WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statement today applauding Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s stand against corporate tax dodgers. Last night Lew urged Congress to end mergers in which a company incorporated in America buys a foreign company and moves their operations abroad to avoid paying taxes, commonly called inversions.

“The American people do not tolerate tax cheats. How can a CEO in good conscience say that they will move their company out of America and not care about the consequences? Congress should shut down the opportunity for people to do this. It is un-American.

“Since June the House of Representatives has said four times that the federal government should not be spending taxpayers’ money on federal contracts for companies that have renounced their American citizenship in favor of an island tax haven. Making sure such a ban is the law of the land is a good first step, but it is only a step. I support Secretary Lew’s call for Congress to crack down on these corporate tax dodgers and urge Chairman Camp and Speaker Boehner to bring such a bill to the floor immediately.”

During the Fiscal Year 2015 appropriations process, DeLauro four times has won approval of an amendment that would ban government contracts by various agencies with companies that were incorporated in America, but have reincorporated in Bermuda or the Cayman Islands. That amendment is now a part of the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, Department of Defense, Energy and Water, and Financial Services funding bills.

DeLauro has been fighting against corporate inversions for over a decade. In that time she has sponsored or co-sponsored six pieces of legislation that would close loopholes for corporate tax dodgers.  During that same time period she has offered nearly 20 amendments to various funding bills that would end the ability of corporate tax dodgers to win federal contracts. A full history of DeLauro’s work on the subject can be found here.