Vernon Ehlers: “I rise in support of the Enterprise Integration Act of 2002. Much has changed about the manufacturing industry during…”

“I rise in support of the Enterprise Integration Act of 2002. Much has changed about the manufacturing industry during the past 30 years. In the 1970s and 1980s, our manufacturing sector was in trouble. Plagued by quality problems and inefficiency, our domestic manufacturing sector was on the decline, and it was costing U.S. workers their jobs. I saw this firsthand in my home State of Michigan, when one observer noted in a national column how much Michigan's auto manufacturing sector had fallen and asked for, in print, 'The last person to leave the State to please turn off the lights.' This decline served as a wake-up call not only for State and Federal governments but especially for domestic manufacturers, and they have worked hard over the past three decades to become leaner and more competitive in the global marketplace. Automation, outsourcing, efficiency, and quality became the buzzwords of this effort, as manufacturers made fundamental changes to their business models. When these changes were coupled with the information technology revolution, manufacturers were able to unleash the untapped potential of American workers. Over the past 10 years, our workers increased their productivity as never before in the modern era. These gains led to one of the greatest economic expansions in U.S. history and made a bold statement that U.S. domestic manufacturing was ready to compete in the global marketplace.”