Georgia U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03) is co-sponsoring a bill that proposes to encourage businesses to head back to American shores.
Ferguson said America needs this during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ferguson is co-sponsoring this bill, the Bring Back American Jobs through Intellectual Property Repatriation Act, with U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL-18). Ferguson announced the bill in a newsletter he emailed to his constituents this week.
Ferguson said in the newsletter that “the global pandemic highlighted the risks to our economy when secure or sensitive information is in the hands of foreign actors with nefarious intentions.”
“This important piece of legislation will strengthen America’s global competitiveness in the wake of COVID-19 by removing obstacles within the tax code that discourage businesses from returning their intellectual property, and their manufacturing, back to our shores,” Ferguson wrote.
In a press release, LaHood said “COVID-19 has illuminated the significant dangers of losing domestic supply chains to countries around the globe, particularly China.”
“Incentivizing the return of intellectual property to the United States will ensure that we remain the world’s leader in innovation, protect good American jobs, and enable businesses to better compete with foreign companies,” LaHood said.
Ferguson, meanwhile, said “America must incentivize strong and robust domestic supply chains while protecting our nation’s intellectual property.”
“In order for our country’s IP to remain secure and competitive, companies need tax policies that will support the ingenuity and innovation needed for a continued economic rebound. We know that manufacturers prefer to keep intellectual property tied to the physical location of their operations,” Ferguson said.
“The risks to the economy when secure or sensitive information is in the hands of foreign actors with nefarious intentions are too great not to address. If we can return IP to American shores, we can return the manufacturing along with it. That’s why Congressman LaHood and I are introducing legislation to protect our IP and incentivize the return of jobs and manufacturing to the United States.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
