News & Insights

Manufacturers are looking for a return to common sense by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on Thursday titled “Reclaiming OSHA’s Mission: Ensuring Safety Without Overreach,” at which President of CRH Americas Materials’ Northeast Division Jake Parson represented the NAM’s and manufacturers’ positions.

The big picture: “If we want to grow manufacturing in the U.S., we need to rebalance regulations that cost manufacturers $350 billion every year. This is money that could be spent on hiring people, building new facilities and creating new products,” Parson said.

• “OSHA has put forward costly rules that ignore the complexity of U.S. manufacturing.”

One regulation: “One problematic regulation is the proposed heat rule. A one-size-fits-all heat standard ignores the work manufacturers already do to protect our employees, and it ignores the unique ways in which it is done,” said Parson.

• Rules that make sense for one region do not make sense for another, he noted.
• “During my time leading an asphalt production and paving business in Texas, I saw firsthand how extreme heat impacts our teams and how local expertise and adaptive safety measures are critical. Now, overseeing similar operations in the Northeast, I face a completely different climate and set of challenges. Any standard must reflect the realities of our industry and the diverse environments in which we operate.”
• “The proposed rule imposes significant mandates on manufacturers—without fully grappling with or understanding whether they are feasible or cost effective. The result would be reduced production and ultimately fewer jobs,” Parson warned.

The NAM’s involvement: The NAM has long advocated for commonsense OSHA regulations that protect workers while accurately accounting for manufacturers’ extant safety procedures and operational needs.

• The NAM weighed in on the heat rule back in January, advising OSHA that “the NAM recommends that OSHA provide additional flexibility that reflects the breadth of work environments and company approaches to the issues,” among other changes.
• In the hearing Thursday, policymakers also discussed the worker walkaround rule finalized by the Biden Labor Department last spring. The NAM is suing to block this overreaching and legally dubious regulation that does nothing to improve safety.

The last word: “The NAM continues to bring manufacturers’ voices to policymakers as they decide how best to protect workers and ensure manufacturing competitiveness,” said NAM Director of Transportation, Infrastructure and Labor Policy Max Hyman. “Real-world experiences from the shop floor help craft policy that empowers employees and grows the economy.”

The NAM is continuing to advise policymakers on the opportunities and hurdles facing the industry as it seeks to support AI innovation. This week, the NAM responded to a request for information from the House’s AI and Energy Working Group, led by Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND), addressing concerns about “American energy dominance and artificial intelligence’s energy demands, securing the energy grid and outpacing and outcompeting China.”

The big picture: “With the digitalization of manufacturing … manufacturers are increasingly dependent on a robust network of cutting-edge data centers for the smooth execution of their core business operations. AI in particular has become integral to modern manufacturing, as it increasingly transforms and supports a multitude of aspects of manufacturing, from product design to shop floor operations to supply chain management.”

• “Manufacturers also rely on the same energy sources as data centers to power their operations. As demand grows and supply remains relatively static, there is a pressing need to use all policy levers available to ensure sufficient, reliable, resilient and affordable energy for all users.”

Permitting reform: The NAM’s first recommendation to the working group was that policymakers must enact permitting reform—and fast. “Wood Mackenzie has predicted that U.S. demand for power could increase by 15% by the end of this decade,” the NAM noted.

• The NAM advised policymakers to take certain crucial steps, including expediting judicial review, accelerating the permit process for energy infrastructure—including more transmission and distribution lines, pipelines and permanent carbon sequestration sites—and providing greater regulatory certainty.

A secure electric grid: Manufacturers are concerned about service disruptions caused by severe weather and aging infrastructure, the NAM said. “A reliable, resilient modern grid is required to enable the historic growth in data centers—which in turn can contribute to manufacturing growth.”

• The NAM recommended the build-out of natural gas generation and transportation infrastructure, as well as the permitting and construction of more transmission and distribution, as mentioned above.

The AI future: Manufacturers also recognize the importance of enabling AI innovation and the risks of imposing an overly restrictive regulatory regime on the fast-evolving technology.

• To that end, the NAM recommended “a regulatory approach that is based on reviews of existing regulations before enacting new ones … a strategy of international engagement that keeps foreign markets open to the use of American AI … and developing the manufacturing workforce of the AI age by supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics education programs at all levels,” among other policies.

The last word: “Maintaining a favorable policy environment for AI will provide certainty to the private sector, which in turn will spur additional multibillion-dollar investments in U.S. manufacturing and innovation,” said NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Charles Crain.

