Overturn Romney's outsourcing veto

Contact your State Rep and Senator


Use this link to get the contact info: Find Contact Info

Contact your State Representative first
Look for your Rep In General Court

Ask your Rep to do the following:

  1. Support a veto override of Governor Romney's veto of Section 21 to stop sate contractors from outsourcing jobs abroad
  2. Speak with House Speaker Finneran and ask that the House be allowed to vote on a veto override of Governor Romney's veto of this law.
Contact your Senator next
Look for your Senate In General Court

Ask your Rep to do the following:

  1. Support a veto override
  2. Speak to Senate President Travaglini to schedule a veto override vote if the House first passes the veto override.

Resources

Current Outsourced state contracts


Mitt Romney vetos budget item that would keep jobs in MA


June 27, 2004

The 2005 budget for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts contained a line iitem that would require all companies contracted to do work for the Commonwealth keep the jobs in Massachusetts:

SECTION 21. The first paragraph of section 54 of said chapter 7, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is herby amended by inserting after paragraph (1) the following paragraph:--

(1A) The agency shall prepare a written statement that the services proposed to be the subject of the privatization contract shall not be provided by labor based or employed outside the United States. No agency shall make a privatization contract and no such contract shall be valid if the services provided are from labor based or employed outside the United States.

Governor Romney is on the record stating that he is very concerned about outsourcing, and that he wants to stop the flow of jobs out of the Commonwealth:

"I am very concerned about outsourcing. The reality of today's business climate is that a growing number of companies are sending their best jobs out of state. Whether it's the loss of one job or 100,000 jobs, it's a very real issue for all of us. These common sense initiatives will help slow outsourcing and speed up insourcing."
--Governor Mitt Romney, March 22, 2004
However, Governor Romney seems to have reversed his earlier commitment to creating jobs for the citizens of Massachussets. He vetoed the outsourcing line item.
"Offshore Outsourcing
Section 21
I am vetoing this section because it could hurt taxpayers by increasing costs for future or existing administrative operations and make Massachusetts a less business-friendly environment.
--Governor Mitt Romney, June 25, 2004

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO KEEP JOBS IN MA?

Romney's veto is not the final word on this line item. The line item can still be overturned by the state legislature. The legislature needs to hear from the citizens of the Commonwealth so that they understand the people want a ban on outsourcing state contracts to foreign countries.

The House leadership, in particular Tom Finneran, decides which items will be taken up for a veto override vote. If the House passes the override, the Senate will have to vote on it as well.

It is vital that you call, write, and/or email your state representative. Go to this link:

http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

The form allows you to enter your street address, and it will give you the names of all your elected officials. You are looking for your "Rep in General Court". If you click on your Representative's name, you will get to a web page with all of their contact information.
Be sure to get the information for your "Senate in General Court".

Here is what you want to let your representative know:

  • Ask your rep to support a veto override of Governor Romney's veto of Section 21 to stop sate contractors from outsourcing jobs abroad
  • Ask your rep to speak with House Speaker Finneran and ask that the House be allowed to vote on a veto override of Governor Romney's veto of this law to stop state contractors from outsourcing jobs abroad.
The procedure for contacting your Senator is virtually the same:

  • Ask your Senator to support the veto override
  • Ask your Senator to speak to Senate President Travaglini to schedule a veto override vote if the House first passes the veto override.
See the sidebar for more background information. Please share this page with everyone you know who has been impacted negatively about outsourcing.