Rep. Gillmor: Democrats’ Farm Bill Puts Ohio Jobs at Risk

WASHINGTON, DC- Today, Congressman Paul Gillmor (R- Tiffin) supported the Farm Bill which had unanimously passed out of the House Agriculture Committee only to be disappointed that Democrats in Congress changed the bill and forced a different measure through the House. Gillmor ultimately voted for the first bill, which he called a “bipartisan compromise built on civility and trust,” and rejected the Democrat’s second bill, which he called “a backdoor attempt to raise taxes that will cost American jobs,” which passed the House on a near party-line vote of 231 to 191.

“Although I am not on the Agriculture Committee, I have been following the debate on the Farm Bill for sometime now and I was looking forward to voting for the bill which unanimously passed out of the Committee last week. Unfortunately, in only a week’s time, the Democrat Leadership added a massive tax increase on companies which in-source jobs into America . These foreign-owned companies, such as DaimlerChrysler in Perrysburg which employs nearly 3,000 people, are vital to our economy. They should be applauded, not penalized,” Gillmor said.

“The tax increase added by Democrats, as much as a 30 percent tax increase on some American businesses owned by foreign companies, could lead to companies closing and moving production outside of America. Because of the tax increase, the Farm Bill puts 5.1 million American jobs at risk. These tax increases, added out of public sight from the media or the rest of Congress, will hurt families all across America,” Gillmor said.

Foreign owned companies now employ 203,600 Ohioans at companies such as BASF, BP, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Lafarge, Rexam, Shell Oil, Square D, Toyota , and Volvo among others. Ohio also ranks 8th in the United States in employees supported by U.S. subsidiaries and has 95,000 manufacturing jobs employed by U.S. subsidiaries.

Among the provisions of the Farm Bill which Gillmor did support but failed to pass the House on a near party-line vote of 198 to 223 were:

An investment of more than $1.6 billion in priorities to strengthen and support the fruit and vegetable industry in the United States;

Providing farmers participating in commodity programs with a choice between traditional price protection and new market-oriented revenue coverage payments;

Investing in rural communities nationwide, including economic development programs and access to broadband telecommunication services;

Making important new investments in renewable energy research, development and production in rural America.

“I hope the U.S. Senate will consider the original bill passed out of the House Agriculture Committee without the tax increases added after the debate was over. Our farmers deserve this relief and should not be caught in a game of party politics,” Gillmor said.

The 2007 Farm Bill awaits debate in the U.S. Senate. However, President Bush has vocally opposed the bill and it likely faces his veto in its current form.