Portman Dwells on Pro-Outsourcing Corporate Endorsement For Months

Columbus – A business group that has repeatedly pushed policies that ship American jobs overseas is officially endorsing its outsourcing partner, Congressman Rob Portman, today after running television ads aiding Portman since June.  The Chamber has plenty of incentive to buy Portman’s way into the Senate; Chamber President Tom Donohue has been a strong advocate of outsourcing, saying that American workers are “short on skills” and should “stop whining” about losing their jobs overseas.

“Rob Portman’s outsourcing allies are rushing to his aid, but much as they try to rewrite history, Ohio voters won’t forget that it was the Bush-Portman agenda that got us into this economic crisis,” said Holly Shulman, spokesperson for Lee Fisher’s campaign for U.S. Senate. “The facts are clear: the Bush/Portman agenda has shipped thousands of Ohio jobs overseas.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been called “indifferent to the truth” by the Washington Post,  marks the second high-spending special interest group in two weeks running an ad falsely portraying Congressman Portman as a friend of Ohio workers.

“Congressman Portman’s special interest friends in Washington are pulling out all the stops to elect Portman and promote their pro-outsourcing agenda, but Ohio workers can’t afford Rob Portman.”

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“Stop Whining” Donohue Tells Unemployed. In July 2004, the Associated Press reported “Donohue acknowledged the pain for people who have lost jobs to offshoring - an estimated 250,000 a year, according to government estimates. But pockets of unemployment shouldn’t lead to ‘anecdotal politics and policies,’ he said, and people affected by offshoring should ‘stop whining.’” [Associated Press, 7/5/2004]

U.S. Chamber President Defended Outsourcing of U.S. Jobs, Arguing That Americans Are “Short of Skills.” Defending outsourcing in 2004, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said, “The big fundamental issue that we need to understand is we are short of skills in this country. Five years from now we’ll have 10 million skilled jobs and we haven’t got the people to fill.” [CNN, 5/3/04]

WP: “Not Only Is The Chamber of Commerce Indifferent To The Truth It’s Also Hostile To The Business Community…In Positioning Itself As An Arm For The Republican Party, The Chamber Has Cast doubt On Its Own Credibility.” “What is most astonishing about the Chamber’s ads is not that they twist a newspaper’s editorial line for the Chamber’s own purposes. It’s that they are at odds with the interests of business itself — supposedly, its own constituents. In a resolution published Oct. 1, a coalition of 17 of the biggest business groups in Northern Virginia explicitly embraced new taxes as the only rational means of getting roads built; in other words, it echoed Mr. Deeds’s own stance. The groups also said that ruling out new taxes, as Mr. McDonnell has done, ‘is not prudent.’ So not only is the Chamber of Commerce indifferent to the truth; it’s also hostile to the business community in the most populous and economically dynamic part of the state. In positioning itself as an arm for the Republican Party, the Chamber has cast doubt on its own credibility.” [Washington Post, Editorial, 10/26/09]

Portman’s USTR Legacy: 17,000 Ohioans’ Jobs Shipped Overseas. During Portman’s time as USTR (2005-2006), more than 17,000 Ohioans’ jobs were shipped overseas. [Ohio Policy Matters, 2007]

Portman Voted At Least 7 Times In Support Of Billions In Tax Breaks And Loans For Corporations That Ship Jobs Overseas. . [Vote 386, 7/15/04; AP, 6/30/04; 7/15/04; Vote 268, 6/18/04; CQ Weekly, 6/19/04; Vote 258, 6/17/04; Vote 268, 6/12/03; Vote 366, 7/26/02; Vote 120, 5/1/02; Vote 509, 12/19/01]

Ohio Has Lost More Than 90,000 Jobs To China. From 2001 to 2006, Ohio has lost 91,800 jobs due to unfair trade with China, according to the Economic Policy Institute. [Economic Policy Institute, 3/23/10]

Portman Voted For China Trade At Least Five Times. [Vote #317, 7/22/98; Vote #338, 7/27/99; Vote #255, 7/19/01; Vote #228, 5/24/00; Vote #405, 7/18/00;Commercial Appeal, 6/25/97]