We know how to make things in this country. Great things. No other country in the world has the manufacturing know-how of our workforce here in the United States of America. And Michigan has always been at the forefront of America’s manufacturing. For Michiganders and for all Americans, our manufacturing sector has a been a source of great pride and good-paying jobs.
We're a nation of leaders. American know-how put the world on wheels. American ingenuity made us the first in flight. And, through American innovation manufacturing will provide a strong foundation for economic growth.
There is no doubt that manufacturing has taken a severe hit from the recession, which began for manufacturing long before the rest of the economy. Democrats are fighting to turn the ship around with the Make it in America plan, because we know when we focus on manufacturing, we see success.
We are already seeing the success of investment in manufacturing in Michigan – new jobs are coming to our state because of a rigorous effort to invest in Michigan manufacturing. General Electric is bringing more than 1,000 new jobs to Southeast Michigan for green engineering; General Motors is building the lithium battery for the new Chevy Volt in Brownstown where it will eventually employ around 600 workers; and the federal investment partnership with companies like A123 Systems, Johnson Controls, and Dow Kokam will bring more than 1,800 jobs to Michigan in the coming years. It's a step in the right direction toward an economy that will create many good-paying jobs for Michiganders – through manufacturing.
Our plan will greatly expand on the success we’ve already had with specific policy initiatives to open up credit to small and large manufacturers to help them grow and hire new workers, create economic incentives for investment in manufacturing here in the Untied States, strengthen manufacturing infrastructure and innovation, and help to level the playing field for American manufacturers so they can successfully compete in a global marketplace.
Taxpayer dollars should not go to corporations who send our jobs overseas, but instead to companies creating good-paying jobs right here at home. By closing tax loopholes that allow outsourcing jobs overseas, we can create new Hometown Tax Credits for small businesses that create manufacturing jobs in Michigan and across the country. That will help level the playing field for American businesses and will create new and more secure jobs here at home.
Michigan is already ahead of many other states in the nation in building a clean energy economy. By ending taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil -- to companies like BP -- we can boost incentives to create more good clean energy jobs here at home. It's good for our planet; it's good for our economy; and it's a wise use of taxpayer dollars.
Meanwhile, our friends from the other side of the aisle continue to push an agenda favoring special interests instead of American jobs. Instead of working to create jobs for everyday Americans, it seems the Republican Party has decided instead to wage war on every attempt to create jobs. Their record is clear:
• Republicans voted 170-1 to protect tax breaks for companies shipping jobs overseas.
• 97% of Republicans voted against ending Wall Street abuses – the same abuses that threw our country into the worst recession since the Great Depression, and wound up costing Americans 8 million jobs.
• Time after time, Republicans in Congress voted to block unemployment benefits for families in need – while plotting to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans.
• Instead of fighting for tax credits for small businesses, Republicans in Congress would rather fight to protect the billions in special tax breaks for Big Oil. The top House Republican in charge of energy policy even apologized to BP!
I'm not going to apologize for BP -- and I'm not going to apologize for fighting to Make It in America.
Some folks in Washington D.C. just don't get what it's like for working people in America. I want to be able to show them that there is widespread support for creating American jobs, not enriching special interests. Click here to sign my petition, so I can let them know that the American people support creating good-paying manufacturing jobs through Make It in America.
Making more goods in America will mean we can make more good-paying jobs for Americans.