Statement
of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, U.S. Representatives Paul Ryan and Tammy
Baldwin
Following Their Meeting Today With GM Officials
September 12, 2008
Washington, D.C. - Today
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold and Representative Tammy Baldwin met with
GM CEO Rick Wagoner. Representative Paul Ryan met with GM officials
in Detroit, MI. Following their meetings, the members of the Wisconsin
delegation released this statement.
“At today’s meeting
with Mr. Wagoner and GM officials, we made clear what a tremendous asset
the people of Janesville’s GM plant are to GM, and how important
GM jobs are to the Janesville community. We had a good discussion with
Mr. Wagoner, and he said that GM will seriously review the Janesville
incentive package that was presented today in Detroit. We will continue
to do everything we can, in coordination with the Governor and the GM
Retention Task Force, to support the hard working people of Janesville.”
The members of Wisconsin’s
congressional delegation also delivered a letter to Wagoner at the meeting
asking that he carefully consider an incentive package state and local
leaders offered today. The letter is below.
September 12, 2008
G. Richard Wagoner, Jr.
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
General Motors Corporation
300 Renaissance Center
Detroit, MI 48265
Dear Chairman Wagoner:
We write to express our strong
support for the Janesville community, its dedicated workforce, and the
state of Wisconsin as they present a package to General Motors (GM)
this week describing the benefits of continuing operations at the Janesville
GM assembly plant. We thank GM for agreeing to meet with local and state
representatives who have worked on the Janesville package in order to
engage in a dialogue about how the Janesville workers and local community
can contribute to GM’s future success. We hope that we will be
able to meet with you soon to discuss GM’s plans for the Janesville
plant. We also ask that GM give full and fair consideration to the innovative
package presented by state and local Janesville leaders this week.
Janesville’s GM workers,
state and local officials, and community business leaders have responded
to GM’s announcement that it will cease production at the Janesville
assembly plant within the next two years with a forward-thinking, multipronged
effort. One prong in that effort has been to craft an aggressive incentive
package detailing, among other things, the business advantages that
Janesville’s workers and location can offer GM should the company
maintain its presence in Janesville, Wisconsin. While we understand
that GM’s recent announcement stems from changing “economic
and market conditions”, it is important that the Janesville community
has the opportunity to explain how the local Janesville workforce and
business community can help GM respond to these economic realities and
contribute to GM’s future growth.
State and city officials,
Janesville’s business leaders, and GM’s Janesville workforce
have all come together to present a plan for what the Janesville community
can offer to GM in future decades of continued partnership. This plan
includes a highly skilled workforce and creative business leaders that
recognize the growth potential of a greener economy and that have the
ability to help GM retool in order to build more fuel-efficient vehicles.
We have written to you before asking that GM consider retooling the
plant for a new product line and the business package that the Janesville
community and the State of Wisconsin will present to GM this week may
assist with such efforts to retool the plant. The Janesville community
has offered much to GM for decades, including a talented and productive
workforce, access to regional and interstate transportation networks,
high quality schools and retraining facilities, and a good standard
of living that will continue to make Janesville an attractive location
for GM as the company develops in the future.
The Janesville community
is responding to this challenge as it has responded to past challenges
– with ingenuity, resolve, and a commitment to building a better
future for both the city of Janesville and GM. We ask that GM acknowledge
Janesville’s continued commitment to the success of GM by giving
full and fair consideration to Janesville’s incentive package.
We thank you for your attention to our request and look forward to meeting
with you soon to discuss these efforts to ensure the future success
of both the Janesville community and GM.
Sincerely,
Russell D. Feingold
United States Senator
Herb Kohl
United States Senator
Paul Ryan
Member of Congress
Tammy Baldwin
Member of Congress
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