CLEVELAND, OH – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined northeast Ohio steelworkers and autoworkers at USW Local 979 as he leads legislation to support Ohio’s auto industry and keep auto jobs in the U.S. Brown introduced legislation after General Motors recently announced plans to build the new Chevy Blazer in Mexico on the same day the company ended the second shift at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio.
Brown’s bill, the American Cars, American Jobs Act, would:
- Give customers a $3,500 discount when they buy cars made in America. This would cover all passenger vehicles made in Ohio and nearly 100 cars and trucks nationwide.
- Revoke a GOP tax cut on overseas profits from auto manufacturers that ship jobs overseas.
“There are two simple parts: customers who buy cars made in America get a discount and corporations that send jobs overseas lose a special tax break,” Brown said. “We shouldn’t be handing out 50 percent off coupons to companies that send jobs overseas.”
Brown’s bill would benefit Ohio companies and workers throughout the auto supply chain. The legislation would put U.S.-made cars on equal footing with foreign-made vehicles and update the tax code to remove incentives for auto companies to offshore jobs. Learn more about the bill HERE.
Specifically, Brown’s bill would establish a targeted, temporary program to provide customers with a $3,500 deduction on a purchase or 5-year lease of a qualifying new, American-made passenger vehicle. Qualifying vehicles must be assembled in the U.S. and contain at least 45 percent of materials from the U.S. and Canada. Nearly 100 vehicles, including all passenger vehicles made in Ohio, qualify for the program.
The bill would also revoke a tax cut on overseas profits from auto companies that send jobs overseas. The GOP tax law allows some overseas profits to be taxed at a lower 10.5 percent rate, instead of the full 21 percent corporate rate. This bill would tax those overseas profits at the full 21 percent rate for auto companies that cut American jobs since the tax bill passed and increase jobs overseas.
Brown was joined at USW 979 by President Dan Boone, UAW 1250 President Mark Payne, and Brook Park Mayor Mike Gammella.
“Ohio is at the heart of American manufacturing. Ohioans build over 1.6 million cars, SUVs, and trucks in 2015, and over 70 percent of the vehicles built in North America are built within a 500-mile radius of our state. We shouldn’t be giving away the opportunity to create the most advanced cars, trucks, and SUVs and the technology and materials that go into producing them,” said USW 979 President Dan Boone.
More information on Brown’s bill can be found here.