On the recordJuly 21, 2010
I join my colleagues in support of the U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010, H.R. 4380. This bill seeks to bolster manufacturing across the country through reductions and suspensions of duty taxes on non-competitive industrial goods. American manufacturing companies will be able to save considerably on production costs due to the decreased prices of industrial materials. I believe this legislation is essential to saving American manufacturing by creating jobs all across the country and by improving the competitiveness of American manufacturing in the global market. It will ease the pressure on American manufacturers at a time when it is most necessary. American manufacturing is in dire need of government support. From the years 2002-2007, the GDP of America's private manufacturing sector expanded at 2.3% per year, an adequate growth rate. In 2008, the GDP declined by 2.5%, and last year, the GDP growth rate plummeted by 5.3%. Congress must act to reverse this trend. This bill is projected to expand the GDP by billions of dollars. Locally, the Cook County unemployment rate currently stands at 10.7%. As a major industrial center of the U.S., Chicago businesses will benefit significantly from this bill. It will produce tens of thousands of jobs nationwide and many in the Chicago area.
