Sunrise, Fla – America’s manufacturing sector has played a major role in supporting our economy and helping to create a strong middle class. For years, the manufacturing industry has been synonymous with secure, well-paying, middle-class jobs. But the decline in the last few years in available manufacturing jobs is one of the reasons why middle-class families are finding it difficult to make it in America today.

In an effort to confront this challenge, Democrats are working to enact the “Make It In America” agenda: a plan to rebuild American manufacturing and create well-paying jobs. U.S. manufacturing continues to grow, adding nearly 500,000 jobs in the past 26 months. So far this year, the manufacturing sector has added 139,000 new jobs.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) got a first-hand look at American manufacturing when she toured A&M Tape & Packaging on Monday, May 21. She was joined by Reps. Steny Hoyer (MD-5), Alcee Hastings (FL-23) and Ted Deutch (FL-19), who have all been working together to find ways to boost manufacturing right here at home.

A&M Tape & Packaging is a family owned business that was established in 1977, and it’s a wholesale distributor of hundreds of tape and shipping room and packaging products and cardboard boxes. All of the cardboard boxes are manufactured at the main distribution center in Sunrise, where the Representatives will see what goes into making and shipping the products.

Also on hand Monday was Julie Reiser, who started Made in USA Certified Inc., when she recognized a growing need among consumers who wanted a way to verifiably identify products as truly “Made in USA.” It is now the leading non-partisan, independent third party, certification company for “Made in USA,” “Product of USA” and “Service in USA” claims. The USA-C™ Seals show that a company bearing these trust marks has gone through a rigorous supply chain audit to verify compliance with national standards.