James Sensenbrenner, September 15, 2004

As the representative of Wisconsin’s Fifth District, I have been a vocal opponent of outsourcing -- the migration of American companies and jobs to foreign countries. Unfair trade agreements, such as the granting of permanent normal trade relations with China, have hurt the United States. Over the past few years, the media has reported extensively on our nation’s economy by focusing on the number of jobs lost to foreign countries. But, there are usually two sides to every issue, and along with the bad, there is some good. Contrary to outsourcing, and rarely covered by the media, is a less well-known phenomenon known as ‘insourcing,’ which also affects our economy.

Insourcing represents the movement of jobs and investment from foreign countries to the US. This process creates jobs, establishes production and boosts exports in our country. Companies from overseas invest billions of dollars to build or expand their businesses in the United States, helping our economy, and employing over 6.4 million Americans nationwide. Multinational companies create jobs in our country because President Bush’s policies have made the United States a more attractive place in which to do business. The numbers prove it:

• Insourcing investment in the US totaled $82 billion in 2003, over twice the amount from the previous year;

• Insourced jobs are good jobs, paying 16.5% more than the average domestic job;

• Global companies have created 400,000 American jobs in heavy manufacturing since the mid-1990s.

Around the country, the overall job situation has improved too. An inherited recession and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2004, posed a challenge for President Bush and Congress. Thanks to the President’s tax cuts and other pro-growth policies, the economy has grown at the fastest rate of any major industrialized nation since August 2003. Nearly 1.3 million jobs have been created this year alone. The President’s policies, the strength of our nation and the American worker, and insourcing, have contributed to a stronger US economy. For Wisconsin, this has meant an unemployment rate that is lower than the national average.

In Congress, I have made it a priority to push for and support legislation that provides Americans with opportunities to better themselves. I have voted with the majority of my colleagues to pass President Bush’s job-growth packages, and over time, I have seen the positive effects of these bills as more Wisconsinites find gainful employment. I hope to see this trend continue, even as we try to entice more foreign companies to expand their businesses in America, leading to more American jobs.

Congressman James Sensenbrenner, a Republican, represents the Fifth Congressional District of Wisconsin. He serves as chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Fifth District of Wisconsin forms an arc surrounding Milwaukee to the North and West, and includes parts of Jefferson, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, and all of Ozaukee and Washington counties.