Tax

As Congress faces the looming expiration of key provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) emphasizes the urgency of extending these policies to safeguard American businesses and families from tax increases.

Ensuring certainty: Sen. Lankford underscored the importance of creating predictability for businesses by making pro-growth policies permanent. “Extending the TCJA is crucial for American families, and it creates certainty for businesses, particularly those policies encouraging investment and innovation,” he told the NAM in a recent conversation. “Failure to act will result in a tax increase for most American households and 96% of businesses. For greater predictability, Congress should push for as many permanent pro-growth policies as possible.”

One policy Sen. Lankford is particularly focused on preserving is full expensing for capital investments, which allows businesses to immediately deduct the cost of machinery and equipment. This measure, he said, has fueled capital investment and accelerated job creation.

Protecting full expensing with the ALIGN Act: Full expensing has been a bipartisan tool in tax policy for two decades, Sen. Lankford points out, highlighting that the TCJA allowed businesses to deduct 100% of capital expenses in the year of purchase. His ALIGN Act aims to make full expensing a permanent fixture in the tax code, fostering long-term economic growth.

• “That change doesn’t alter how much tax a business can deduct; it simply changes when they can deduct it. With 100% depreciation, a business can deduct its tax in a single year, instead of over several years. That allows a business to invest more capital, hire new employees faster and expand their business.”

Global competitiveness and energy security: Drawing from conversations with Oklahoma businesses, Sen. Lankford stressed that keeping the U.S. tax code competitive is critical. While some push for a corporate tax increase, he warned this would undermine America’s global position.

• “The average corporate tax rate in the EU is 21.3%, with a global average of 23% across 181 jurisdictions. China has a corporate tax rate of 25%, with a reduced 15% rate for new sectors. Moreover, China has significantly expanded its R&D deduction, while the U.S. is shrinking ours. We should reverse the decline of our R&D deduction and permanently encourage businesses of all sizes to remain innovative here in America.”

The final word: “I encourage everyone to regularly communicate with their congressional delegation about the impacts a lapse in the TCJA would have on their businesses and communities,” Sen. Lankford said. “It’s important to share this story as Congress works on a tax bill in 2025.”

Read the full interview with Sen. Lankford here.

As part of the NAM’s “Manufacturing Wins” tax campaign, small and medium-sized manufacturers are urging Congress to make full expensing of capital equipment purchases permanent, warning that the phaseout of this pro-growth tax provision is harming their ability to invest, grow and compete.

What’s happening: Tax reform allowed manufacturers to immediately expense 100% of the cost of capital equipment purchases. But this provision started to be phased out in 2023, dropping by 20%. It will drop by a further 20% every year until 2027, when it will expire completely.

• Seventy-eight percent of manufacturers said that the expiration of full expensing and other pro-growth tax provisions has decreased their ability to expand U.S. manufacturing activity, according to an NAM Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey from last year.

What’s at stake for manufacturers: Capital-intensive industries like manufacturing are the primary beneficiaries of full expensing.

• Lori Miles-Olund, president of Miles Fiberglass & Composites in Clackamas, Oregon, explained the benefits for her company: “We were able to purchase new equipment that not only made our production more environmentally friendly but also safer and more efficient for employees.”
• Colin Murphy, president and owner of Simmons Knife & Saw in Glendale Heights, Illinois, emphasized how critical full expensing is for global competitiveness: “To remain competitive, we need to continually innovate and consistently invest in new machinery and equipment. But with rising tax bills, it’s becoming harder to do so.”

Delayed investments: Some manufacturers are holding off on equipment purchases due to the uncertain tax landscape.

• “I know exactly where the next capital investment should be installed, but I’ve been delaying this decision,” said Courtney Silver, president and owner of Ketchie in Concord, North Carolina. “[Full expensing] dropped to 60% [in 2024], and the fact that I can’t expense the full value of this investment changes the return on investment calculation.”
• In Hodgkins, Illinois, Pioneer Service recently moved from a 24,000-square-foot building to a 62,000-square-foot building, but it can’t take advantage of all this space without full capital equipment expensing. “We had 13 more machines on order that we’ve put a hold on,” explained CEO and Co-Owner Aneesa Muthana. “Thirteen machines equivalent to about $5 million in capital, and that’s completely on hold until we know what’s going to happen next.”

