Durham, N.C. - Good morning! It's a pleasure to be back here at GE Aviation to help you celebrate this exciting news: 40 more good-paying jobs this year right here in the Triangle, to build on the success of this already accomplished facility!

After what we've been through in the past couple of years, rebuilding our economy will be a long and difficult process, and you all know as well as I do that we're not out of the woods yet.

But every day as I travel around the Triangle, I see businesses such as GE leading the way back to recovery and putting the world on notice that North Carolina remains as innovative and competitive as anybody in today's global economy.

o I see it in the manufacturer that makes transmissions I visited in Durham last month that just adding a new line of production, with over 350 new jobs

o ...in the manufacturing firm in Fuquay Varina that makes cooking ranges for hotels that is bringing on new employees to their production facility and in-sourcing from overseas and creating jobs here in the USA...

o ...in the furniture maker down in Holly Springs that is increasing its profit margin and reducing its carbon footprint by installing a solar farm on its roof...

o ...and in standard-bearers such as Cree, which just added another 240 jobs that it could have shipped to China...

In fact, it's probably more accurate to say that companies such as these aren't leading us back to where we were, but rather are leading us forward by laying the foundations of the 21st Century economy.

Of course, here at GE in Durham, you're quite familiar with leading the way forward in an industry that relies on constant innovation and evolution. Your horizontal, team-oriented organizational structure has captured the interest of business leaders throughout the country, and having visited here regularly over the years, I can attest to the positive impact that it has had, both for your success as a facility and for the energy and enthusiasm of your team members.

You have also done an exceptional job of putting our State's military veterans to work in a dynamic environment in which the skills they have developed in uniform are valued and respected, and I hope more North Carolina employers will look to your example in this important area.

My job as your representative in Congress is to do everything I can to make sure the government is providing you with the support you need and then getting out of your way. This means investing in scientific research and development, such as the development of the competitive engine for the F-35, which I have fought to maintain funding for against the President's proposed cuts.

It also means investing in high-quality education, building on our success in research and innovation, investing in improvements to our local transportation infrastructure, and alternative energy projects that will lower our power bills and reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil – as well as tax relief for small businesses and working families to get them hiring again and making ends meet.

You have my word that I will continue to fight for these things until I am confident that our economy is back to full strength. But today, we're here to celebrate a company that is already strong – and growing stronger.

And so I want to congratulate Doug McLean, his leadership team, and all of the team members here at GE on this announcement. I mean this as genuinely as I can state it: your success is our success – as a community, as a region, and as a country...and it is well deserved.

Thank you again for having me here today.

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