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it will reconsider certain aspects of the Biden administration’s rule setting limits on PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in drinking water—while leaving in place unworkable standards for two PFAS (The Washington Post, subscription).

Encouraging progress: The agency plans to reconsider regulatory determination for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS following calls by the NAM to rescind the “blatantly unlawful” standards. The EPA also will extend its compliance deadline for PFOA and PFOS from 2029 to 2031, another top NAM ask.

More to be done: NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons made clear that the EPA’s decision to maintain the previous administration’s standards for PFOA and PFAS “go against the Trump administration’s goal to make the U.S. the best place to build, grow and create jobs.”

The NAM’s involvement: The NAM opposed these standards when they were instituted, arguing that the timeline for implementation was too swift, as many of these chemicals are key manufacturing additives that do not yet have replacements.

• The NAM also challenged the rule in court, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the rule due to the EPA’s failure to follow the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act, including its reliance on a deeply flawed cost-benefit analysis and deficient feasibility analysis.

The NAM says: “We’re encouraged that the EPA has listened to the voices of manufacturers and extended the compliance deadline for unworkable national primary drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS and committed to reconsidering the blatantly unlawful regulatory determinations for several other PFAS compounds,” Timmons said.

• “However, the Biden-era standards for PFOA and PFOS are deeply flawed, the costs they impose exceed any demonstrable benefit and the industries they harm include those vital to our national interests, including semiconductors, telecommunications and defense systems.”
• “We don’t have to choose between supporting manufacturing and clean water in our communities.”

Key House Committees this week advanced pro-manufacturing provisions that will make up the “one big, beautiful bill” that President Trump and House Republicans are advancing through the congressional reconciliation process—bringing the package another step closer to a vote.

What’s going on: The House Ways and Means Committee advanced legislation to make permanent crucial tax measures from the 2017 tax reform bill, while the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill with much-needed permitting reform and energy provisions.

NAM in the driver’s seat: The NAM has been leading the campaign to extend and make permanent pro-manufacturing tax policies. Each of the NAM’s tax priorities was included in the legislation approved by the Ways and Means Committee—along with additional pro-manufacturing provisions. In advance of the markup, the NAM made clear that the bill “will protect manufacturers from devastating tax increases and empower the industry to invest, grow and create jobs here in the United States.”

• Manufacturers were top of mind for policymakers during the session. In his opening statement, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) cited the testimony of Courtney Silver—president and owner of North Carolina–based family-owned precision machining firm Ketchie and a member of the NAM Executive Committee—as an example of the benefits of the 2017 tax reform.

Ways and Means: NAM priorities featured in the Ways and Means bill include:

• Tax certainty for small and family-owned manufacturers, including a permanent increase in the pass-through deduction and permanent individual tax rates and protections from the estate tax;
• Revived investment and innovation incentives for R&D, capital equipment purchases and debt financing, with additional support for small and medium-sized manufacturers and a new incentive for factory construction and refurbishment; and
• The preservation of the corporate tax rate and tax reform’s international tax system.

Ahead of the successful markup of the tax legislation, the NAM emphasized that failing to preserve these provisions “will cost the U.S. economy nearly 6 million jobs.”

Energy and Commerce: The NAM’s priorities were also front and center at a markup of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the health, energy and technology provisions in the reconciliation package. The NAM voiced support for several key manufacturing priorities in the legislation, including:

• Pharmacy benefit manager reforms that will increase transparency and prevent PBMs from driving up health care costs for manufacturing workers;
• Permitting reforms that will allow for the buildout of much-needed pipeline and energy transportation infrastructure; and
• Provisions to rebalance burdensome environmental regulations that have harmed manufacturers’ ability to grow.

The NAM also welcomed the committee’s recognition that regulations should support manufacturers’ development and use of artificial intelligence—rather than slowing progress via “a patchwork of divergent state laws and regulations.”

How to add more rocket fuel: The NAM also offered suggestions to improve the bills, highlighting potentially harmful changes to strategic manufacturing incentives in the tax code—including ending the hydrogen production tax credit, imposing overly harsh restrictions on manufacturing and energy production regarding foreign sourcing and licensing which will keep manufacturers from bringing back supply chains and know-how to America, and ending credit transferability—as well as a provision targeting foreign headquartered manufacturers investing in the U.S.

• The NAM emphasized that manufacturers have used these targeted energy and manufacturing incentives to invest billions and employ thousands across the country.

What’s next: The committees’ bills will now be combined by the House Budget Committee in advance of a House floor vote in the coming weeks.

