Bush calls for manufacturing aid, critics say plan isn't good enough
Originally published in the Lorain Morning Journal
Bush calls for manufacturing aid
By JOE MILICIA , Associated Press Writer 01/17/2004
EUCLID, Ohio -- A Bush administration plan to give the country's ailing manufacturing sector better representation in Washington falls short of correcting trade policies that have plagued the industry, critics said yesterday.
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans recommended the creation of a President's Manufacturing Council and a new assistant secretary in the Commerce Department who would focus on manufacturing. Evans made the announcement yesterday before several hundred workers and business executives on the plant floor of Lincoln Electric Co. in suburban Cleveland.
''The manufacturing sector is clearly recovering and it has been recovering now for the last five or six months,'' Evans said. ''We certainly believe we're going to see more job creation in that sector of our economy in the months and years ahead.''
The administration, hoping to fend off Democratic attacks, also announced it has reversed course and now wants to keep a manufacturing assistance program targeted for elimination last year.
The decision to support continuation of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a network of assistance centers around the country, was one of a series of recommendations included in an 88-page report that represents the administration's plan for bolstering a segment of the economy that has seen the loss of 2.8 million factory jobs over the past 3 1/2 years.
Evans said the plan would remove barriers holding back U.S. manufacturers.
The loss of manufacturing jobs has drawn heavy criticism from Democratic presidential candidates that President Bush has failed to do enough to help the manufacturing sector and deal with soaring trade deficits, which critics blame for the loss of many of the manufacturing jobs.
Candidate Dennis Kucinich, a Cleveland-area congressman, called the plan a continuation of failed policy.
''Secretary Evans will not announce the end of NAFTA. He will not do anything about the job loss caused by cheaper foreign labor. He will not announce any new protections for U.S. factory workers and he will not announce any new initiatives to protect Ohio's steel industry from the illegal dumping of foreign steel,'' Kucinich said in a statement.
Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, said the Bush plan was inadequate and ''merely recycles previously announced policies, and ultimately is not much more than a corporate wish list.''
The plan ''offers nothing to keep jobs here at home, nothing to make sure that core workers' rights are enforced in future trade agreements, and no real program to help workers who have lost their jobs,'' Trumka said.
The Steelworkers union called the plan ''absurd election-year double talk.''
''For the administration to call for reducing environmental, safety and health regulations, which were all in place during the boom years of the 90s, is an insult to every American worker, let alone the 2.7 million workers who've lost their jobs since George Bush took office,'' said Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard.
The administration's report, ''Manufacturing in America: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers,'' made a number of recommendations in the area of starting studies to simplify the tax code to lower the burdens on U.S. companies and to conduct a government-wide review of regulations to pinpoint those that put U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage to foreign firms.
The report called on Congress to create a President's Manufacturing Council, an advisory group of executives from various types and sizes of companies that would provide the administration with advice on the needs of the manufacturing sector.
In his remarks at Lincoln Electric, Evans praised the company for becoming a world leader in manufacturing sophisticated welding machinery during its 108 years of operation.
''This is a company that is built to last,'' said Evans, who toured the plant before his remarks with Gov. Bob Taft. Ohio is one of several Rust Belt states the administration views as crucial in the presidential race.
''I see a renewed energy, a renewed focus on the manufacturing sector, and a recognition that we have to have a strong manufacturing base in Ohio,'' Taft said. ''They're focused on listening to manufacturers.''
Rob Smith, a 25-year Lincoln Electric employee, said the government needs to cut down on unfair competition from cheap labor overseas.
''Everybody wants the economy to start rolling. The only way to start rolling is to start producing,'' Smith said. ''I'm happy to hear they are coming up with something to address manufacturers' opinions and concerns.''
The American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition criticized the plan, saying the government can't help manufacturers ''without acknowledging that flawed trade policy is the chief cause of the problem.''
However, Jerry Jasinowski, head of the National Association of Manufacturers, said he believed the recommendations being put forward, if implemented, would help deal with the higher costs American manufacturers face because of burdensome regulations, excessive litigation, taxes, health care and rising energy costs.
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