WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins Wednesday introduced a jobs stimulus package aimed at the loss of manufacturing jobs in Maine and around the nation.

Collins’ bill, the Growing Our Manufacturing Employment Act of 2004 or “GO ME,” would provide tax incentives for manufacturing companies that hire workers who have lost manufacturing jobs and are eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance.

The bill would also provide other tax incentives for domestic manufacturers not available to manufacturers that relocate overseas. It includes incentives to help the forest products industry.

, which provides more manufacturing jobs in Maine than any other sector of the state’s economy.

“Maine’s loss of manufacturing jobs is one of the greatest economic challenges facing our state. Since July 2000, nearly 18,000 Mainers in towns like Millinocket, Wilton, Waterville, Dexter, Fort Kent and Sanford have lost their jobs through no fault of their own,” Collins said in introducing the legislation. “We need a comprehensive plan to stem the loss of these good jobs and to encourage manufacturers to keep their plants in America and to withhold tax breaks from companies that move their operations overseas.”

According to a recent report released by the National Association of Manufacturers, the cost of manufacturing a product in the United States is more than 22 percent higher, on average, than it is in other nations. The report points to the higher cost of doing business in the United States as one reason why manufacturing companies are either scaling back their workforces, moving overseas or going out of business altogether. Among the major reasons for the high cost of manufacturing is the high corporate tax rate, according to the report.

Collins’ bill includes:

• A tax credit to hire dislocated workers.

• A deduction of 9 percent for manufacturers that produce goods in the United States.

• Tax incentives to woodlot owners and reforestation incentives to sustain the wood products industry.

• Financial penalties for companies that move their headquarters overseas to avoid paying taxes in the United States.