Prepared Remarks for Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame | Cleveland, Ohio
Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026
As Prepared

Opening

Good morning, Cleveland!

To Ryan and the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association: thank you for your great advocacy and leadership. You represent the best of Ohio, and Ohio represents the best of manufacturing in America.

Mayor Bibb, thank you for joining us this morning.

To Blake Moret—our board chair … the rock star of Rockwell Automation—thank you for your strong and articulate voice as you champion our industry.

And to Carolyn Lee—our president of the Manufacturing Institute—thank you for all you do to build the manufacturing workforce of the future across the United States.

This week, manufacturing goes on tour … a seven-state tour … to highlight the State of Manufacturing in America.

And there’s no better place to start a road tour than the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Many greats have been honored here. The Jackson 5, Joni Mitchell … Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix … John Lennon, Johnny Cash.

That’s just the J’s.

Now, I can’t even play the air guitar, … so there’s no worry that “Jay Timmons” will be added to that list.

But let me tell you why manufacturers—the 13 million people who make things in America—do belong on this stage.

The Stage for Our Success

It’s because manufacturers built this stage.

We produce the energy that lights up this hall … and powers the sound that travels from strum to amp to the back of the auditorium.

The rock booms out of speakers we make. Waves of sound echo off the glass, the metal and the steel that manufacturers used to give this iconic Cleveland building its shape.

It’s thanks to manufacturers that the music travels with you.

… From the sound systems in cars built right here in Ohio … driving down roads, bridges and highways we manufacture and maintain … to the semiconductor chips powering the phones that keep thousands of songs in your pocket.

Before that, we built the CDs, the cassettes, the vinyl records—we even built the first mass-produced form of recorded music, something called the wax cylinder, perfected by a manufacturer in Ohio named Thomas Edison.

You might even say: “We Built This City.”

Yeah, that’s another J reference. I’m referring to the Starship, not the Airplane. But … by the way … we built both of those modes of transportation as well.

That’s manufacturing—and manufacturing, like rock and roll, is everywhere.

Manufacturing in the United States is a powerhouse. We add nearly $3 trillion of value to the American economy every single year.

When manufacturing flourishes, it raises the standard of living for America’s families, from coast to coast, including in the historic southern Ohio town of Chillicothe where I was born.

That’s why we say: “When manufacturing wins, America wins.”

A Comprehensive Manufacturing Strategy

But look: manufacturing does not win overnight.

Paul McCartney may have composed “Get Back” in a single afternoon, … but manufacturers? They follow a longer time horizon.

Whether to build a semiconductor fab, … or to break ground on a new facility, … or break through on a new lifesaving medicine, … manufacturers invest billions of dollars in projects that take years to plan and execute.

These facilities become bedrocks in communities, providing opportunities for decades—but that can only happen when policies are in place that support long-term investment.

That’s why manufacturers need certainty.

Because uncertainty chokes investment, and volatility delays growth.

When America delays … other nations see an opportunity. And they seize it. Who can blame them?

For America to lead, now and in the long run, manufacturers need a policy framework that makes the United States the best place in the world to make things—one that lowers the cost of doing business.

The smartest investment that policymakers in Washington can make in manufacturers isn’t in dollars. It’s in smart and sustainable public policy.

It’s in, what we call, a comprehensive manufacturing strategy. Investments in tax, energy and permitting … innovation and workforce … regulations and trade.

Every part must work together.

Because, back to that musical analogy: even if the guitar works perfectly, a headliner cannot perform if the bass, the drums and the vocals fall out of tune.

The Foundation—Tax Reform

The foundation for that comprehensive strategy? Well, manufacturers have already secured that.

Last year, when we kicked off our tour down the road in Columbus, our top priority was clear—a permanent tax code that makes the United States open for business like never before.

The 2017 tax reforms had been “rocket fuel” for our industry.

We kept our promises to turn those provisions into the most job creation in 21 years … the strongest wage growth in 15 … and record capital investments.

But last year, all that momentum was on the line.

Thanks to President Trump, leaders in his Cabinet and in Congress, the 2017 provisions were not just made permanent—they were made even stronger. And in doing so, we saved 6 million jobs, including over 200,000 right here in Ohio.

