[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S6113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Foreign Investment

  Now, Mr. President, on another matter, I have noted frequently that 
America's resolve and willingness to lead are being tested by a 
dangerous world. How we respond has everything to do with preserving 
the peace, prosperity, and security America and our allies have enjoyed 
for decades.
  Today, I want to talk about how the free and uninterrupted flow of 
goods, people, and ideas has fueled American prosperity.
  We all know that trade is important for American workers and American 
jobs, but the benefits of trade run far deeper than exports of 
American-made goods, services, ideas, and values. Trade is a two-way 
street. When we engage in the global market, we open our own doors to 
new sources of economic strength--to lower prices and more choices and 
to good-paying jobs from foreign companies that set up shop here at 
home. For 12 straight years, America has been the top destination for 
foreign businesses to invest their capital--investments that do a lot 
of good in big and small towns alike.
  Let's take a look at Kentucky; for example, the Toyota plant in 
Georgetown. The Japanese automaker has invested billions--billions--in 
our economy. Today, it supports nearly 10,000 jobs in Central Kentucky.
  In Carroll County, a Spanish-owned steel manufacturer supports nearly 
1,600 more manufacturing jobs, and it is getting even bigger. Just this 
year, the company announced a new quarter-of-a-billion-dollar 
investment. Head west to Owensboro, where close to 500 jobs are on the 
way thanks to the Swedish manufacturer that invested hundreds of 
millions into their Kentucky-based production plant.
  So, in Kentucky alone, in just looking at my State, businesses from 
33 foreign nations support over 116,000 jobs. These jobs aren't just 
benefiting the biggest cities. Roughly, 60 percent of all of our 
counties in Kentucky are home to at least one international business.
  Now, I have highlighted just a few examples in my home State, but 
these aren't anomalies. They speak to a situation true all across our 
country: Foreign investment benefits American workers and American 
communities, but it doesn't happen on its own. Foreign businesses 
invest in America because they know they can count on our commitment to 
free markets and free enterprise and on our rule of law.
  Turning our backs on the world means signaling that we are closed for 
business. It means dulling the magnet of foreign direct investment that 
draws capital from all over the world to our shores. When our leaders 
throw up barriers to foreign investment from friends and allies, they 
risk hurting the very communities they intend to protect. 
Unfortunately, that is precisely what some loud voices are urging our 
leaders to do, and if they succeed, our economy will be worse for it.
  To be absolutely clear, this isn't an appeal to the naive globalism 
of the 1990s. Trade is not a cure-all for the serious challenges of 
competition with China and Russia, but if our adversaries' predatory 
trading practices and exploitations of institutions tell us anything, 
it is that leaving a vacuum in global markets is an invitation for 
further misbehavior.
  Working closer with like-minded friends and allies to preserve free 
and fair trade and to protect critical supply chains is essential to 
both our security and our prosperity. When friends and allies invest in 
the U.S. economy and, likewise, when American companies invest in 
theirs, we drive growth, boost paychecks, and increase American-made 
exports. That is good news for Kentucky and for workers and job 
creators all across America.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.