Dear Friend,

If we truly want sustained job creation and economic growth, we need to renew our focus on making things in America. I believe the manufacturing sector has the potential to be the leading edge of our economic recovery, and a few weeks ago I set out on a listening tour of my district to hear from manufacturers, and to understand how innovative ideas become the technology and products we use every day. I also heard about the challenges manufacturers face in today’s changing marketplace.

These visits reinforced my belief that there is great potential in the manufacturing industry. In Congress, we must enact laws that foster growth in the American manufacturing industry and help it thrive, create jobs, and rebuild our economy.
 
We must not only encourage manufacturing workforce training, we must leverage the resources that exist in our public institutions and connect them to businesses. Curricula should be tailored to industry demand, and future opportunities. Strategic partnerships between community colleges, technical schools, and the business community should be nurtured so that a company facing a need for a certain type of skilled labor can rest assured that there will be trained workers in the pipeline.
 
The manufacturing sector can generate well-paying jobs with good benefits that attract bright, skilled workers. The answer to rebuilding our manufacturing sector is not a race to the bottom like we see in many of our overseas competitors. The answer lies in a strategic partnership between government and the private sector that supports innovation and entrepreneurship. This approach has allowed high-wage, developed nations like Germany to reinvigorate their manufacturing sector.
 
It is high time we commited ourselves to "making it in America." That means embracing a national manufacturing strategy, a green economy, and real solutions for business innovators. I appreciate the opportunity to share these views and look forward to your continued input as we work to rebuild our country.  

Read my Blog Post about the Manufacturing Listening Tour.

John P. Sarbanes

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