The bottom line: NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons underlined   the importance of this bill on NewsNation this morning. “If we really want to supercharge our economy and provide the rocket fuel that the president’s talked about in the past … [We have] to get [these tax provisions] reenacted. … [The] longer we wait, the harder it is for businesses to make decisions based on tax policy for 2026, so we want to see Congress move this really expeditiously so we can plan for investment and job creation in the next few years, too.”

• “[T]he priorities I believe that we all need to embrace are making sure that we are investing in creating new facilities for manufacturing, growing jobs and, most importantly, growing wages. That leads to a much more productive and successful society.”
• “There are some things that the House didn’t do that we hope the Senate does to ensure that we have the ongoing investments for energy infrastructure and other energy projects here in the United States,” he added.
• Policymakers’ main priority should be “policies [that] encourage businesses to invest here, to make it possible for them to invest here and to create jobs here,” he concluded.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a new final supplemental environmental review for Venture Global’s CP2 liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana, bringing it a step closer to reality (E&E News, subscription).

What’s going on: FERC found that “the terminal and an associated compressor station wouldn’t cause ‘significant cumulative air quality impacts.’”

The project: “The CP2 facility has a nameplate liquefaction capacity of 20 million metric tons per year, but it could produce even more under peak conditions.”

• If approved expeditiously, the project could produce its first LNG by 2026, the company said last year.
• “With today’s [final environmental impact statement,] FERC has found twice-over that CP2 will have no significant air impacts,” Venture Global spokesperson Jess Szymanski said in an emailed statement to E&E News. “The project is ready to break ground and begin supplying U.S. allies with much-needed LNG as soon as the FERC Commission votes on the Final Order and issues a notice to proceed with construction.”

What’s next: The Final Order is slated for July, according to FERC’s website.

The NAM says: “LNG projects like Venture Global’s will help bolster the American economy by creating jobs here at home and enabling the U.S. to achieve energy dominance on the world stage,” said NAM Director of Energy and Resources Policy Michael Davin.

Washington, D.C. – Following the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water, National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons issued the following response:

“We’re encouraged that the EPA has listened to the voices of manufacturers and extended the compliance deadline for unworkable national primary drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS and committed to reconsidering the blatantly unlawful regulatory determinations for several other PFAS compounds.

“If the U.S. wants to stay a global manufacturing leader, we need practical, commonsense PFAS regulations. Manufacturers support science-based regulations that protect health and the environment and are in line with the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. However, the Biden-era standards for PFOA and PFOS are deeply flawed, the costs they impose exceed any demonstrable benefit and the industries they harm include those vital to our national interests, including semiconductors, telecommunications and defense systems. The Pentagon has even raised alarms about long-term risks, including supply chain disruptions, that these standards would create.

“In addition to conflicting with manufacturers’ best interests, these standards also go against the Trump administration’s goal to make the U.S. the best place to build, grow and create jobs—a goal the administration is advancing by rebalancing regulations. The administration has done remarkable work to advance that goal, but today’s decision moves in the opposite direction.

“The decision runs counter to past efforts to cut red tape and boost manufacturing by putting shovels in the ground, more people to work, more products on the shelves and more prosperity into our communities. We don’t have to choose between supporting manufacturing and clean water in our communities.”

-NAM-

The National Association of Manufacturers 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 nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.94 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% 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 NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons moderated a panel of state governors at SelectUSA on Monday, discussing the effects of AI and the policies that have aided manufacturers in the leaders’ respective states.

The panel: Four governors participated in the “Governors Investing in American Technological Competitiveness” panel—Govs. Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Wes Moore of Maryland, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.

• SelectUSA, a U.S. government program led by the U.S. Department of Commerce, aims to promote and support job-creating investment in the U.S.

Timmons says: “I want to thank you so much for your leadership on behalf of manufacturers everywhere,” said Timmons, as he kicked off the panel discussion.

• “You’ve got an important perspective serving both in the State House and on the front lines to tell us how manufacturing is evolving and also the opportunities that AI presents, as well as emerging technology. Now by harnessing these technologies, it becomes clear that the United States is the best place to invest the next dollar in manufacturing.”

The AI transformation: When asked how AI is transforming their states, the governors had a range of answers.

