Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly participated in a meeting on tax reform with White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn. President Trump also called in for a portion of the meeting from his trip in Asia. Donnelly discussed his tax reform priorities and shared a letter that he also sent to Vice President Pence today. The letter welcomes Pence’s upcoming visit to Indiana to talk about tax reform and emphasizes that our tax policies should align with the interests of American workers and support companies that invest in the U.S. To read Donnelly’s letter to Pence, see below or click here.
Donnelly said, “Tax reform should create jobs, protect existing jobs, and benefit middle class families. I’m the hired help for Indiana, and this was another opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss priorities important to Hoosiers with the White House. I’m going to continue engaging with the Administration and my Senate colleagues as we work on tax reform.”
Tax reform legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, and a bill could be unveiled in the Senate as soon as later this week.
Donnelly has said that he hopes tax reform will protect existing jobs and address the outsourcing of American jobs, while also creating jobs and providing relief to middle-class families. His priorities are consistent with his End Outsourcing Act, which would support companies that invest in American workers and penalize companies that ship American jobs to foreign countries.
Donnelly has discussed his End Outsourcing Act with President Trump and Administration officials on several occasions this year, and the President has consistently expressed support for the proposal.
In September, Donnelly traveled to Indianapolis with the President for his speech on tax reform and attended Vice President Pence’s speech on tax reform in Anderson in September. Donnelly also has discussed his proposal at White House dinners with the President in September and February. In addition, Donnelly discussed his End Outsourcing Act with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin in June.
Donnelly letter to Pence:
November 7, 2017
Vice President Mike Pence
The White House
Dear Vice President Pence:
I am pleased to hear that you are returning to Indiana this week to discuss tax reform. I know we share a strong interest in ensuring that the current tax reform effort benefits Hoosiers—particularly our workers and the middle class families they support.
As I have discussed with both you and President Trump, I believe it’s important that our tax policies align with the interests of American workers and that tax benefits support companies that invest here in the United States and penalize those that outsource jobs to foreign countries.
There may not be a more high profile example of the devastating impact outsourcing can have on a community than United Technologies’ 2016 decision to move thousands of jobs from Carrier in Indianapolis and UTEC in Huntington to Mexico. As President Trump has recognized, the practice of shipping jobs to foreign countries is not unique to Carrier and UTEC. In fact, nine different companies across Indiana have recently or will soon send 2,200 Hoosier jobs out of our country.
In response, I have introduced the End Outsourcing Act, which would ensure federal tax breaks and contracts go to companies that invest in the United States and penalize those companies that move jobs to other countries. My proposal has the expressed support of President Trump, and the United States Senate recently endorsed the framework by supporting my budget amendment noting that tax breaks should not go to companies that ship American jobs to foreign countries.
I encourage you to use your visit to Indiana to reaffirm the President’s commitment to address the outsourcing of American jobs, and I strongly encourage the Administration to use the current tax reform effort to advance U.S. tax policies, like those included in the End Outsourcing Act, that support American workers and their families.
Sincerely,
Joe Donnelly
United States Senator
