Sen. Warner promotes jobs bill at Franklin

FRANKLIN

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said Tuesday that he will introduce a bill next week to set aside up to $100 million a year to coax overseas companies to move jobs to the United States.

"I'm tired of jobs continuing to exit this country and go abroad," Warner said.

Speaking in Franklin, the Democrat said the bill would come too late to help workers at the International Paper mill, which will close later this year. But International Paper's decision to shut the mill while maintaining others overseas, he said, reflects trends that the country is battling.

"It does seem curious to me that the company has made significant investments in Brazil and other countries," Warner said.

His bill, "America Recruits Act of 2010," will seek $40 million to $100 million a year. The money, at up to $10,000 a job, would be provided to companies that shift jobs to the United States that otherwise would be based overseas. The focus would be information-technology and manufacturing jobs.

The money would come in the form of interest-free loans that would be forgiven if the jobs were maintained.

When he was governor, Warner said, he often had to fend off other countries while trying to lure companies to Virginia.

"We put some pretty good packages together only to see Korea eat our lunch," he said. "Our competition, quite honestly, isn't North Carolina or Maryland. Our competition is India, China, Mexico, Canada and Germany."

Warner spoke at a luncheon of the Franklin/Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce at Cypress Cove Country Club.

He also said he had lobbied members of President Obama's administration to use $30 billion in unspent money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to increase lending to small businesses, which he said remains constricted by the delicate economy.

During his talk, he voiced frustrations both with the debate in Washington on the health care bill and the perceptions surrounding it.

"This bill isn't perfect, but if we don't do something about health care costs, this country is going to go over the brink," Warner said. "... Eighty percent of this bill is stuff that both sides agree on," such as wellness initiatives.

He said he believes families should be encouraged to have "conversations about end-of-life issues."

"That got immediately branded as death panels," Warner said. "That's not how responsible people ought to be talking about this."

After the luncheon, he visited the International Paper mill to talk with officials of agencies including the Virginia Employment Commission and Opportunity Inc. about efforts to find new jobs for workers.

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com