Davis / 1 Senator Porter

S.S._____

A BILL
To give a tax credit to businesses or companies that buy goods from countries that dont employ child labor.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Childrens Protection Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) Over 350 products from countries all over the world have been recorded to use child labor.
2) According to the International Labour Organization, over 150 million children are forced into child labor.
3) 73 million child laborers are between the ages of ten to fourteen years old.
4) Over 60 percent of child labor involves agriculture, including hazards such as chemical pesticides, large
machinery, venomous insects and reptiles, unsafe drinking water and parasitic diseases from contaminated drinking
water.
5) Children who have worked most of their childhood are more likely to be in low-paying jobs in adulthood.
6) Each year, as many as 2.7 million healthy years of life are lost, due to child labor, especially in agriculture.
7) The highest number of child laborers are in sub-Saharan Africa.
8) Toxic chemicals in the work field, such as mercury and lead can cause brain damage and permanent disabilities.
9) Average daily pay for child laborers in India estimates around two to four rupees a day, or about six to twelve
cents.
10) Current causes of child labor include poverty, limited access to education, repression of workers rights, and
limited prohibitions on child labor.
11) The most sweeping federal law that restricts the employment and abuse of child workers is the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA). Child labor provisions under FLSA are designed to protect the educational opportunities of
youth and prohibit their employment in jobs that endanger their health and safety.
12) The FLSA governs working standards on minimum wage, overtime pay, and recordkeeping in addition to
restrictions on youth employment.
13) Employment of minors on a regular basis requires permits to work and employ.
14) Farm operators are prohibited from hiring minors, except their own children, without a permit to employ, and
they are required to keep on file a copy of that document for each minor currently on the payroll.
15) Since 1995, the U.S. Congress has appropriated over 900 million dollars to the Bureau of International Labor
Affairs for efforts to combat exploitative child labor internationally.
16) Research shows that providing a high quality education for children before they turn five years yields significant
long-term benefits.
17) The early years in a childs life-when the brain is forming-represent a critically important window of opportunity
to develop a childs full potential and shape key academic, social, and cognitive skills that will determine a childs
success in school and in life.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) All American companies importing goods from countries that adhere to International Child Labor Laws shall
qualify for a three percent tax credit of their annual tax liability.
B) This tax credit shall be overseen by the auditors of the Internal Revenue Service of the United States government.
C) Any company found falsely applying for this tax credit will be prosecuted according to statutes of the Internal
Revenue Service.
D) Enforcement and compliance will be overseen by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs of the United States
Department of Labor.
E) The funding of this tax credit will be offset by tariffs generated from non-compliant imports.
F) This tax credit shall go into effect January 1, 2016 and will expire on January 1, 2019.