secretary may investigate any instance where an employer is
suspected of engaging in outsourcing described in paragraph
(1) without providing the required notification. If the
Secretary determines, after notice and an opportunity for a
hearing, that the employer is in violation of paragraph (1),
the Secretary--
(A) shall include the employer on the list of employers
engaged in outsourcing, in accordance with subsection (b);
and
(B) may assess a civil fine in accordance with paragraph
(3).
(3) Fine.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an
employer that fails to notify the Secretary under paragraph
(1) by not less than 120 days before outsourcing a site,
facility, or operating unit shall be subject to a civil fine
in an amount not to exceed $50,000 for each day that the
required notice was not provided.
(B) Defense.--An employer that has engaged in outsourcing a
site, facility, or operating unit shall not be subject to a
civil fine described in subparagraph (A) if the employer can
demonstrate that--
(i) the employer created, by not later than 90 days after
the date of the outsourcing of a site, facility, or operating
unit, a number of new jobs in the United States that is equal
to, or greater than, the number of jobs lost due to the
outsourcing activity; and
(ii) on average, the new jobs offer substantially similar
or improved wages and benefits, as compared to the jobs lost
due to the outsourcing activity.
(b) List.--
(1) Compilation.--The Secretary shall compile, on a
semiannual basis, a list of all employers that engage in
outsourcing, as determined under paragraph (2).
(2) Employer placement on list.--In any case where the
Secretary determines that an employer has engaged in
outsourcing without creating an equal or greater number of
substantially similar jobs before the end of the 90-day
period described in subsection (a)(3)(B), the Secretary
shall--
(A) include the employer on the next semiannual list
compiled by the Secretary under paragraph (1); and
(B) keep the employer on subsequent semiannual lists for
not less than the 5-year period beginning on the date on
which the employer was first included on the list under
subparagraph (A).
(3) Additional term.--In any case where an employer
included on the most recent list described in paragraph (1)
engages in additional outsourcing activity without creating
an equal or greater number of substantially similar jobs
before the end of the 90-day period described in subsection
(a)(3)(B)--
(A) the employer shall provide the notice required under
subsection (a)(1) for each such additional outsourcing
activity; and
(B) the 5-year period described in paragraph (2)(B) for
such employer shall be calculated using the date that is 90
days after the beginning date for the most recent outsourcing
activity.
(4) Distribution.--The Secretary shall--
(A) post each list described in paragraph (1) on the
website of the Department of Labor; and
(B) submit each such list to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. _03. TREATMENT OF FEDERAL GRANTS AND GUARANTEED LOANS
FOR OUTSOURCING EMPLOYERS.
(a) Ineligibility for Federal Grants and Loans.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of each
Federal agency shall, before awarding any Federal grant,
Federal loan, or Federal guaranteed loan to an employer--
(1) consult the most recent semiannual lists described in
section __02(b)(1) for the 5 years preceding the date of the
award determination; and
(2) if the employer appears on any such list, deem such
employer to be ineligible for the Federal grant, Federal
loan, or Federal guaranteed loan.
(b) Non-outsourcing Condition for All Federal Grants and
Loans.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the head of each Federal agency shall ensure that any
employer receiving a Federal grant, Federal loan, or Federal
guaranteed loan from the Federal agency agree, as a condition
of the grant or loan, that--
(A) the employer will not engage in outsourcing for the 10-
year period following the receipt of the grant or loan; and
(B) if the employer is included on a semiannual list
described in section __02(b)(1) during such period--
(i) in the case of a Federal grant, the employer shall
repay the full amount of the grant immediately; and
(ii) in the case of a Federal loan or Federal guaranteed
loan, the full amount of the loan shall become due as of the
date of the employer's inclusion on the list, and the
employer shall repay the loan immediately.
(2) Return of funds.--Any amounts repaid under paragraph
(1) shall be returned to the Treasury of the United States.
(c) Applicability.--Subsections (a) and (b) shall apply
with respect to all Federal grants, Federal loans, or Federal
guaranteed loans awarded, entered into, or renewed on or
after the effective date of this title.
SEC. _04. PROCUREMENT PREFERENCE FOR EMPLOYERS REMAINING IN
THE UNITED STATES.
Any employer that appears on the most recent list compiled
pursuant to section __02(b)(1)--
(1) shall be ineligible to enter into a contract with a
Federal agency for the procurement of property or services;
and
(2) shall be included on the List of Parties Excluded from
Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs maintained by
the Administrator of General Services under part 9 of the
Federal Acquisition Regulation.
SEC. _05. FEDERAL BENEFITS FOR WORKERS.
No provision of this title shall be construed to permit the
withholding or denial of payments, compensation, or benefits
under any other Federal law (including Federal unemployment
compensation, disability payments, or worker retraining or
readjustment funds) to workers employed by employers that
engage in outsourcing.
SEC. _06. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This title shall take effect beginning on the date that is
90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
______