Scroll down for fact-checking of the November 2 live televised WMUR debate between Annie and Congressman Bass. For a comparison of Annie and Congressman Bass’s positions on the issues, visit nhfactcheck.com.
8.36pm FACT: Congressman Bass Has Voted For Billions In Tax Breaks For Big Oil
Has Received More Than $161,000 In Donations From Oil and Gas Companies
Congressman Bass has voted to protect billions in taxpayer giveaways to big oil and gas companies that are making record profits and charging record prices at the pump. At the same time, he has received more than $160,000 in donations from oil and gas companies.
BACKGROUND
Bass has received $161,160 In Donations From Oil and Gas Companies. [Open Secrets, accessed 10/29/12]
Bass Voted Against Repealing Tax Breaks for Oil and gas Production. [HJR 44, Vote #153, 3/01/11]
Bass Voted Against Eliminating Subsidies and Tax Breaks for Oil Companies. [HR4297, Vote #109, 4/27/06]
Bass Supported Energy Policy that Provided Over $2.6 Billion in Tax Breaks for Big Oil. [House Vote #445, 7/28/05]
8.25pm: FACT: Congressman Bass Has Supported Policies That Encourage Outsourcing
Bass Flashback: “For every single job that’s outsourced in America, two new jobs are created”
Congressman Bass has consistently supported policies that encourage outsourcing. At the 2010 WMUR-Union Leader debate he argued, “For every single job that’s outsourced in America, two new jobs are created.” Congressman Bass has voted against requiring government contracts to go only to non-outsourcing companies, voted to protect billions in tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and even signed the radical Grover Norquist pledge promising to keep those tax breaks in place.
BACKGROUND
Bass Claimed that Outsourcing Created Two Jobs in the United States for Every One Lost. During a 2010 debate, Bass stated, “For every single job that’s outsourced in America, two new jobs are created.” [Concord Monitor, 10/22/10]
Bass Voted Against Requiring the Government to Give Contracts Only to Companies that Have Not Outsourced American Jobs. In January 2011, Bass voted against a motion that would prevent government spending on contracts with companies determined to have outsourced American jobs abroad. The motion failed, 184-242. [H Res 38, Vote #19, 1/25/11]
Bass Signed Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge. [Americans for Tax Reform, 9/10/12]
Signers of ATR’s Pledge are Committed to Supporting Tax Breaks for Companies Outsourcing American Jobs. Americans for Tax Reform has stated that it is a violation of their pledge to support ending tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas. [Americans for Tax Reform, 8/09/10; Washington Post, 8/5/10; Washington Post, 6/9/10]
Bass Voted To Keep Billions in Tax Breaks for Overseas Corporations. Bass voted for a $214 billion ($260 billion with interest) stimulus proposal that included a $6.5 billion tax break extension for financial corporations with overseas operations. Under current law, U.S. firms are taxed on some types of income earned by foreign corporations that they control, regardless of whether the income is distributed back to the United States. A temporary provision, due to expire in 2002, exempts income earned in banking, finance, and insurance from these rules. The stimulus proposal would extend the exemption for an additional five years. [Vote #509, 12/20/01; CBPP, 12/21/01]
Bass Voted to Protect Tax Incentives for Companies That Move Jobs Overseas. In 2004, Bass voted against an alternative version to the corporate tax bill that would have eliminated certain tax provisions, including denying some tax benefits to domestic corporations that reincorporate overseas to avoid U.S. income taxes. [Vote #258, 6/17/04; Congressional Record, 6/17/04]
Bass Voted For Paul Ryan’s Plan That Encourages Companies to Ship Jobs Overseas. Currently, U.S. companies pay the tax rate of the country where the outpost is located and then, if they bring those profits home, often pay some U.S. taxes as well. Under the Ryan’s proposal, companies essentially would pay just the tax rate of the country where the profits are earned. According to the Tax Policy Center, exempting these offshore earning from U.S. tax liability “might encourage some domestic companies to move more of their operations—and shift both jobs and more reported income– to low tax countries.” Similarly, Citizens for Tax Justice concluded that adopting this type of system would increase the incentives for job offshoring. [Vote #151, 3/29/12; National Journal, 3/20/12; Wall Street Journal, 3/19/12; Tax Policy Center, 2/28/12; Citizens for Tax Justice, 10/19/11]