[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17411]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       MAKE IT IN AMERICA AGENDA

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                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2010

  Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, the spark that long ignited our national 
economic engine has been the imagination, hard work and determination 
of Americans and American manufacturing. They are the creators of our 
Nation's economic strength, leadership and freedom.
  American Manufacturing has long been the pride of our Nation, the 
foundation of our economic infrastructure and the core of our military 
might. It has been the driving force supporting generations of 
Americans in pursuit of the American dream to build a better life for 
ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.
  Today, U.S. manufacturing directly employs 14 million Americans and 
creates 8 million more jobs in other sectors. And, American 
manufacturing workers are the most productive workers in the world--
twice as productive as workers in the next 10 leading manufacturing 
economies--contributing nearly 12 percent to our gross domestic 
product.
  When we support American manufacturing, we not only help the bottom 
line, we support the American worker, and we create more American jobs. 
Equally as important is our ability to support our national defense and 
to sustain American infrastructure with American products.
  We must go headlong into the fight to defend our Nation's economic 
and military security. We must rebuild our ailing industries and invest 
in our 21st century workforce.
  There is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but we know the rules of 
supply and demand. We must tackle the issues head-on and fight tooth 
and nail to preserve American manufacturing and uphold every 
opportunity for Americans to have good paying jobs.
  We are taking steps to right this ship and return America to a place 
of strength in manufacturing. Four ``Make It in America'' bills have 
already been signed into law to:
  Close tax loopholes that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas.
  Make it cheaper for U.S. companies to get the materials they need to 
manufacture goods.
  Speed innovation by breaking the backlog of patents waiting for 
approval.
  Unleash small business lending with $12 billion in small business tax 
cuts and new tools to help American small businesses export goods and 
compete abroad.
  The Made in America legislation has the potential to assist 
manufacturing businesses throughout southern West Virginia. In my 
congressional district, we have nearly 13,000 people employed in 
manufacturing at 208 facilities. In 2009, the average U.S. 
manufacturing worker earned $70,666 annually, while the non-
manufacturing worker earned $57,993 annually.
  A poll for the Alliance for American Manufacturing showed large 
majorities believe manufacturing is the most important industry for our 
economy and national security, and support action to revive it. Two-
thirds of Democrats, Republicans and Independents reject the view that 
``high-tech'' and ``services'' industries can replace manufacturing in 
a strong U.S. economy. And, more than 75-percent of Americans support a 
national manufacturing strategy to make sure that economic, tax, labor 
and trade policies work together to help support manufacturing in the 
U.S.
  Although the economy and the job market are on the way to recovery, 
America's manufacturing continues to face challenges. A helping hand is 
needed to level the playing field against foreign competition.
  I support H.R. 2378, The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, to help 
American manufacturers fight back when it's clear that countries like 
China are using unfair trade practices, like undervaluing and 
manipulating its currency in foreign exchange markets. This is an 
exploitive export subsidy used to gain an unfair advantage over U.S.-
made goods in the global marketplace.
  Building a future for America's next generation stands on the 
shoulders of all of us. We must work together as Americans to invest in 
our country's long term future and create high-paying jobs. ``American-
Made'' is far more than a label it is the key to our long term economic 
prosperity.

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