Paul Tonko: “I hear you making mention of a long-standing skill set, that of shipbuilding. It is important as we look at that Make It…”

“I hear you making mention of a long-standing skill set, that of shipbuilding. It is important as we look at that Make It In America agenda that the Democrats in the House of Representatives have put together, a very sound platform of initiatives, of policy and resource advocacy, a multifaceted concept of how to underpin the strengths of our manufacturing sector. As we move forward with those skill sets that are required to build these ships, we need to make certain there is an investment in skills development and training, retraining, so we are doing it smarter. It doesn't have to be the cheaper price delivered to the market; it has to be the most quality also. And so we can win several of these contracts through brain power, through the investment of our intellectual capacity. We are a Nation of pioneer spirit. I think that holds true to this day. Our humble beginnings taught us that we impacted not only the growth of this country with a westward movement, but through an industrial revolution. It affected positively the quality of life throughout this world because of that intellectual capacity, because of that pioneer spirit, because of that creative genius. And so it is important for us to include in our package as we do training and retraining, education formats, and research. We see it in the energy sphere. We see it across the board. It is important.”