Timmons Talks 50-State Tax Success Stories, AI with Maria Bartiromo

Riding a wave of national media attention and White House amplification, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons joined Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria” today to spotlight the NAM’s new collection of 50 manufacturing success stories from all 50 states.

What’s going on: Timmons joined the show from Colorado Springs, where the Conference of State Manufacturers Associations and Council of Manufacturing Associations are convening for their annual conference. “The individuals who are here represent over 200,000 businesses benefiting from H.R. 1,” Timmons told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, when asked what he’s seeing from companies on the ground using these new tax changes in the landmark tax law.

• “We produced a book that tells 50 stories in 50 states of manufacturing success because of H.R. 1,” Timmons said, referring to the NAM’s new flipbook, “Manufacturing Tax Wins Across America.”
• “These are just a small representation of the numerous manufacturers that are making more investments here in this country, purchasing more equipment, hiring more people [and] raising wages” because of the 2025 tax bill.

The impact: Bartiromo asked about the impact the policies in the law are having on business.

• “That’s what this book is all about,” Timmons continued. “[In] the book, you can find, for instance, in California, you all did a story about Robinson Helicopter [referencing a segment Fox Business ran last week] and the immediate R&D expensing that has enabled them to grow their business. Winton Machine down in Georgia is poised to have the most successful year in its entire history because they’ve been able to invest in not only equipment, but people to expand their operations. So you’re seeing this optimism all across the country.”

“Rocket fuel”: President Trump called his first administration’s landmark tax legislation, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, “rocket fuel” for the American economy—“and indeed it was,” said Timmons.

• “We had record growth for three years following the passage of that bill in terms of investment, job creation [and] wage growth. And if that bill had not been reenacted last year, 6 million jobs in this country would’ve been at risk and the economy would’ve had a $1 trillion hit to it.”

What comes next: Timmons also stressed the need to get the other policies right to be able to continue this growth.

• “We do have 500,000 jobs open in the sector, [and] we’re working very hard to attract more people into our industry because the demand is growing. In order to sell more products around the world, we have to have the right policies in place. And that includes the right workforce in place,” he continued.

The AI factor: Timmons compared the arrival of artificial intelligence in recent years to the emergence of automation in factories at the turn of the last century.

• “There was [a] fear factor” then, too, he said. “And what did that do? That enabled manufacturers to hire more people and produce more products and create a standard of living in America that is unparalleled in the history of the world.”
• If the U.S. and the administration handle AI the right way, he continued, “we can be the leader of the world in manufacturing for decades and generations to come.”