Three Iowa Democratic congressmen targeted by ad campaign

Three Iowa Democratic congressmen are being targeted in a million-dollar campaign by groups that say the National Labor Relations Board is overstepping its authority by dictating where businesses can and cannot create jobs.

U.S. Reps. Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Leonard Boswell are among 16 House members who are the focus of the national radio and web video ad campaign sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers and National Federation of Independent Business.

They are being encouraged to vote for HR 2587, the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act.

The legislation is a response to the NLRB's “recent wave of anti-business and anti-jobs efforts, specifically its recent interference with placement of Boeing Corporation's new manufacturing facility in South Carolina,” according to the business and manufacturing groups.

“It is clear that the NLRB has strayed from its role as an impartial arbiter to instead become just an extension of labor unions,” said NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner. “This new atmosphere has created a chilling effect on businesses of all sizes. The NLRB has crossed beyond the scope of its legal authority in its zeal to punish businesses, and it needs to be reined in before more damage is done.”

However, Braley, who plans to vote against the bill, said current law gives the NLRB the ability to block companies from outsourcing or transferring their work to other countries, according to spokeswoman Kira Ayish.

“It is irresponsible for Congress to be voting on this job-killing bill,” Braley said. “When our unemployment is still hovering around 9 percent, Congress needs to pass legislation that creates jobs. This bill will send more American jobs overseas and put more Americans out of work. I urge my colleagues to vote against this job-killing legislation.”

Loebsack agreed there are other measures that would have more benefits for the manufacturing sector.

“There are ways to create jobs and improve manufacturing in America, like the bipartisan SECTORS Act I introduced,” the 2

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District representative said. “This vote is nothing but an attempt by Congress to insert itself into an ongoing, independent proceeding. Given Congress' recent record on job creation, it's no surprise that the leadership in the House of Representatives is supporting a bill that will ship jobs overseas. It is time we start focusing on what Iowans really care about – jobs here at home.”

Boeing, as well as the groups leading the campaign, say the Chicago-based company has invested billions of dollars and hired thousands of new employees to help develop its Dreamliner planes.

If the NLRB is left unchecked, it could result in closing a new state-of-the-art plant and the loss of thousands of jobs at a time when the national unemployment rate is above 9 percent, according to NAM and NFIB.

Braley, chairman of the congressional Populist Caucus, is pushing his own manufacturing legislation, Ayish noted. The caucus promotes creating and retaining good-paying jobs, providing fair wages, proper benefits and a level playing field at the negotiating table. Loebsack and Boswell are members, too.

Braley's legislation calling for a National Manufacturing Strategy that would require the president develop a plan for creating more manufacturing jobs passed out of the House in the last Congress with strong bipartisan support. He has been pushing for the House to pass the bill in this session.

Neither the Loebsack nor Boswell congressional offices immediately responded to a request for a comment on the ad.