The tax and investment incentives in H.R. 1 amount to the most significant economic transformation in the history of our industry.

Manufacturers shaped that legislation and drove it over the finish line, together.

Awaiting Takeoff

And so today, the rocket is once again ready. The rocket is fueled.

But—and this is important—we’re still on the launchpad … waiting for liftoff.

Because no rocket can launch until the skies are clear—until the outlook is stable—until the conditions are certain.

Today, there’s new uncertainty and volatility … clouding the horizon.

Input costs keep going up.

The trade landscape shifts again and again.

Health care costs for our companies and our people are climbing.

Our future gains, ladies and gentlemen, they are not guaranteed.

So, to clear the skies for flight, … for growth, … for opportunity, … we need to secure the rest of the strategy.

Energy and Permitting: Turn It Up to 11

That begins with American energy dominance.

Manufacturers use one-third of our nation’s energy. It powers our construction. It drives our assembly lines. It generates R&D that transforms our lives.

But we don’t just use the nation’s energy; we produce it. We build the water boilers and the oil rigs … the turbines and the pipelines … the power plants and the data centers that power a bold AI future.

Energy demand is growing at unprecedented levels. We need more energy.

Let me borrow from the rock film by the late Rob Reiner … “This Is Spinal Tap.”

In “Spinal Tap,” the lead guitarist explains what sets their band apart. They have amps so powerful that they can “turn it up to 11.” They can play with more energy, more sound, more juice than anyone else.

President Trump and this administration agree: to power the future, America needs to turn it up to 11.

Working with manufacturers, this administration has delivered on our energy priorities. They lifted the ban on liquefied natural gas exports. They’ve invested substantially in nuclear. They’ve doubled down on critical minerals. They’ve cleared obstacles that hold projects back.

But we have to go further.

You cannot turn it up to 11 if you limit the energy you use.

America has abundant energy resources—oil, gas, wind, solar, nuclear and more. For manufacturers to lead, the United States needs an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.

That means investing more in critical minerals. More in nuclear. Leveraging more oil and natural gas. And, yes, opening more pathways to renewable energy.

Most importantly, we need a transmission system that can handle all that power. You can’t turn it up … if the amp blows out.

We need a strong, sturdy, reliable and modernized grid—which keeps prices down for American families and keeps manufacturers’ growth on the rise.

We don’t just need to build more. We need to build more quickly.

Because here’s the thing: we will not generate the energy we need to lead the world—if it takes us longer than the rest of the world to put shovels in the ground.

America’s permitting system is broken. For too long, it has taken the United States as much as 80% longer than our peer nations to move projects forward.

For manufacturers, 2026 must be the year of permitting reform. We want ribbon cuttings, not red tape—to build new shop floors, new energy facilities and, yes, new infrastructure.

To make things in America, manufacturers need to be able to move things across America. From roads and bridges to ports and airports, … from highways to runways and waterways, … we need strong, modern infrastructure that can support and sustain our growth.

This year, Congress will take up legislation to renew our investments in surface transportation.

A hall of fame like the one we’re in today celebrates the best of the best. The American people should never settle for second.

AI and Innovation

Manufacturers certainly do not intend to settle for second—in energy… or innovation.

Manufacturers, at our very core, are innovators. In fact, the majority of the R&D in America’s private sector happens in our industry.

And when it comes to artificial intelligence, manufacturers have not just deployed advanced technologies—we’ve developed them.

Machine learning. Digital twins. Predictive maintenance. Robotics.

These tools make our workers safer, our supply chains smarter, and our products more advanced.

The growth of manufacturing drives AI—and the growth of AI drives manufacturing.

If America wants to lead on AI, America must support the manufacturers leading the way.

That means permitting reform. That means energy dominance. That means a reliable grid. And that means regulations that foster innovation—not stifle it.

Remember when I mentioned those early forms of recorded music—the vinyl records, the wax cylinder?

Over a century ago, some feared that this new technology—driven by manufacturers—meant music’s days were numbered.

In 1906, in fact, an American composer warned that a time would soon come … when no one would, quote, “submit to the ennobling discipline of learning music.”

