National Manufacturing Day

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I join with my colleagues, led by Senators Coons and Baldwin, to recognize the significant role manufacturing plays in the United States and in my home State of Rhode Island. According to facts compiled by the National Association of Manufacturers, over 41,000 Rhode Islanders, nearly 9 percent of the workforce, work in manufacturing. Those workers were responsible for $4.1 billion in economic output, just under 8 percent of the State's total output, in 2013. On average these workers brought in over $67,000 in annual compensation.

Manufacturing is a highly technical and innovative industry that creates good-paying jobs for skilled workers. It is also an industry that is expanding; in Rhode Island manufacturing jobs have increased by 1,100 compared to a year ago. And just last week I joined a Rhode Island advanced manufacturer, Yushin America, Inc., to celebrate a ribbon cutting for its $2 million expansion.

This sort of expansion is representative of the type of highly technical growth we see in manufacturing. Moreover, these good-paying, highly-skilled, middle-class jobs are what will help further support widespread economic growth. That is why I look forward to celebrating National Manufacturing Day with the mayor of Providence and my delegation colleagues on Monday and continuing to work to advance measures that support manufacturers and job creation back home.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source