Input Stories

Manufacturers require certainty to be able to do what they do best: “strengthen America’s competitive edge, create jobs and achieve energy dominance,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons and Texas Association of Business President and CEO Glenn Hamer wrote in a recent Rio Grande Guardian op-ed.

A heavy burden: “Manufacturers already face a $350 billion annual regulatory burden,” Timmons and Hamer pointed out. “Small manufacturers spend over $50,000 per employee per year on compliance. This money is better spent on raising wages, hiring, growth and innovation. And with tariffs adding price pressures, the need for regulatory and tax reform is urgent.”

Energy dominance: Texas “is a global leader in liquefied natural gas exports, which support hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in economic growth. That’s why President Trump’s decision to lift the LNG export pause was critical for securing U.S. energy leadership.”

• American LNG exports could support more than 900,000 jobs and add some $216 billion to the gross domestic product by 2044, according to a recent NAM study cited by the two manufacturing leaders.

Broken permitting: The Trump administration’s lifting of the LNG export permit ban “isn’t enough,” Timmons and Hamer continue. That’s because “the federal permitting system is broken.”

Roadmap to success: The NAM has a solution: “The NAM’s roadmap urges the administration to prioritize permitting reform, including reconsidering rules that add new layers of environmental reviews and delay energy and infrastructure projects, and implementing permitting reforms in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Manufacturers need a government that moves at the speed of business.”

• Manufacturers need a pro-growth tax code—one that maintains the current 21% corporate tax rate and preserves the pass-through deduction, full equipment expensing and research and development incentives.
• Energy incentives are critical, too, according to Timmons and Hamer. “These incentives ensure manufacturers develop next-generation technologies in America, sustain the industry’s strength and ensure national energy security.”
• Then there’s the labor force component. “If we want to sustain growth, we must expand workforce training, strengthen apprenticeships, bolster legal immigration and create new pathways into high-wage careers.”

The last word: “By getting these policies right, Texas can fuel America’s energy dominance, empower manufacturers and create the next generation of high-paying jobs.”