[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8280]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           20TH ANNIVERSARY OF TOYOTA IN GEORGETOWN, KENTUCKY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 20 years ago I was pleased and proud to 
help welcome Toyota to Kentucky. I rise today, equally pleased and 
proud, to congratulate Toyota on its 20 years of success in the 
Commonwealth and to wish them much continued success for the future.
  Toyota provides 7,000 jobs in the Georgetown, KY, plant that it 
opened 20 years ago, and the company's manufacturing operations in 
Kentucky produced half a million American-made cars last year alone. In 
fact, the Toyota Camry, which is manufactured in Kentucky, has been the 
most popular model on the American market for the last 4 years and 
eight times in the past 9 years. Beginning this fall, Toyota will bring 
the future of automotive technology to Kentucky with the production of 
the environmentally friendly Camry Hybrid. The Georgetown plant will 
produce 4,000 models a month.
  Since it arrived in Kentucky, Toyota has invested more than $5 
billion in its operations. This includes the manufacturing site in 
Georgetown; Toyota's North American Parts Center-Kentucky, the 
company's largest parts-distribution center in the world, in Hebron, 
KY; and its North American manufacturing headquarters in Erlanger, KY. 
Together, these businesses provide about $500 million a year in 
paychecks to Kentucky workers. More significantly, Toyota has become an 
anchor for related suppliers and vendors that provide thousands more 
jobs for Kentuckians.
  Toyota has provided an important economic lesson on the value of 
insourcing. Some have bemoaned the loss of American jobs to overseas 
firms. Well, we in Kentucky are proud to have nurtured one of the first 
and most successful efforts by an overseas manufacturer to bring jobs 
here. Toyota and Kentucky both have benefited greatly from this 
partnership over these last 20 years.
  And Kentucky has gained more than just jobs--Toyota has proved to be 
a model member of the business community. It supports education, 
computer literacy in the workforce, the University of Kentucky 
Children's Hospital, and many other worthy causes across the 
Commonwealth. Many Kentuckians have benefited from Toyota's generosity, 
and we are all happy that Toyota chose Kentucky as its major center for 
U.S. operations two decades ago.
  Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 
thousands of Kentuckians who work for Toyota for their dedication to 
achievement and success, both on the job and in their communities. 
Kentucky is still reaping the rewards of its 20-year partnership with 
Toyota, and we hope to continue to do so for years to come.

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