Fewer people would learn … or perform … or play.

But today, standing in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—a genre that didn’t exist in 1906—let me ask:

Did recording kill music?

… Did innovation?

… Did manufacturing?

Of course not.

Manufacturers have been here before.

The NAM was founded in 1895, down in Cincinnati, just as recording technology was taking off.

And since then, the only constant—for manufacturing and music alike—has been change.

Think about when electrification first reached our factory floors, requiring a fundamental redesign of the industry.

Think about when Ford created the assembly line and broadened production scale.

Think about the dawn of industrial robotics in the 1960s.

At every step, manufacturing evolved.

We created the capacity for people to make more things—faster, quicker, at greater scale. We created jobs in more sectors. We created new sectors.

And, in the process, more benefits reached our shop floors and the people we serve.

AI presents the same opportunity.

Because AI doesn’t replace human ability. It amplifies it. It’s additive.

As Stevie Wonder put it, just last month: AI should “make life better for the living.”

For manufacturers, it already is—through safer, smarter, stronger shop floors and a new generation of opportunities.

Now, however, we must invest more in the “ennobling discipline”—the skills people need.

Workforce and Immigration

Because in this transformative age, we need more people, not fewer people—with more skills, not less.

You can have the best instruments… you can have a world-class venue… but, as my cousin, the musician Billy Bragg, knows best, that means nothing if you don’t have the full band.

Over the past year, as an industry, manufacturers have averaged more than 400,000 open jobs in the United States each and every month.

These are good-paying, life-changing jobs—vital for our economy and for our national security. According to the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, if we don’t take action now, that shortfall will only grow—to as high as nearly 2 million manufacturing workers, by the year 2033.

We need policies that both support and supplement our industry’s world-leading training and development efforts. The MI is championing those efforts every single day.

We need the world’s greatest innovators, … dreamers, … and doers—from all over America and also from beyond our borders.

And that’s why we need an immigration system that works.

Our current immigration system was not designed with manufacturers in mind. To lead now, we need talent now.

We need scientists, engineers and Ph.D.-level innovators.

We need welders, technicians and machinists—skilled professionals who keep our shop floors running.

Our message to policymakers on workforce development is this: partner with us to drive talent to our shop floors.

Regulations

We also need policymakers to partner with us to modernize government regulations.

The regulatory burden on manufacturers is not only staggering—it’s disproportionate.

Small manufacturers alone pay more than $50,000 per employee, per year, just in compliance costs.

Why would our government put such a heavy price tag on the American Dream?

This administration agrees: We need to keep up the momentum to rebalance and modernize regulations. We need to end the regulatory onslaught.

But reform must never be reckless.

Think about the food and beverage companies that feed our communities. The biopharmaceutical companies that drive cures that save lives.

These companies produce with excellence. They meet time-tested regulations. They drive world-class R&D.

We always welcome the opportunity to improve regulations.

But the American people should not stand for an onslaught of a different kind—rooted in sensationalism … in nonsense … in slogans, and not in science.

You know what you get when you mix science and politics? You get politics.

And too often, that’s what manufacturers are dealing with.

Trade

Next—as Beatlemania reminds us—music crosses borders.

So does manufacturing.

We need trade policies that make it easier for us to make more things in America—and sell more things around the world—without added costs on either side.

To make more things in America … we need inputs, and we need imports.

Look: We can’t change the fact that coffee grows in South America and Southeast Asia, not southern Ohio. The same is true with certain critical minerals … and specialized industrial equipment … chemicals and more.

Manufacturers are working with the administration to strengthen our domestic capacity. But that takes time. And our growth can’t wait.

It’s not just geography. It’s math.

If every factory across the United States ran 24 hours a day—if every one of the 400,000 unfilled jobs on our shop floors were filled—manufacturers would only be able to produce … at most … 84% of those critical inputs.

We need that other 16%. Because for manufacturing in America to grow, we need every competitive edge. We need every critical input. And we need them without added costs that put investment, job creation and wage growth in jeopardy.

Our message to policymakers on trade is this: give manufacturers a speed pass to access the inputs that we need. That’s how manufacturers who make things in America … can make more things in America.

