Print

Lipinski Releases Five-Point Plan to Get Americans Back to Work (June 24, 2011)

To read Congressman Lipinski's plan, click here.
 
Today, Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-3) released his plan to get Americans back to work and create good-paying jobs by strengthening manufacturing, modernizing our infrastructure, educating the workforce, leveling the international playing field, and investing in innovation.

“While Wall Street was bailed out after the financial crash, most Americans were left behind,” Rep. Lipinski said. “Unemployment, and underemployment, remain unacceptably high and job growth has been far too slow. That is why my top priority has been and continues to be getting Americans back to work. To accomplish that I developed this five-point plan which builds on the successes I have had in Congress and maintains my longstanding efforts on behalf of American workers. It is time Washington stands up for the middle class and gets America back to work.”

Rep. Lipinski’s plan will:

Strengthen Manufacturing – The loss of one-third of all American manufacturing jobs over the last decade has taken a terrible toll on the middle class. Rep. Lipinski has reintroduced his National Manufacturing Strategy Act, H.R. 1366, to produce a strategy with broad support for creating good-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector. This bill passed the House last year with overwhelming bipartisan support. He is also reintroducing his Buy American Improvement Act to ensure that the $530 billion the federal government spends annually on goods and services buys products stamped “Made in the U.S.A.” In addition, Lipinski’s manufacturing agenda includes legislation authorizing high-tech manufacturing research and establishing loan guarantees for manufacturing innovators.

Level the International Playing Field – Washington’s failure to defend American workers from unfair trade has cost countless jobs. Rep. Lipinski continues to advocate for legislation to combat China’s currency manipulation, which if halted could create between 500,000 and 2.25 million jobs, according to experts. He has repeatedly urged direct action to halt unfair trade practices by China, including its illegal subsidies for its clean-energy manufacturers and its dumping of tires onto the U.S. market. He is also working to stop foreign companies guilty of trade-law violations from avoiding U.S. customs duties and is standing up for fair trade by opposing job-killing NAFTA-style trade deals.

Modernize our Infrastructure – Deteriorating infrastructure plagues our entire nation. Northeastern Illinois has the worst congestion in the country, threatening our status as America’s transportation hub, costing us billions, and hurting job creation. Rep. Lipinski has strongly supported passage of robust and long overdue surface transportation and aviation funding bills to reduce congestion, put people to work, and support long-term job growth. He is also working to increase private investment in infrastructure, including through the NextGen plan to reduce costly aviation delays by switching to a satellite-based air traffic control system, and through the CREATE rail modernization program, which is needed for 17,000 local jobs and $2 billion in economic production. Just last week, Rep. Lipinski announced work is set to begin on two CREATE projects that between them will create 1,750 jobs – the Englewood Flyover and the 71st Street underpass in Bridgeview near Toyota Park.

Educate the Workforce – The poor performance of U.S. students in math and science is a major obstacle to job creation in the 21st Century global economy. To field a workforce that is prepared to compete, America must improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, as well as workforce training programs. As a senior member of the House Science, Space & Technology Committee, Rep. Lipinski helped write and pass the bipartisan America COMPETES Act and its reauthorization to improve STEM education and technology job creation through a host of new initiatives. The Congressman supports tax credits, public-private partnerships, and other methods for improving STEM education, as well as targeting existing funding for training programs that teach in-demand technical skills to get laid-off workers back to work.

Invest in Innovation – The federal government’s investment in cutting-edge research has paid extraordinary dividends for our economy and jobs, contributing to such breakthrough developments as the internet; Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology; hybrid vehicles; and Computer-Aided Design, which helped revolutionize manufacturing and information technology. Rep. Lipinski has been a leader in the effort to ensure America remains the most technologically innovative country in the world, helping to write and pass legislation that puts us on a path to double investment in high-tech research and speeds the commercialization of researchers’ discoveries to help create jobs. He has also been a leading supporter of R&D in areas such as nanotechnology, which has extraordinary potential to create jobs and transform industries ranging from medicine to clean energy. To help small businesses innovate, he has helped provide them with $12 billion in tax relief and increased access to credit and has been fighting to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research program to support R&D done by small businesses.

“My efforts in these five areas are helping to create good jobs in the Third District and across the country, but we have a long way to go,” Rep. Lipinski said. “I’m going to continue the fight to implement these proposals so we can assure a brighter future for the middle class by helping businesses create jobs here at home.”

####