WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) ? Companies located in overseas tax havens, such as Ingersoll-Rand Co. and Weatherford International Ltd., would be denied Export-Import Bank loans under legislation passed by the US House of Representatives.

The House voted 270-132 on Friday to add the amendment to an annual foreign aid bill. The provision prohibits the government- backed Export-Import Bank from approving loans or loan guarantees to companies that incorporated outside the US for tax purposes. The Senate has yet to act on the bill.

?They don?t want to pay taxes in America. Not them. That?s for the suckers of this country,? said Representative Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who sponsored the amendment.

The vote marks the second time this election year that House lawmakers have taken aim at companies that moved their headquarters to Bermuda and other low-tax jurisdictions. The House, over objections from the Bush administration, approved legislation last month that bars such companies from competing for homeland security contracts.

The flap over homeland security contracts was fuelled by the June 1 announcement that Bermuda-based Accenture Ltd. won a $10 billion contract to build a programme to collect data on foreigners entering the US. The House voted to preserve that contract, and the provision on future bidding may be stripped from a final bill during talks with the Senate.

Peter Saba, chief operating officer at the Export-Import Bank, said the loan provision would cost American jobs.

?This amendment would cause a loss of jobs here in the United States,? Saba said. ?If there are issues with the offshore incorporation of companies or their parents, those issues should be addressed directly in other relevant legislation.?

Other companies that may be affected are Bermuda-registered Nabors Industries Ltd., the world?s largest onshore oil and natural-gas driller; Schlumberger Ltd., the world?s second-largest oilfield-services provider, and offshore driller Noble Corp.

The Export-Import Bank has supported more than $65 billion in US exports since 1999, according to the US Chamber of Commerce. ?Corporations should be free to incorporate where they choose without the federal government imposing economic penalties upon their free exercise of prudent business decision-making,? the chamber?s vice president for government affairs, Bruce Josten, wrote in a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican.

?Why are we talking about punishing companies that create high-paying jobs?? said Representative Jim Kolbe, an Arizona Republican and chairman of the panel that writes the foreign aid bill. ?This would hurt workers in this country.?

The Sanders amendment had support from Democrats such as Representative William Lipinski of Illinois and Republicans such as Dana Rohrabacher of California. Rohrabacher said that while corporate taxes are too high in the US, companies shouldn?t get taxpayer-financed subsidies if they aren?t paying as much into the Treasury as others.

?Companies are going to have to make a decision about whether they are part of the American family,? he said.

Ingersoll-Rand, which is incorporated in Bermuda and run from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, sells doors and construction equipment. The company has received more than $370 million in subsidised loans, loan guarantees and other financial assistance from the Export-Import Bank since 2003, according to Sanders.

Weatherford International Ltd., the world?s fifth-largest oilfield-services company, is incorporated in Bermuda and has its offices in Houston. The company has received $300 million in assistance from the Export-Import Bank since 2003, Sanders said.

Those companies employ 40,000 Americans, Saba said. The Export-Import Bank can make loans directly to US exporters or guarantee loans for capital needed to fulfil an order and guarantee loans to foreign buyers importing American goods.

Ingersoll-Rand reincorporated in Bermuda in December 2001 to be able to compete with lower-taxed foreign rivals, and shareholders approved the plan, said Paul Dickard, a company spokesman. Lawmakers should change tax laws to help companies compete in a global market, he said.

?When these other debates take place on Capitol Hill, we do our best to educate lawmakers, and we have faith that wisdom will prevail over rhetoric,? Dickard said.