NAM Statement on the 2019 State of the Union Address
Manufacturers Call for Action on USMCA, Immigration Reform, Infrastructure Investment and Workforce Development
Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement reacting to the 2019 State of the Union address:
Our industry is coming off the best year for manufacturing job creation in more than two decades, and in 2018 the NAM’s Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey found the highest level of optimism among manufacturers in the survey’s 20-year history. The strength of our union is found in modern manufacturing, so President Trump was right to keep his focus on the men and women who make things in America, said Timmons.
Manufacturers’ progress has been built with the tools of tax reform and regulatory certainty, as manufacturers kept our promise to hire workers, raise wages and benefits and invest in equipment and operations. To continue this progress, manufacturers have a very clear and post-partisan agenda: approve the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, enact lasting, meaningful reforms to our broken immigration system, make an historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure and recruit a new generation of talent to solve the ongoing workforce crisis in manufacturing.
Manufacturers stand ready to tackle our nation’s challenges and opportunities and, as the President said tonight, to ‘unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future.’
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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.