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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons visited Winnebago Industries last Friday, where Secretary Bessent spoke to Winnebago President and CEO (and NAM Executive Committee member) Mike Happe.

The visit: During the visit, Secretary Bessent, Timmons and Happe discussed the benefits of H.R. 1’s pro-growth tax provisions, which have provided manufacturers with the certainty they need to reinvest in technology, facilities and workforce.

• Timmons and Happe emphasized how these recent tax changes support increased R&D spending and high-skilled job growth.
• They also discussed the strategic role of advanced R&D centers like Winnebago’s, which help create long-term manufacturing competitiveness.

Regulations and more: Secretary Bessent, Timmons and Happe also discussed the importance of regulatory certainty for capital planning, noting that predictable policy enables long-term investment and capacity expansion.

• The discussion also touched on broader priorities for the industry, including workforce development, permitting reform and trade—and how tax certainty undergirds them all.

State prosperity: In Minnesota, H.R. 1’s permanently enacted tax provisions help sustain 107,000 manufacturing jobs, safeguard $10 billion in wages and support $19.5 billion in annual GDP, as Timmons noted.

The tour: Secretary Bessent also saw Winnebago’s innovations in person on a facility tour, during which he visited Winnebago’s four Innovation Bays and research and development lab.