Calling on Congress: If Congress does not act, accelerated depreciation will be entirely absent from the U.S. tax code for the first time in decades. “This isn’t just about numbers on my financial statements and my tax returns—this is about taking care of people here and in communities across this country working for small manufacturers,” said Silver.

• “Congress must act now to support American manufacturers,” said Murphy. “Our ability to invest in our communities, create jobs and innovate is at risk.”​

As part of its “Manufacturing Wins” tax campaign, the NAM’s small and medium-sized manufacturers are drawing lawmakers’ attention to R&D amortization, an uncompetitive tax policy that’s killing jobs and dragging down the world’s most innovative economy.

The problem: “Allowing companies like Sukup Manufacturing to immediately expense R&D investments had been part of the tax code for more than 70 years,” explained Steve Sukup, president and CEO of the Sheffield, Iowa–based company. “But since 2022, we have had to amortize our R&D expenses over five years.”

• “This affects manufacturers everywhere and has a dramatic impact on the U.S. economy, as the private sector accounts for more than 75% of total R&D spending—with small businesses accounting for approximately $90 billion of all private-sector R&D investments.”
• Another heavily impacted manufacturer is Husco of Waukesha, Wisconsin. “In 2024, we have $20 million less liquidity than we would have under the old R&D expensing rules,” said Husco President and CEO Austin Ramirez. “That $20 million represents almost our entire capital budget for 2024.”

Threatening jobs: “Limiting R&D doesn’t just limit innovation—it also has a direct impact on people’s jobs here,” said Tom Tredway, president of Erie Molded Packaging in Pennsylvania. “And these are quality, high-paying jobs—but they are at risk if immediate R&D expensing isn’t restored.”

• “Bringing a new medical device to market is a multiyear process, necessitating significant investments in R&D,” explained Chuck Wetherington, president of BTE Technologies in Hanover, Maryland. “Being required to amortize our R&D expenses has forced us to staff our technical team at a reduced level, slowing down the development of new products.”

Handing a win to China: “China allows a ‘super deduction’ for manufacturing R&D equal to 200% of research costs. That is what we are up against,” said Lisa Winton, who co-founded Winton Machine Company in Suwanee, Georgia. “Meanwhile, Belgium is the only other developed nation with an amortization requirement like the United States.”

• “When you look at the generosity of foreign support, especially China’s, versus the United States, it’s so lopsided,” said Daryl Bouwkamp, who serves as Vermeer Corporation’s senior director of international business development and government affairs. “China is trying to drive behavior toward R&D—and that’s something we’re lacking.”
• “Suddenly, China started manufacturing bagel baskets and shipping them to New York City for cheaper than I could get the steel,” recalled Drew Greenblatt, president and owner of Marlin Steel Wire Products. “We realized we couldn’t thrive in a commodities market. … We [need] to be able to say to buyers, ‘You must buy from the American innovative company because we’re coming up with such slick ideas that our product blows the competition away.’”

Innovation at risk: “[Now is the time] we most need to make investments in innovation, both around the technologies that we provide in our products enabling the United States’ economic growth and success [and] the technologies we use to produce the products that we make,” said Karl Hutter, CEO of Click Bond in Carson City, Nevada.

• Patricia Miller of M4 Factory in Woodstock, Illinois, highlighted that manufacturers are key to meeting the world’s most intractable challenges: “We need to keep those [companies] that are driving the future of innovation and manufacturing in the U.S. economically viable and competitive.”

The last word: “Congress not allowing manufacturers to immediately expense R&D expenses directly translates to fewer quality jobs in the manufacturing sector while our foreign competitors are implementing vastly more beneficial R&D benefits,” Tredway concluded.

The NAM recently talked to Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) about the importance of reinstating immediate expensing for research-and-development expenditures. Here’s the full interview:

NAM: Sen. Young, Congress is facing a “Tax Armageddon” next year, as crucial provisions from 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, what is your focus moving into next year’s debate?

Sen. Young: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was a great success—millions of Americans, especially those in the middle class—saw their taxes go down. Corporate tax receipts went up. We stemmed the tide of corporate inversions, and many companies chose to return their operations and tax bases to the United States. If Congress does not act next year to extend provisions of the TCJA, we will undo all of these victories and inflict long-lasting damage on our economy. As we prepare for next year, I am focused on evaluating how best we can build upon our TCJA successes and continue to adopt pro-growth, fiscally responsible tax policy that helps hardworking Americans thrive.

