Betty Sutton Cosponsoring Trade Bills

From the e-bag comes word that newly minted Rep. Betty Sutton is putting her name of a couple of bills as an original cosponsor. First, the Patriot Corporations of America Act:

The PCAA will soon be introduced by Rep. Schakowsky (D-IL) and provides real incentives to keep jobs and businesses in Northeast Ohio and in America. Companies who meet the criteria of the PCAA would receive priority for government contracts and a 5% tax reduction in taxable income.

The PCAA is a revenue neutral proposal and would be paid for by closing corporate offshoring loopholes and repealing some of the most recent tax breaks for
millionaires. Criteria to become a Patriot Corporation requires companies to:
• Produce at least 90% of their goods and services in the United States
• Limit top management compensation to no greater than 100 times that of their lowest-compensated full-time workers
• Spend at least 50% of their research and development budgets in the United States
• Contribute at least 5% of payroll to a portable pension fund
• Pay at least 70% of the cost of health insurance plans
• Maintain neutrality in employee organizing drives
• Comply with existing federal regulations regarding the environment, workplace safety, consumer protections and labor relations

Second, the Fair Currency Act, which has already been introduced as H.B. 762 (but not yet available on Thompson. Here’s what the presser has to say.

The Fair Currency Act provides tools to American businesses that are hurt by unfair currency manipulation by foreign governments, such as China. While the Bush Administration has failed to address this issue, American workers and businesses have been hurt by a Chinese currency that is undervalued by 40%. This has led to an estimated $800 Billion U.S. trade deficit with China and endangered America's national security.

The legislation requires the Secretary of Treasury to take action to determine if any trading partner manipulates the exchange rate.

The PCAA – whatever. If we are going to play with corporate tax breaks, it makes sense to tie them to criteria that actually helps America.

As for the currency bill, we don’t have a lot of information in the presser about what the Treasury Sec. can do once he determines that China is manipulating. From a quick and cursory search on The Google, I discovered that Sec. Treas. Paulson got cuffed around at a Senate hearing on the issue. The BushCo. line is that they are “constructively engaging” with the Chinese. Some heavy hitters, including John Dingell and Evan Bayh, are lining up to push the Administration toward a more muscular approach.

One of the unsung accomplishments of the Clinton administration was taking an aggressive stance on trade. Conservatives tend to be trade doves, letting our trading partners flout rules in a way that military adversaries could never get away with. I’m hopeful that the Congress will force

I’m not an across-the-board protectionist. That’s why I've opposed pols like Cafaro and the brothers Kucinich. But we need trade agreements to work for everyone, not just corporate management. And when we make agreements, we need to hold our partners too them. That’s why I support a guy like Sherrod Brown. I’m happy to see Sutton attaching her name to this sort of legislation.