On the recordOctober 3, 2013
You're absolutely right. In my State, in the cities of Woonsocket and Pawtucket and Central Falls and Providence, which all have mill buildings that were filled during a different time, filled with good-paying jobs, and so we have to make adjustments to sort of what the demands are of the marketplace: What are the new technologies that are available, like 3-D printing? What are the skills that workers need? And what are the incentives we need to create to help those buildings be filled with manufacturing jobs of the 21st century? And you're right, it's going to require some public-private partnership--thoughtful, careful, efficient kinds of relationships, but a real public investment that will bring tremendous benefit not only to my State, but to our country. I, too, worry that there is a group of folks here in the Congress who believe we can't invest in anything that's important for our future. And as you mentioned, our competitors are doing it, and they're doing it at a much faster pace. So if we're going to be successful, we need to seize this moment and build on the rich and wonderful manufacturing history of our country. I think we will see tremendous opportunities in my State, and I know in Ohio and across this country.