NAM: As you know, for nearly 70 years, manufacturers in the U.S. were able to fully deduct their R&D expenses in the year incurred. Beginning in 2022, however, manufacturers were forced to spread their deductions over several years, greatly harming our ability to grow and compete. What is Congress doing to restore immediate R&D expensing?

Sen. Young: For several years now, I have advocated for the American Innovation and Jobs Act (S. 866), my bill with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) that would restore full and immediate expensing of R&D expenditures. We first introduced the bill back in 2020 well before the provision expired, and I am disappointed that we are now reaching the end of 2024—nearly three years after the law shifted to amortization of R&D investments—and Congress has yet to pass our bill to fix this crucial issue. As our global competitors, like China, are expanding their R&D incentives, we simply cannot allow our nation and our economy to be left behind. Congress must work to restore our R&D incentives as soon as possible, and this will be one of my top priorities heading into next year’s tax negotiations.

NAM: As a senator who was there during the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, you know how impactful the legislation was for manufacturers to be able to compete on a global level. As we get closer to next year, what are you hearing from stakeholders on the need for pro-growth tax policy so American businesses can engage and grow around the world?

Sen. Young: At the risk of oversimplifying the issue, it really comes down to competitiveness. A lot of the work I have done in the tax space as well as in other areas is focused on ensuring that America’s position as a global leader remains strong. Without growth, our economy suffers and our ability to remain internationally competitive is diminished. This is a massive national security risk. So, as I look ahead to what next year may hold in the tax arena, I am focused on pro-growth tax policy. We need to be thinking creatively about ways we can add value to our economy and, in turn, ensure Americans are better off.

In different industries this takes on different forms; however, one common thread is the need for R&D. To grow and develop new products, businesses have to put significant amounts of capital into R&D costs, both domestically and internationally. That is why one of my core areas of focus continues to be restoring full and immediate expensing of R&D costs. It is vital for the health of our economy that we take this action, which allows safer and more innovative products to be brought to the marketplace; increases the number of [well]-paying, high-skilled jobs; and secures U.S. interests abroad by ensuring we remain globally competitive.

NAM: Thank you, Sen. Young. What else can NAM members do to stay engaged and be a resource for you going into next year?

Sen. Young: I have always appreciated the NAM’s partnership and advocacy as we work together on these important issues. I would encourage NAM members to continue sharing stories with their elected federal officials of the importance of these tax incentives, like R&D, that enable the creation of high-quality jobs, promote our national competitiveness and strengthen our economy. Your voice matters.

The NAM recently talked to Rep. Ron Estes (R-KA), chair of the U.S. Innovation Tax Team, to learn what he and his colleagues are doing to fight for the return of immediate research-and-development expensing. Here’s the full interview:

NAM: Rep. Estes, Congress is facing a “Tax Armageddon” next year, as crucial provisions from 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, what is your focus moving into next year’s debate?

Rep. Estes: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act did so much to encourage economic growth and make the United States competitive globally. Today, about half of the members serving in Congress weren’t in office in 2017 when we passed this landmark legislation, so there’s a lot of educating that’s been happening, not just for the general public but for our members as well. Ways and Means Republicans are taking this opportunity to examine what worked and ways to improve and expand the legislation. Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) established 10 tax teams to address various parts of the bill, and I’ve been leading the U.S Innovation Tax Team.

NAM: As you well know, for nearly 70 years, manufacturers in the U.S. were able to fully deduct their R&D expenses in the year incurred. Beginning in 2022, however, manufacturers were forced to spread their deductions over several years, greatly harming our ability to grow and compete. What is Congress doing to restore immediate R&D expensing?

Rep. Estes: I’ve introduced legislation—the American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act—to address this issue. It’s bipartisan legislation that is supported by 220 colleagues, nearly evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Those provisions were also included in the House-passed Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which would have been a welcome fix. However, election-year politics has stalled that bill in the Senate. But manufacturers and innovators need action on immediate R&D expensing now, and it’s something the Senate should still address before the next Congress begins in January.

