Political Quotes

“Mr. President I have sought recognition to speak on an amendment I am offering to H.R. 4213, the Tax Extenders Act. This amendment would create a loan guarantee program to maintain the domestic manufacturing capacity for shipbuilding. With the U.S. economy still struggling to recover, manufacturing investments can have an immediate impact. Manufacturers have lost more than 2 million jobs since the recession began in December of 2007, so there is an opportunity to create a large number of jobs in the industry and to simultaneously revitalize our economy and overall global competitiveness. One area where benefits can immediately be seen is the shipbuilding industry. U.S. shipyards play an important role in supporting our Nation's maritime presence by building and repairing our domestic fleet; and the industry has a significant impact on our national economy by adding billions of dollars to U.S. economic output annually. These shipbuilding investments are vital to the United States, creating thousands of good-paying jobs across the country. The commercial shipbuilding and ship repair industry is a pillar of the American skilled labor workforce employing nearly 40,000 skilled workers; and the ships produced domestically are an integral part of commerce, international trade, the Navy, Coast Guard, and other military and emergency support.…”