Washington — As anger grows in the U.S. Congress, and elsewhere, over companies shifting their corporate homes offshore for tax purposes, union and non-union workers argue that the action is a small price to pay for jobs.

Congressmen say the price is not at all small, pointing out that one company alone has avoided $30 million in federal taxes by incorporating in Bermuda. However, employees insist most of that money would have been saved in job cuts that have already helped devastate the economy in the last two years.

So the sides have squared off: Companies like Tyco, Inc., The Stanley Works and Cooper Tools, insist they must do everything they can to reduce tax burdens and hold on to workers, and many in Congress insist that if the incorporations aren't illegal, they should be.

Some call the tax avoidance a necessary relief, while others call it a growing cancer in the tax system. The outcry comes amid the recent accounting scandals at some companies and Congress' rapid action to prevent such occurrences.

Not surprisingly, the debate holds pretty closely to party lines. Re-incorporation saved companies from collapse, foreign competition or takeover, said Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.), who opposes a ban on re-incorporation.

Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Rep. James Maloney (D-Conn.) introduced HR 3884 in March, the Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act. The bill gained momentum in part due to the highly publicized corporate accounting scandals, according to Associated Press reports. However, it was narrowly defeated as an amendment to another tax bill in June.

In April, Rep. Maloney argued that Stanley Work's reincorporating offshore was one in a series of blows to the employees at its New Britain, Conn., headquarters.

"Unfortunately, Stanley Works then betrayed those same people by making a series of decisions to export their jobs overseas to Mexico and China," he said. "Now ... we are going to fight to prevent Stanley and similar companies from carrying through on their arrogant, unpatriotic and greedy plan."

Stanley shareholders voted to reincorporate, but confusion expressed by some voters caused the vote to be rescinded, said Stanley spokesman Peter Duda. Papers were re-filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission because the voting process must start from scratch, he said.

In perhaps the most quoted reference from Congress regarding the problem, Rep. Michael McNulty (D-N.Y.) called for action against "these Benedict Arnold companies."

Opposing their view, Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) argued that Congress needs to move slowly and perhaps call for a moratorium before outlawing re-incorporation.

"Congress must make sure that we don't plug one hole only to leave others open or create even bigger ones," Johnson said.