Lieberman Wants Commission To Study Outsourcing

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May 12, 2004 (10:33 AM EDT)

Lieberman Wants Commission To Study Outsourcing

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) on Tuesday called the outsourcing rage "just the tip of the economic iceberg" and suggested the government create a bi-partisan commission to look into ways for the U.S. to better compete in the global economy.

At a speech before the non-partisan New America Foundation, Lieberman, the Democrat's vice-presidential candidate in the 2000 election and briefly a candidate for the 2004 nomination, said that there's plenty of blame to go around for the outsourcing problem.

"We have to stop blaming others and face some hard facts," he said in the speech. "The American economy is failing to adapt to fundamental changes and to growing competition in the global economy. We are not just losing jobs -- we may be losing critical parts of our innovation infrastructure, and with them, our competitive edge."

The threat of moving jobs overseas is beginning to affect more than just the manufacturing and service sectors, said Lieberman, and is showing signs of eroding U.S.-based engineering, programming, information technology, and pharmaceutical research and development.

"We do have something to worry about. The outsourcing of R&D is probably the most alarming illustration of this new problem," he added. Currently, Lieberman said, American companies invest $17 billion in R&D abroad.

Among his suggestions, Lieberman recommended that government require companies to provide a three-month notice to workers who lose their jobs to offshore outsourcing, increase federal funding for R&D, and experiment with wage-loss insurance for those who have been pink-slipped by outsourcing.

He also called for a bi-partisan panel to look into outsourcing issues, and will introduce legislation in the Senate calling for such a commission. "[I] hope that our next President -- be he John Kerry or George Bush -- will make naming its members one of his first acts after election," said Lieberman.

"Leaving [offshore outsourcing] to the markets won't work. Hiding behind a wall won't work. Attempting to rig the game won't work. Only education, innovation, investment, trade, training, and hard work will give us the growth and jobs we want and need," he concluded.