NAM: Your U.S. Innovation Tax Team has been very busy this year, as you’ve held several roundtables and been receiving feedback focused on the importance of U.S. manufacturers having a chance to compete around the globe. As we get closer to next year, what is your tax team hearing from stakeholders on the need for American businesses to engage and grow around the world?

Rep. Estes: The U.S. Innovation Tax Team has hosted roundtables and listening sessions with innovators and manufacturers across the country. Their message has been consistent and clear: we need a stable tax code that encourages innovation through R&D immediate expensing, continues good policies like FDII [the foreign-derived intangible income deduction] and discourages foreign extraterritorial taxes that are out to pilfer from American innovators. A manufacturer in rural Kansas told me about how the change in immediate R&D expensing has changed their plans for expansion. This is a major employer in a small town, so the impact isn’t just about the business, but it’s also about the jobs that are impacted when R&D is stifled. At the same time, China is offering a 200% super deduction and is working to expand R&D in their country. We can’t cede our dominance in manufacturing, research and development.

NAM: Thank you, congressman. What else can NAM members do to stay engaged and be a resource for you going into next year?

Rep. Estes: The best thing for NAM members to do is to continue talking about the benefits of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the importance of R&D expensing for manufacturers and workers. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation about the impact of the 2017 tax law, but even the New York Times admitted in 2019 that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefitted most Americans, saying in their headline, “Face It: You (Probably) Got a Tax Cut,” and going on to say, “Studies consistently find that the 2017 law cut taxes for most Americans. Most of them don’t buy it.” Americans, small businesses, innovators and manufacturers need us to extend and expand the 2017 tax law to encourage the kind of economic growth we experienced just several years ago.

For more than two years, manufacturers have not been able to immediately deduct their R&D expenses—and it’s taken a toll, particularly on small businesses.

What’s going on: For more than 70 years, the U.S. tax code allowed manufacturers to immediately deduct their R&D expenditures. But since the expiration of this key provision in 2022, manufacturers have been required to amortize their R&D costs over a period of years.

Why it’s important: As a direct result of the expiration, manufacturers’ tax bills have increased, according to a new NAM tax explainer released as part of the NAM’s “Manufacturing Wins ” campaign. This means manufacturers are now less able to conduct groundbreaking research and support well-paying R&D jobs.

Uneven playing field: The U.S. is now one of just two developed nations that requires the amortization of R&D expenses.

• The policy makes the U.S. less competitive against China, which offers companies a 200% “super deduction” for R&D costs.
• In 2022, the first full year after the expiration of immediate R&D expensing, the European Union’s R&D growth surpassed that of the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade—and China’s R&D growth was triple that of the U.S.

What should be done: The NAM is calling on Congress to restore immediate R&D expensing, along with other pro-growth tax provisions.

The last word: “It is imperative that the U.S. tax code support job-creating, life-changing R&D,” said NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Charles Crain. “Congress must act to bolster manufacturing innovation and American competitiveness by reinstating immediate R&D expensing.”

As part of its “Manufacturing Wins” campaign to preserve pro-manufacturing tax provisions, the NAM hosted a roundtable this week with Reps. Carol Miller (R-WV) and David Kustoff (R-TN)—respectively the chair and a member of the Ways and Means Committee Supply Chain Tax Team.

Preparing for 2025: The Supply Chain Tax Team has jurisdiction over the corporate income tax rate. Tax reform reduced the corporate rate to 21%, spurring the creation of thousands of new manufacturing jobs—and the NAM is working with Congress to ensure the U.S. maintains a competitive corporate rate as policymakers debate next year’s “tax Armageddon.” 

Understanding the benefits: Rep. Miller emphasized that the dollars saved due to tax reform’s lower corporate rate have supported job creation, higher wages and the flourishing of local communities.

• As a business owner herself, she said she believes it’s important for members of Congress in charge of tax policy to understand the risks businesses take, the communities they support and the certainty they need to be successful.

Measuring the impact: Rep. Kustoff emphasized the importance of real-world data on the benefits of the lower corporate tax rate—from the number of jobs created to the work businesses have done to provide their employees with bonuses and higher wages.

• According to Rep. Kustoff, real-world metrics are important for educating policymakers about the need for action, as crucial, pro-manufacturing tax provisions are set to expire at the end of 2025.