And while they are at it: Now is the time to secure more trade deals that open America’s access to the markets that matter most.

Let’s push for deals that unlock our access to key sectors like critical minerals. Those deals will drive our national competitiveness. They will deliver sustained and lasting growth.

That growth starts here—at home—and across North America.

We stand ready to strengthen and to renew the USMCA.

This was President Trump’s signature trade agreement from his first term. And he can rightly be proud of it.

Under the USMCA, manufacturers have moved production and investments away from places like China to the United States and the rest of the North American market. We have invested billions of dollars to establish reliable supply chains that enable more finished products to bear the imprint “Made in America.”

When it comes to the USMCA, our message to decisionmakers—here, Canada and Mexico—is this:

Let’s maintain it. Let’s improve it. Let’s win with it.

Because the USMCA has built a stronger North America—and that strengthens manufacturing right here in the United States.

To the White House and Congress

Let’s go back to where we began: Every part must work together. Every instrument. Every policy.

This is the comprehensive manufacturing strategy.

And so, to the White House and to Congress, manufacturers say this:

Empower us to deliver the greatest manufacturing era in American history.

End the volatility.

Make the United States the best place in the world to do business.
• Build on that tax foundation we secured.
• Embrace an all-of-the-above energy strategy.
• Deliver real permitting reform.
• Drive the funding we need for strong, modern infrastructure.
• Modernize regulations.
• Invest in our workforce and yes, our immigration system.
• And institute smart and sensible trade policies that enable the manufacturers who make things in America … to make more things in America.

America 250: a Golden Record

This year marks an extraordinary year for our republic.

In July, we will mark 250 years since the American experiment began—a story where manufacturers have proudly always played a role … from the blacksmiths and shipbuilders of the Revolution, … to the mills and foundries that fueled westward expansion, … to the assembly lines that delivered the automobile, … to the factories that became the Arsenal of Democracy, … to the vaccines that have ended epidemics and saved countless millions of lives, … to the engineers who carried America to the moon.

We kick off the NAM State of Manufacturing Tour in this Hall of Fame for a reason. It’s a dedication to the people in America who make things—from those rockets and medicine and autos I mentioned … to great records that have gone diamond, platinum and gold.

There’s another golden record that defines music and manufacturing. It’s not hanging in this Hall of Fame. It’s actually hanging around 15 billion miles above us.

In 1977, just one year after America’s 200th anniversary, the United States launched the spacecraft Voyager into the cosmos, carrying on board something called “the Golden Record.”

Nothing built by human hands has traveled farther into the stars.

The Golden Record on that spacecraft is a time capsule.

If millions of years from now, long after we have gone, someone, somewhere comes across this little ship, what should they know about the people down here on this third rock from the sun?

On that record spins the answer. The record carries the sounds of our people … the voices of our children … the images of our planet.

It contains music—from Beethoven to Bach—to yes, Chuck Berry … with his rock classic “Johnny B. Goode.”

And let me tell you what else the Golden Record contains:

The image of a factory floor.

The image of a worker with a drill.

The image of the Golden Gate Bridge, a manufacturing marvel, built during the Great Depression in just four years.

The Golden Record reminds us of this:

You can’t tell the story of who we are as a people … without talking about the people in America who make things.

Because America’s makers—our musicians, our manufacturers—they are a beacon to the world.

Manufacturers hold true to the pillars that make America exceptional … the highest ideals of a free people … the brightest lights of America’s song.

Free enterprise, … competitiveness, … individual liberty … and equal opportunity.

Today, on the eve of our 250th anniversary, Voyager continues its journey—carrying our story forward.

Will we add to that story? Will we build lasting prosperity? What new images will we create?

America’s manufacturers are ready to reach new heights.

The rocket is fueled. We are ready for launch.

So today, we can report: The state of manufacturing is boundless if policymakers will help clear the skies.

And when our nation’s leaders pursue a comprehensive manufacturing strategy, manufacturers will lift us to the stars.

For our competitiveness, for our opportunities, for our communities, for our people—let’s turn it up to 11.

Thank you all for being here with us today.

 

Thanks to Our National Partners