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Get involvedAs supply chain disruptions and industrial shipping challenges of the past few years have proven, the U.S. infrastructure network is in dire need of a comprehensive overhaul. That’s why it’s a key focus of the NAM’s “Competing to Win” policy roadmap.
Turnkey fixes: “Competing to Win,” which focuses on immediately implementable solutions for congressional leaders in 12 policy arenas, enumerates a wide range of policies that will bolster manufacturers’ competitiveness.
Historic and bipartisan: With its $1.2 trillion investment, last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided a solid foundation for upgrading roads, airports, bridges, ports, railroads and more.
- In fact, much of the final legislative text of the IIJA resembled proposals included in “Building to Win,” the NAM’s blueprint for modernizing our transportation, energy, water and digital infrastructure.
- The legislation contains nearly $550 billion in new federal appropriations for projects ranging from bridge and highway updates to significant broadband expansion and community climate resilience efforts.
The NAM’s plan: The NAM’s latest policy prescriptions are commonsense ideas that will help policymakers make the best use of the IIJA and enhance American competitiveness. Here’s a quick tour of the most important aspects it addresses.
Funding: The first order of business is paying for the upgrades. Policymakers should modernize user fees that support road and runway projects with much-needed funding.
Efficiency: Next up is fixing the all-too-sluggish pace of infrastructure projects. Some of the NAM’s recommendations:
- Keep improving the broken permitting process to decrease time-consuming reviews and eliminate burdensome costs.
- Clear the extensive backlog of essential infrastructure projects that are already in the planning process and awaiting final approval.
- And last, streamline regulatory agencies’ processes so that key transportation projects don’t get tripped up by more red tape.
Flexibility: Public–private partnerships and innovative collaboration between industry and government should play a large role in these upgrades, but not every approach is universal. Policymakers should maintain key funding sources and keep the federal government involved but retain a results-oriented focus to improve our nation’s infrastructure.
The last word: “‘Competing to Win’ builds on the historic gains made through last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and presents policymakers with a roadmap for improving American economic prosperity,” said NAM Vice President of Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Resources Policy Robyn Boerstling.
- “Manufacturers are the backbone of our national industrial base and rely on all parts of the transportation supply chain to create, assemble and ship to market essential products and consumer goods. The steps outlined in this plan are commonsense and will generate the economic growth needed to enhance American companies’ competitiveness in a global marketplace.”
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Manufacturers Unveil Competitiveness Agenda Ahead of Midterm Elections
“Competing to Win” offers a path for bringing the country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose
Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the midterm elections, the National Association of Manufacturers released its policy roadmap, “Competing to Win,” a comprehensive blueprint featuring immediate solutions for bolstering manufacturers’ competitiveness. It is also a roadmap for policymakers on the laws and regulations needed to strengthen the manufacturing industry in the months and years ahead.
With the country facing rising prices, snarled supply chains and geopolitical turmoil, manufacturers are outlining an actionable competitiveness agenda that Americans across the political spectrum can support. “Competing to Win” includes the policies manufacturers in America will need in place to continue driving the country forward.
“‘Competing to Win’ offers a path for bringing our country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The NAM is putting forward a plan filled with ideas that policymakers could pursue immediately, including solutions to urgent problems, such as energy security, immigration reform, supply chain disruptions, the ongoing workforce shortage and more. Manufacturers have shown incredible resilience through difficult times, employing more workers now than before the pandemic, but continued resilience is not guaranteed without the policies that are critical to the state of manufacturing in America.”
The NAM and its members will leverage “Competing to Win” to shape policy debates ahead of the midterm elections, in the remainder of the 117th Congress and at the start of the 118th Congress—including in direct engagement with lawmakers, for grassroots activity, across traditional and digital media and through events in key states and districts as we did following the initial rollout of the roadmap in 2016.
The document focuses on 12 areas of action, and all policies are rooted in the values that have made America exceptional and keep manufacturing strong: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity.
Learn more about how manufacturers are leading and about the industry’s competitiveness agenda at nam.org/competing-to-win.
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The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.8 million men and women, contributes $2.77 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 58% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org
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