S. 3977 Patriot Employers Bill--Providing a Tax Cut to our Best Companies
Mr. President, when companies make
headlines today it is often for all the wrong reasons: fraud, tax
avoidance, profiteering, etc. Yet many of the companies that are
currently providing jobs across America are conscientious corporate
citizens that strive to treat their workers fairly even as they seek to
create good products that consumers want and to maximize profits for
their shareholders. I believe that we should reward such companies for
providing good jobs to American workers, and create incentives that
encourage more companies to do likewise. The Patriot Employers bill
does just that.
This legislation, which I am introducing
today along with Senators Obama and Brown, would provide a tax credit
to reward the companies that treat American workers best. Companies
that provide American jobs, pay decent wages; provide good benefits,
and support their employees when they are called to active duty should
enjoy more favorable tax treatment than companies that are unwilling to
make the same commitment to American workers. The Patriot Employers tax
credit would put the tax code on the side of those deserving companies
by acknowledging their commitments.
The Patriot Employers
legislation would provide a tax credit equal to 1 percent of taxable
income to employers that meet the following criteria:
First, invest in American jobs, by maintaining or increasing the number
of full-time workers in America relative to the number of full-time
workers outside of America, by maintaining their corporate headquarters
in America if the company has ever been headquartered in America, and
by maintaining neutrality in union organizing drives.
Second, pay decent wages, by paying each worker an hourly wage that
would ensure that a full-time worker would earn enough to keep a family
of three out of poverty, at least $7.80 per hour.
Third,
prepare workers for retirement, either by providing a defined benefit
plan or by providing a defined contribution plan that fully matches at
least 5 percent of worker contributions for every employee.
Fourth, provide health insurance, by paying at least 60 percent of each worker's health care premiums.
Fifth, support our troops, by paying the difference between the
regular salary and the military salary of all National Guard and
Reserve employees who are called for active duty, and also by
continuing their health insurance coverage.
In recognition
of the different business circumstances that small employers face,
companies with fewer than 50 employees could achieve Patriot Employer
status by fulfilling a smaller number of these criteria.
There is more to the story of corporate American than the widely-publicized wrong-doing. Patriot Employers should be publicly recognized for doing right by their workers even while they do well for their customers and shareholders. I urge my colleagues to join Senator Obama, Senator Brown, and me in supporting this effort. Our best companies, and our American workers, deserve nothing less.