WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior business executives and a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers urged President Bush on Wednesday to resist a growing tide of legislation aimed at stopping the outsourcing of U.S. jobs.

Wading into a major issue in this year's presidential election, the President's Export Council warned that various attempts to prevent federal, state and local governments from outsourcing jobs to overseas companies threatened state budgets and the U.S. economy.

"These measures could dramatically increase the cost of providing goods and services to these governments, further exacerbating the serious budget shortfalls faced by many states," the advisory group said in the draft version of a letter to Bush it approved on Wednesday with some changes.

The outsourcing curbs also would "burden taxpayers with higher taxes and consumers with higher costs, and render many businesses less competitive in the global marketplace -- thereby hurting prosperity and discouraging the very job growth we all seek," the group said.

The Export Council includes the chief executives of Caterpillar, Merck, Marriott, Dell, Exxon Mobil, Cargill, Bechtel and other major U.S. corporations. Six Republican lawmakers and four Democrats also serve on the panel.

Expected Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has tapped into public anxiety about job outsourcing in his bid unseat Bush this fall.

Last week, the leading candidate for a new manufacturing position at the Commerce Department withdrew his name from consideration after Kerry and other Democrats accused the Nebraska executive of outsourcing jobs to China.

In the letter, the President's Export Council said the ability of U.S. companies to source goods and service from around the world was a net benefit to the economy.

The practice gives "American businesses the flexibility and cost competitiveness needed to succeed in the global economy against fierce foreign competition," the council said.

It also helps developing countries by raising their standard of living, the council said.

"Ultimately, as these markets develop, they become markets for U.S. exports continuing to drive job creation in the U.S.," the council said.

Source: Center for American Progress

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