Washington’s Failure Will Cost Jobs

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse issued the following statement on sequestration:

“As the sequester hits today, manufacturers are again reminded and frustrated by Washington’s inability to take on the hard challenges facing our country. Manufacturers—both inside and outside of the defense supply chain—warned against this meat-grinder approach that will cost manufacturing jobs. In fact, the NAM sounded the alarm bells last summer about the negative impact these cuts would have. The NAM’s report, Defense Spending Cuts: The Impact on Economic Activity and Jobs, found that more than 1 million people in the private sector would lose their jobs by 2014.

While manufacturers had no choice but to brace for this day by scaling back hiring and investment, the lasting impact to our overall economy will be felt in the weeks and months to come. The NAM’s study found that by 2014, the job loss from these cuts will increase the unemployment rate by 0.7 percent and decrease GDP by almost 1 percent.  

This is the wrong way to govern. Washington must have a thoughtful conversation to bring our nation’s fiscal house to order, starting with meaningful pro-growth and pro-jobs entitlement and tax reform. Manufacturers are once again calling for Washington to come together in a serious, bipartisan way to save jobs and grow the economy.”