Devastating Harm Caused By Trump Administration

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kaptur for leading us in this evening's discussion. I offer heartfelt thanks for the drive she provides for economic development and, perhaps more importantly, economic recovery. I thank her for her intellect.

Mr. Speaker, in New York's capital region, we know the value of hard work and the dignity that comes with a paycheck, a steady paycheck. I think that is driven somewhat, perhaps greatly, by the DNA of our Nation, which is the pioneer spirit. People are just about innovation. They want to discover and create a stronger economy.

It is also inspired in upstate New York because I represent the easternmost portion of the Erie Canal. This is a bold vision that connected a great ocean, the Atlantic, with the Great Lakes. It allowed for not only the strengthening of the port of a small place called New York--New York City--but gave birth to a necklace of communities dubbed ``mill towns'' that became the epicenter of invention and innovation. They not only inspired a westward movement but addressed favorably the quality of life of people across the great world.

Mr. Speaker, all of this is a part of history and now underpins the opportunity to grow an innovation economy. Yet, under the Trump administration, working people are being betrayed. Reckless tariffs and political maneuvers have created chaos for manufacturers, for farmers, for scientists, and union workers alike.

We saw the promise of good-paying jobs in offshore wind manufacturing at our ports. Yet, instead of stability, this administration issued stop-work orders and launched sham investigations that have chilled the industry.

Some manufacturing projects are pressing forward; but others have been forced to walk away, robbing our region of jobs, stalling clean energy deployment, and denying New Yorkers the growth that they were promised. This loss is not confined to New York's 20th, my congressional district.

Across the Nation, 142 clean energy projects have already been threatened, delayed, or canceled. This puts at risk nearly $87 billion worth of investment and more than 91,000 good-paying jobs.

The same story is unfolding in research and innovation. For decades, Federal funding has fueled jobs, discovery, and partnerships amongst universities, business, industry, and manufacturing. Cuts are now forcing campuses to lay off researchers and driving businesses to look elsewhere for stability.

With world-class universities, a surge of semiconductor investment, and transformative projects like the EUV accelerator at New York CREATES, the capital region is at the cutting-edge of the innovation economy.

When Federal support for these institutions and industries is threatened, it doesn't just hurt today's jobs. It jeopardizes tomorrow's breakthroughs, our competitiveness, and the livelihoods of the next generation.

This is about whether America leads in clean energy, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing and semiconductors, or cedes those opportunities to competitors abroad. We are supposed to win all the races and make us great again. We are falling behind in competition.

Construction workers, researchers, manufacturers, and students are ready to build the next generation of American industry. Instead of investing in them, this administration is pulling the rug out from under them. This is not just bad policy. It is a cruel betrayal of working people.

We owe it to our workers, our communities, and the future of American innovation to end these destructive policies and commit to building it all. Let's take our history to remind us that we are at our greatest when we embrace and reach to the pioneer spirit in all of us.

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