Manufacturing
My grandfather and great grandfather worked in the bearing factories of New Britain. Today, though those jobs are gone, manufacturing is coming back in Connecticut, and the federal government can play a leading role in giving this renaissance a boost.
Here in Connecticut, manufacturing is driven by our defense and aerospace sectors. That’s why I fought for a seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee –the first Connecticut Senator on the powerful committee in over 30 years. During my time in the House and Senate, I have been a strong voice for Connecticut manufacturers and have supported the programs fueled by Connecticut companies like Pratt and Whitney (East Hartford and Middletown), Electric Boat (Groton), and Sikorsky (Stratford). In the past few years these companies have been awarded new contracts for jet engines, helicopters, and submarines, which have stimulated a recent boost in new jobs.
To make sure government contracts result in work for the thousands of smaller factories and machine shops in our state, I am the leading proponent of fixing our Buy American laws. These laws are designed to ensure taxpayer dollars purchase goods made by American workers. But they are riddled with loopholes and don’t even take into account the impact on American jobs. I wrote the American Jobs Matter Act and the 21st Century Buy American Act to help change that.
These bills would require the Department of Defense to measure, for the first time, U.S. jobs as a factor in awarding a government contract– which the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute estimates would create an estimated 100,000 American jobs. Since coming to the Senate, I’ve already achieved some victories on my Buy American crusade. The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act included my “Buy American” provision, which requires increased transparency when the Department of Defense purchasing good overseas.
My other priority for Connecticut manufacturing is increasing the training opportunities for our prospective manufacturing workforce. With all this new defense work coming to our state, and amidst an ongoing surge of commercial aerospace orders, the only thing that can stop our state from adding thousands of new manufacturing jobs is not having the workers ready to take the jobs. That’s why I have secured several major federal grants for new training programs in Connecticut. This funding has helped the state open new manufacturing training programs at almost a dozen community-technical colleges across the state. That’s fantastic news for Connecticut residents looking for a career in manufacturing.
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