SUMMARY OF H.E.L.P. PLAN

MICHIGAN'S U.S. SENATORS AND DEMOCRATIC HOUSE DELEGATION CALL ON PRESIDENT BUSH TO PROVIDE REAL ACTION - NOT MORE RHETORIC - TO ADDRESS THE MANUFACTURING JOB CRISIS

Democrats release detailed federal action plan to H.E.L.P U.S. Manufacturers

Washington, D.C. - Michigan's Democratic Congressional Delegation released a letter to the President detailing his Administration's failure to respond to the manufacturing job crisis and urging the President to take fourteen immediate steps to address this crisis.

"We are writing to express our deep concern about the direction of your Administration's economic and international trade policies and their continued negative impact on the manufacturing sector. As we know so well in Michigan, manufacturing is the engine of economic growth for our state and nation and has provided generations of Michigan workers with the best wages, health insurance, and retirement security in the nation.

"Since January 2001, the U.S. economy has lost 3.3 million private sector jobs, of which 2.5 million were in manufacturing. In Michigan this has been particularly devastating. Michigan has lost 162,300 manufacturing jobs. This is a loss of 18% of the state's manufacturing employment, or 1 out of every 6 factory jobs.

"In Secretary Evans' upcoming visit to Michigan, we urge your Administration to change course and support real action now to H.E.L.P. U.S. manufacturers. Your Administration must respond to skyrocketing Health care costs with a Medicare Prescription Drug benefit that supports employer provided coverage; address Employer-Employee pension issues so that employers can contribute accurately to their pension funds, freeing up resources for investment, hiring, and wage increases; take action to Level the International playing field; and support Partnerships with States, businesses and employees which promote research and development, future technologies, and a trained workforce.

"Michigan and other states affected by the current crisis in manufacturing cannot address these issues alone. Michigan's manufacturing industry needs real resources and real action from the federal government, not hollow rhetorical flourishes and the re-arranging of bureaucratic titles."

Highlights of the letter follow. 

Health Care/Prescription Drug Costs: Current prescription drug proposals approved by the House and the Senate are estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to result in one third of Medicare beneficiaries who would otherwise have employer-sponsored drug coverage losing or not being offered coverage. This would be disastrous for many seniors and the Administration's approach does not provide adequate financial relief to employers struggling with skyrocketing health care costs.

The Administration must provide leadership to the Members of the conference committee currently meeting to report out a final Medicare/Prescription drug bill and urge Republican leadership to rectify the harm the current proposals will do to employers currently providing coverage, their employees and retirees.

Employer-Employee Pension Reform: A federal law, set to expire this year, incorrectly estimates how much money employers need to put aside to pay future pension benefits. This problem, harming both employers and employees, should be fixed y Congress. It is currently caught up between a new Administration proposal which is controversial and potential devastating to manufacturing, and a desire by Republicans to use the needed correction as a vehicle to enact larger, unrelated tax cuts.

The Administration must support action on a simple, permanent correction to replace the current rate with a realistic rate based on long-term corporate bond indices.

Level the International Playing Field: The Administration must aggressively pursue the interests of American manufacturers when it comes to international tax and trade policy. This includes supporting a manufacturing tax credit, making China play by the international trade rules, effectively addressing currency manipulation, reducing non-tariff barriers that are blocking U.S. exports, actively enforcing current trade agreements, using U.S. trade laws to fight against unfair trading practices and shaping the terms of future trade agreements to ensure balanced market access and enforceable core labor standards.

Partnerships for Research and Development, Advanced Technologies and Workforce Training: The Administration has proposed drastic funding cuts to programs important to aiding the manufacturing the sector. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) helps small and mid-sized American manufacturers modernize and stay competitive in a global marketplace. In FY 2003 and 2004, the Administration sought merely $12.6 million for MEP, an 88% cut. In addition, the Bush Administration has proposed just enough funding in the FY 04 budget to close out the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) which encourages public-private cooperation in the development of pre-competitive technologies and has made important contributions to the manufacturing sector. These cuts must be reversed.

"Although your Administration is now saying the economy is turning around, the number of lay-offs is rising, not falling and real hourly wages shrank for all income groups this year. In August the economy lost 93,000 additional jobs, of these 44,000 were in manufacturing. We strongly urge Secretary Evans to use his upcoming trip to Michigan to demonstrate that your Administration is serious about taking the steps necessary to address the crisis in manufacturing."

Click here to view full letter

For further information, you may contact any of the Member offices. Senator Carl Levin (202-224-6221), Senator Debbie Stabenow (202-224-4822), Rep. John Dingell (202-225-4071), Rep. Sander Levin (202-225-4961), Rep. John Conyers (202-225-5126 ), Rep. Dale Kildee (202-225-3611), Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (202-225-2261), Rep. Bart Stupak (202-225-4735).