National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I come in support of H.R. 4692, the National Manufacturing Strategy Act. I was pleased to support, actually, my two great colleagues from Illinois, Mr. Lipinski and Mr. Rush. I appreciate them bringing it down to the floor.

Basically, I think what can occur from this is a reevaluation of things that we know. When we are at 9.5 percent unemployment, 15 million Americans unemployed, 1.5 percent increase since the failed stimulus bill was passed at a cost of $1.2 trillion, what do businesses need to create jobs? And what does the manufacturing sector need to create jobs? They need certainty.

As I said in my 1-minute this morning, a businessman talked to me, You can't ask us to create new jobs when you raise our taxes. You can't ask us to create more jobs when you raise our taxes. That's issue one. I think that will come out of the national manufacturing strategy.

You can't expect us to create jobs when you raise our energy costs. The cap-and-trade energy bill passed through this House raises energy costs. It is a tax on carbon. Carbon is a fossil fuel. That raises manufacturing costs. We cannot create more jobs when we add costs to the manufacturing sector.

We cannot create jobs when there is regulatory uncertainty. When we've got EPA and OSHA and all these people poking around trying to protect the workers, which they do, it's that old saying: I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.

They are not here to help you under this administration. They're here to penalize. They're here to fine. They're there to create uncertainty, which makes it very difficult to create jobs.

And the last one is the health care law. Additional uncertainty. ``We have to pass the bill before we know what's in the bill.'' What do you think the manufacturing companies are doing? They're trying to figure out what we just did to them.

So I hope this national manufacturing strategy, which I am a cosponsor of, will say: Reduce the tax burden, ease the regulatory burden, lower energy costs, make a competitive, vibrant market. That's how we create jobs in America.

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