• “We are a logistics state, and for us, our oil and gas industries are huge,” said Dunleavy. “Our mining industries are huge. Our fishing industries are huge, and those industries are capitalizing on AI for a whole host of reasons and methods. I know in the oil industry it’s making drilling a lot more efficient. And so these efficiencies are going to result in better approaches, better products, better services.”
• “If you think about the assets that the state of Maryland has, the reason that AI was so important is … that Maryland has such uniquely tethered assets to our state that made AI … desirable there,” said Moore. “[I]n the state of Maryland, you have the Johns Hopkins data center and AI initiative and the University of Maryland AI center, and you also have the University of Maryland serving as a capital of quantum. … We think it’s important for our states to be on the front edge of this, instead of waiting for consequences.”
• “We know that some of our natural assets, like having the most engineers in the country per capita, like institutions like the University of Michigan or Wayne State or Michigan State University … give us an opportunity when it comes to AI,” said Whitmer.  “Michigan will be the first state in the nation, perhaps the first place in North America, to restart a nuclear facility. … [T]here’s no question [that] if we are going to meet our clean energy goals and power the technology that is going to drive … almost every facet of our life, we’ve got to have the clean energy to do that.”
• “It’s estimated that 70% of the internet traffic of the world goes through Virginia, and that gives us a great opportunity to not just lead the nation, but lead the world in the advancement of AI,” said Youngkin. “And we’ve seen huge investment across the state. What that also requires is collaboration with our university and high school education system . . . and that allows us to really develop a unique pipeline of talent. … [A]t the heart of the application of AI is how it translates into driving efficiencies and opportunities and new capabilities in manufacturing.”

The bottom line: “As you heard from these four leaders—manufacturing powers the economic prosperity of the United States,” Timmons said in conclusion. “New technology opens new doors to do so, and the right policy decisions—and the right leadership—will make all the difference.”

Watch the whole thing: You can view the panel discussion on C-SPAN here.

During United for Infrastructure’s Infrastructure Week, the NAM—an active member of the steering committee—participated in several events in Washington, D.C., highlighting the urgent need for permitting reform to accelerate U.S. building projects.

A reception: The NAM hosted a reception to kick off Infrastructure Week 2025 at its headquarters in partnership with United for Infrastructure, with special guest Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

• Nucor, Fluor Corporation and CRH sponsored the event.

A panel: NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen spoke at the United for Infrastructure signature event, underlining the need for commonsense trade and permitting policies.

• “I think we can work with governments to address supply chain challenges,” he said when asked about tariffs. “We have a really important window of opportunity over the next 50 odd days to get some deals that provide zero tariffs on industrial trade. That is what manufacturers support.”
• “Manufacturers rely on transportation networks … to get our goods to and from ports to customers,” Phalen said regarding infrastructure, “but we also are making everything that goes into making transportation work, from aluminum to steel, from asphalt to aggregates, copper, circuitry and the large industrial machinery that builds [and] maintains roads, bridges, factories [and] power plants. So, it’s kind of a virtuous cycle where we’re investing in infrastructure.”

“Comprehensive manufacturing strategy”: Phalen also gave a brief overview of the NAM’s “comprehensive manufacturing strategy.”

• Revising the regulatory framework is a key priority, he said. “We’ve submitted dozens of letters to 10 separate federal agencies as part of President Trump’s deregulatory agenda. Manufacturers every year are spending $350 billion just to comply with federal regulations. And so we’ve been really pleased to see the start of this regulatory rebalancing from the administration.”
• Phalen cited moves including “reopening LNG export facility applications, rebalancing Clean Air Act rules … and streamlining and improving the process to improve new chemicals … at the EPA.”
• “Probably most important is permitting reform,” he added. “Manufacturers operate and employ and invest in the communities where we’re producing, so we don’t want to see any short-circuiting of public input. … [T]here does have to be recognition, though, that the way that things were set up in the late ’60s and early ’70s is hindering infrastructure of all kinds right now.”

A roundtable: The NAM also participated in a roundtable on continuing federal support for water infrastructure investments. NAM Director of Transportation, Infrastructure and Labor Policy Max Hyman shared perspectives on how these investments benefit manufacturers by driving demand for their products and providing an essential service for operations.

The last word: As NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said during the reception, “Infrastructure is the foundation of manufacturing in the U.S.”

Manufacturers struggle to fill all available jobs, Manufacturing Institute President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee told NPR’s “Planet Money” this week. The program held an in-depth discussion with Lee and other experts about the industry’s workforce challenges and prospects for change.

The problem: “Last year, the Manufacturing Institute [the NAM’s workforce development and education affiliate] and Deloitte, a consultancy firm, surveyed more than 200 manufacturing companies. More than 65% of the firms said recruiting and retaining workers was their No. 1 business challenge,” NPR noted.

• “The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte projected that the industry will need 3.8 million additional workers by 2033 and that as many as ‘1.9 million of these jobs could go unfilled if workforce challenges are not addressed.’”

