David Thomas: “This Democratic motion to instruct conferees reflects what is their increasingly obvious 19th century state of mind. One…”

“This Democratic motion to instruct conferees reflects what is their increasingly obvious 19th century state of mind. One would think, listening to the comments of our colleagues on the left, that we are back in the industrial revolution, or maybe, they have moved forward to the first part of the 20th century, mid-20th century, maybe even right after World War II, when the United States was not only the biggest and baddest bear in the industrial woods but just about the only bear in the industrial woods. Those times have changed. This is the 21st century. The market has changed significantly. One of my colleagues on the Committee on Ways and Means pointed out that he learned from Goldman Sachs that, over the last couple of years, we have seen 300,000 to 500,000 jobs outsourced, in other words, American companies creating 300,000 to 500,000 jobs off our shores in foreign countries. That is true. But what he did not tell my colleagues and what he could have found out at Goldman Sachs or from our own Department of Commerce is that, during that same period of time, even more than 300,000 to 500,000 jobs were created here in the United States by foreign companies wanting to access our market.”