Input Stories

NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Charles Crain and Jergens President and CEO Jack Schron testified this week before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the importance of H.R. 1, last year’s tax legislation that secured competitive tax policy for the industry and all Americans.

Why it matters: Crain began by outlining the stakes involved in the legislation’s passage, saying, “Just a year ago, manufacturers were facing the prospect of devastating tax increases across the industry. Pro-growth and pro-investment incentives had already expired, and taxes were scheduled to go up even more on essentially everyone at the end of 2025.”

• “Thankfully, Congress and the administration—with manufacturers by your side—took action. H.R. 1 was signed into law by President Trump on July 4, America’s 249th birthday,” he continued.
• “Now, as we approach the 250th anniversary of America just a month from today, manufacturers are using the tax law to invest more, to innovate more, to hire more and grow right here in the United States.”

Manufacturers’ stories: “At the NAM, we hear about the real-world impact of these provisions every single day,” Crain told legislators.

• “A family-owned business in North Carolina was able to purchase multiple pieces of capital equipment that they had been holding back on and hire five new people as a result. A helicopter company could do more R&D to detect forest fires, while a tool company increased its workforce by more than 10% because it could afford new debt-financed investments.”

A manufacturer in D.C.: Crain was joined by Schron, whose family-owned firm in Cleveland, Ohio, was founded in 1942. “Jergens was building parts and equipment for the aerospace and defense industries to defend ourselves in the Second World War,” Schron told the committee. “Today we have 450 employees that supply manufacturers around the world and across industries, including machining, metalworking, aerospace and defense.”

• “The law has made our research investments, our equipment purchases, our facilities expansions and our upgrades through the financing more affordable,” he said.

A range of benefits: Schron highlighted several provisions in H.R. 1, including the no tax on overtime provision.

• The overtime provision allows employees to benefit more from working more hours, while the company also profits—manufacturers are having trouble filling jobs due to the shortage of skilled labor, and the overtime provision means that existing employees are eager to work extra hours. “Eighty-three percent of our hourly skilled workforce is volunteering to work overtime,” said Schron.
• Meanwhile, the new full expensing for factories provision is enabling the company to start on another facility expansion, while the law’s estate tax provision will help the business stay in the Jergens family.

The last word: “Alexander Hamilton said that the wealth, the independence, the very security of our nation are materially connected with the prosperity of manufacturers,” Crain said. “Today that manufacturing prosperity depends on tax policy that empowers our industry to invest, to innovate and to grow. H.R. 1 is helping manufacturers deliver on Hamilton’s promise.”