Recognizing the ripples: The discussion also touched on the wider impact of tax increases on global supply chains and the broader U.S. economy.

• Participants noted that a higher corporate income tax rate’s ripple effects would hurt companies throughout the economy—even when those companies are pass-throughs and not explicitly affected by the corporate income tax rate.
• That’s because these small businesses often sell to and partner with larger corporations that would have less capital available under a higher corporate rate.

Our take: “Prior to 2017 tax reform, the U.S. had the highest corporate tax rate among the more than three dozen countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the third highest in the entire world,” said NAM Vice President of Economic Policy Charles Crain.

• “That put manufacturers in America at an alarming disadvantage. A competitive tax rate helps business compete in the global economy, leads to job creation, investments and purchases of new equipment and allows manufacturers to give back to their communities.”
• “If Congress were to raise the corporate rate, it would force America to take a step back on the global stage—at a time when other countries around the world are implementing more competitive tax agendas.”

Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA), the vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Rural America Tax Team, is working to shield family businesses across America from damaging tax burdens by targeting the estate tax for repeal.

As part of the NAM’s “Manufacturing Wins” campaign, which aims to protect pro-manufacturing provisions from 2017 tax reform set to expire in 2025, the NAM spoke with Rep. Feenstra about his work and why it matters to manufacturers. 

Nixing the tax: Tax reform doubled the valuation threshold under which family-owned businesses’ assets are exempt from the estate tax. While Rep. Feenstra is working to prevent that increased threshold from expiring, he has a bigger goal in sight: repealing the estate tax altogether.

• Feenstra is the sponsor of the Death Tax Repeal Act, which “makes the simple recognition that death should not be a taxable event,” he told us.
• “When a family is grieving, the federal government sends a multimillion-dollar tax bill as condolences. This is simply wrong.”

Listening to owners: Rep. Feenstra and his colleagues on the tax team have spoken to family businesses across the country, including manufacturers. These conversations have made it clear that “we still have a lot of work to do to provide relief from what can be a devastating setback for multigenerational family businesses,” he said.

• “Repealing this tax is going to be one of my top priorities in 2025, and I’m proud to have the support of 170 of my colleagues,” he added.

Persecuting small business: As Rep. Feenstra explains, the estate tax often threatens to destroy small manufacturers, whose value is often tied up in illiquid assets like equipment and facilities.

• “People often don’t realize that businesses over many generations can accumulate assets that can put them over the asset threshold, but that doesn’t mean these businesses have a lot of cash on hand,” he explained. “So, when they’re hit with millions in new taxes, that can sink an already cash-strapped business.”
• “Fortunately, because of the doubling of exemption amount, far fewer businesses face that threat,” he added. However, “As long as any family business does face that threat, we still have work to do.”

If tax reform expires… Rep. Feenstra warns that if tax reform’s estate tax changes expire, many additional smaller businesses will suffer.

• “A lot more people would be hit by the death tax, and the people who are hit would be paying a much higher tax,” he said.
• “These are small family businesses we are talking about, and if the current exemption amount is allowed to return to half its current value, that means the size of the businesses getting hit are much smaller than they are today.”

The last word: “As we go into 2025, we need to be focused on policies that support growth and help [family-owned] businesses succeed, not create costly obstacles for them to overcome,” Rep. Feenstra concluded. 

Learn more: You can read our full Q&A with Rep. Feenstra here and learn more about the NAM’s “Manufacturing Wins” tax campaign at NAM.org/MfgWins.

The NAM recently interviewed Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA), the vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Rural America Tax Team, about the estate tax and why he’s working with colleagues on Capitol Hill to repeal it.

NAM: Rep. Feenstra, Congress is facing a “Tax Armageddon” next year, as crucial provisions from 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, what is your focus moving into next year’s debate? 

Rep. Feenstra: One of those crucial provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that is set to expire is the doubling of the estate tax exemption amount, which currently sits at $13.6 million in 2024. After 2025, it will return to half that amount, adjusted for inflation. That change in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was another important step toward full repeal of the estate tax, which my Death Tax Repeal Act would do. The bill makes the simple recognition that death should not be a taxable event. When a family is grieving, the federal government sends a multimillion-dollar tax bill as condolences. This is simply wrong.

