On the recordOctober 6, 2011
I rise today to let folks know that the American can-do spirit and the spirit of innovation is alive and well in southern Minnesota. Last week, I visited United Machine and Foundry in Winona, Minnesota. UMF is a small business that opened in 1885. It currently employs 35 people, and produces metal castings for asphalt production, road construction, and power generation. UMF's president, Tom Renk, told me the only real problem he has is this: that without investment in critical infrastructure like roads, the foundry doesn't sell any products, and when demand dries up, so do the jobs. Building things is in the American DNA. We build roads; we build bridges; we create the necessary infrastructure to power this economy. Congress has the tools to build again. We have a President prepared to break ground. We can create the infrastructure our grandchildren will need in the 21st century. I visited UMF of Winona to remind myself that building things is in our DNA, building things is the American spirit. That spirit will create jobs, and it will build the economy we need in the 21st century. ____________________
