Passaic - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez today visited Jackie Evans/Susana Monaco Incorporated in Passaic to underscore the importance of "Made in America" and to promote proposals laid out in the President's State of the Union address to revive U.S. manufacturing, an anchor of a robust economy.Menendez was joined by Representative Bill Pascrell, Charisse Taylor, representing Girl Scouts of the USA, and owners Susana, Mario, and Domenick Monaco.

"It's time we put the pride back in American manufacturing, American made," said Menendez. "It's time we stop talking about America's decline, stop talking about the end of American dominance in manufacturing, and take our hats off to New Jersey workers here at Jackie Evans Inc. who are producing goods for one of the greatest organizations in this country, Girl Scouts of the USA. The work they are doing here should stand as a model to all small businesses looking to prosper in these hard economic times. Let's help companies like Jackie Evans Inc. keep jobs right here in the U.S."

Senator Menendez spoke to factory workers about the importance of providing incentives to manufacturers to discourage outsourcing and encourage insourcing. He urged the need to change the tax code to discourage American companies from moving operations overseas in search of cheaper costs; doing away with deductions available to companies that close plants in the U.S.; and a new 20% income tax credit for companies that return.

Menendez visited the manufacturing plant where 80 employees have been producing the Girl Scout uniforms and sashes for over a decade. In 2010, the Jackie Evans division that manufactures the iconic Girl Scouts uniforms almost lost the contract because it became difficult for them to compete with foreign market prices. Girl Scouts of the USA ultimately decided to keep their uniforms made domestically, with the work being done in New Jersey and New York.

During the past two years, we have begun to see positive signs in American manufacturing - with the manufacturing sector adding more than 300,000 jobs since December 2009, with companies engaging in the emerging trend of "insourcing" by bringing jobs back and making additional investments in the United States. Manufacturing jobs are growing for the first time since the late 1990s.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a Blueprint for an America Built to Last, encouraging companies to create manufacturing jobs in the United States while removing deductions for shipping jobs overseas and encouraging insourcing. The proposals include: 1.Removing tax deductions for shipping jobs overseas and providing new incentives for bringing them back home (revenue neutral): The tax code currently allows companies moving operations overseas to deduct their moving expenses - and reduce their taxes in the United States as a result. The President is proposing to change that. These deductions will be denied, and companies will no longer be provided deductions for moving their operations abroad. At the same time, the President is proposing to give a 20 percent income tax credit for the expenses of moving operations back into the United States to help companies bring jobs home. 2.Targeting the domestic production incentive on manufacturers who create jobs here at home and doubling the deduction for advanced manufacturing (revenue neutral):In conjunction with the President's broader commitment to corporate tax reform, the Administration is proposing measures to provide incentives for manufacturing in the United States. The Administration is proposing to reform the current deduction for domestic production by more narrowly focusing it on manufacturing activities-for example, it would no longer cover oil production. These savings would be invested in expanding the deduction for manufacturers and doubling for advanced manufacturing technologies from its current level of 9 percent to 18 percent.3.Introducing a new Manufacturing Communities Tax Credit to encourage investments in communities affected by job loss ($6 billion in credits):The President is proposing a new credit for qualified investments that help finance projects in communities that have suffered a major job loss event. This credit will provide $2 billion per year in incentives for three years. For this purpose, a major job loss event occurs when a military base closes or a major employer closes or substantially reduces a facility or operating unit, resulting in permanent mass layoffs. The tax credit would support qualified investments in this affected community - made in conjunction with State Economic Development Agencies and other local entities - that improve local economic growth.4.Providing temporary tax credits to drive nearly $20 billion in domestic clean energy manufacturing ($5 billion in credits):The President is proposing to extend tax credits to drive nearly $20 billion of investment in domestic clean energy manufacturing, ensuring new windmills and solar panels will incorporate parts that are produced and assembled by American workers. This Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit - which was oversubscribed more than three times over - goes to investments in clean energy manufacturing in the United States. The additional $5 billion in tax credits the President is proposing will leverage nearly $20 billion in total investment in the United States.5.Reauthorizing 100% expensing of investment in plants and equipment ($4 billion):The President is proposing to extend for all of 2012 a provision that allows businesses to expense the full cost of their investments in equipment, spurring investment in the United States. Over the next two years, this would provide businesses large and small with $50 billion in tax relief, with much of that recovered by the Treasury in subsequent years.6.Closing a loophole that allows companies to shift profits overseas (raises $23 billion): Corporations right now can abuse the tax system by inappropriately shifting profits overseas from intangible property created in the United States. The President is proposing to close this loophole.

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