I’m proud to co-chair the Rural America Tax Team, which has dug into this issue of the “death tax” and the impact it is having on family businesses across the country. As the tax team has spoken to family businesses and estate tax experts from across the country, it’s become increasingly clear that we still have a lot of work to do to provide relief from what can be a devastating setback for multigenerational family businesses. Repealing this tax is going to be one of my top priorities in 2025, and I’m proud to have the support of 170 of my colleagues. 

NAM: The estate tax is imposed on family-owned businesses when ownership of the business passes to the next generation following the death of an owner. As you mentioned, the TCJA doubled the exemption threshold, excluding more assets from taxation and thus reducing the burden of the estate tax on businesses. Why is this important and what is Congress doing to preserve this higher threshold? 

Rep. Feenstra: Over the years, various bills have taken steps toward providing relief for taxpayers hit by the death tax. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was one of the largest expansions of that relief, significantly reducing the number of family businesses hit by the tax and reducing the tax burden for those businesses that still are. People often don’t realize that businesses over many generations can accumulate assets that can put them over the asset threshold, but that doesn’t mean these businesses have a lot of cash on hand. So when they’re hit with millions in new taxes, that can sink an already cash-strapped business. Fortunately, because of the doubling of the exemption amount, far fewer businesses face that threat. As long as any family business does face that threat, we still have work to do. 

NAM: At the end of 2025, the estate tax is scheduled to be reduced by half, subjecting more of family-owned manufacturers’ assets to taxation and increasing their estate tax liability. As the Ways and Means Committee and tax teams continue meeting with businesses around the country, what are you hearing on the impact this change would have? 

Rep. Feenstra: Two things: A lot more people would be hit by the death tax, and the people who are hit would be paying a much higher tax. These are small family businesses we are talking about, and if the current exemption amount is allowed to return to half its current value, that means the size of the businesses getting hit are much smaller than they are today. People often think of farms, and that’s certainly true, but as you know, manufacturers are hit, family-owned restaurants, auto dealers, you name it. As we go into 2025, we need to be focused on policies that support growth and help these businesses succeed, not create costly obstacles for them to overcome. If the exemption amount falls to its pre–Tax Cuts and Jobs Act level, that’s a lot of new businesses that are going to be hit by this tax.

Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) visited Miles Fiberglass & Composites in Clackamas, Oregon, for a roundtable discussion with local manufacturers and other business leaders on the critical need to protect manufacturing-friendly tax policies. Moderated by Miles Fiberglass President and owner and NAM board member Lori Miles-Olund and attended by representatives of the NAM and Oregon Business & Industry, the discussion centered on the importance of preserving the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which has been a lifeline for small manufacturers. 

Stimulating growth: “The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act freed up capital for us to hire more people, invest in new equipment and increase wages,” said Miles-Olund. “It’s essential for manufacturers like us to have a pro-growth tax code that allows us to stay competitive and innovate.”

• The 2017 reforms lowered the corporate tax rate and provided a 20% pass-through deduction for small businesses, boosting their growth for the past seven years.
• However, with key provisions set to expire in 2025, many manufacturers are concerned about the harm to their businesses if Congress fails to act.

A looming threat: Rep. Chavez-DeRemer addressed the impending expiration of these tax provisions, saying, “We cannot afford to return to a tax system that punishes manufacturers for investing in the U.S.”

• She also highlighted the economic ripple effects of tax hikes, noting that when manufacturers are forced to scale back investments, it affects not just their operations but also their suppliers and communities.
• OBI President and CEO Angela Wilhelms echoed these concerns. “Preserving these tax reforms is essential to ensuring that Oregon businesses remain competitive on a global stage,” she said.

Empowering women: Rep. Chavez-DeRemer also discussed the importance of empowering women in the manufacturing sector. She praised Miles Fiberglass’ efforts to recruit more women, adding that legislation like the National Apprenticeship Act can help open doors for women and close the skills gap in manufacturing. 

The last word: “We need policies that allow manufacturers to thrive,” Rep. Chavez-DeRemer said. “Congress must prioritize protecting jobs, ensuring economic stability and keeping American manufacturing competitive.”

If you want to add your voice to the fight for tax reform, or host legislators for a facility visit, check out the NAM’s “Manufacturing Wins” campaign.