Changing perceptions: Lee underlined the importance of changing Americans’ perceptions of the manufacturing industry and showing them that it is not dirty, boring and repetitive but modern and high tech.

• Manufacturing jobs are “clean and bright and full of technology,” Lee told NPR.

Skills shortage: Another problem facing the industry is a lack of people with specific, highly needed skills.

• “The hardest skills to find are the ones that maintain and fix equipment,” Lee says. “Every company we speak with is trying to hire technicians—every single one. The challenge is that there is no one walking around on the street with these skills, and it takes one to two years to teach those skills and another one to two years to contextualize those skills to the specific plant environment.”

The fix: Lee said that manufacturers have the most success in strengthening their workforces when they think local.

• “The very best models of workforce development that we see and that we engage in at the Manufacturing Institute are locally and regionally led public–private partnerships, where manufacturers come to the table—and with the support of the community college system and the local business community—they build the talent pipelines that they need,” she told the news outlet.

Finding FAME: The MI is also contributing directly to solving the skills shortage, including through the expansion of FAME, an earn-and-learn initiative originally founded by Toyota and now led by the MI that combines hands-on job training with classroom education.

• “[A]t the end of the 21 months [in the program], students come out with, in most cases, no college debt,” Lee said. They are also well set up for a lifetime of high-paying, in-demand work.
• A Brookings Institution and Opportunity America study cited by NPR found that “five years after completion, FAME graduates were earning nearly $98,000, compared to roughly $52,783 for non-FAME participants—a difference of more than $45,000 a year.”

Read the whole thing: You can find the whole NPR article here.

Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light among other products, is investing more than $300 million in local communities and facilities in 2025, including in efforts to upskill its workforce and help veterans find new careers at the company (Anheuser-Busch).

• This investment is a continuation of the more than $2 billion Anheuser-Busch has poured into 100 facilities across America over the past five years.

Heroes MAKE America: To support veterans in their new careers, Anheuser-Busch is partnering with the Manufacturing Institute—the NAM’s workforce development and education affiliate—to become the first manufacturer in the U.S. to adopt the MI’s new digital credentialing system for veterans.

• This system, overseen by the MI’s Heroes MAKE America initiative, translates military experience into skills needed for manufacturing careers, making veterans’ backgrounds more comprehensible to hiring managers.
• Anheuser-Busch will also train its workforce on the credentialing system, so that they understand the important skills that veterans will bring to the company and can evaluate the thousands of applications it will receive using the system.

Workforce training: Anheuser-Busch is also expanding its Technical Excellence Center model across the country, following its great success in St. Louis. The first new center will be its Columbus, Ohio, Regional Excellence Center, where it “will upskill its entire regional technical workforce over the next three years,” according to the company.

• The MI has a role in this expansion as well. Anheuser-Busch will partner with the MI and local trade schools so that trade school students and educators can benefit from the St. Louis and Columbus Technical Excellence Centers.

Anheuser-Busch says: “This new $300 million investment in our manufacturing facilities across the U.S. is the latest example of Anheuser-Busch’s commitment to strengthening our local communities by creating and sustaining jobs and driving economic prosperity,” said Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth. “Investing in our people and in new technologies and capabilities to drive industry and economic growth is core to who we are.”

From the MI: “Anheuser-Busch’s $300 million investment is more than a commitment to manufacturing in America—it’s a commitment to America’s future,” said NAM President and CEO and MI Chairman of the Board Jay Timmons.

• “By expanding technical training and strengthening our industrial base in Columbus, and with their support of the Manufacturing Institute’s Heroes MAKE America initiative, they are opening doors of opportunity for manufacturing workers across this country.”
• “This investment will help fuel our economy, lift up communities and secure the promise of manufacturing in America for generations to come.”

On the ground: The announcement of Brewing Futures took place in Columbus, Ohio, with Whitworth, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno. Marking the significance of the announcement, MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee and NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter also attended the event.

• “It was great being on the ground in Columbus, Ohio, for this announcement with Brendan Whitworth and Secretary Chavez-DeRemer highlighting Anheuser-Busch’s commitment to supporting veterans and advancing our workforce,” said Lee.
• “Through our Heroes MAKE America initiative, we’re proud to partner with forward-thinking manufacturing leaders like Anheuser-Busch who are proactively building supportive communities of veterans within their organizations. By adopting tools like our Manufacturing Readiness Badge program, they are not just investing in people; they are helping shape the future of manufacturing.”
• “This investment will help fuel our economy, lift up communities and secure the promise of manufacturing in America for generations to come.”