The National Association of Manufacturers announced Tuesday that former U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and George Allen will co-chair the Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative to examine and highlight competitiveness challenges facing manufacturers.
“We must continually strive to keep the United States as the best place in the world to manufacture, innovate and attract investment, but all too often, government policies on regulation, litigation, energy and taxes stand in our way,” said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO and NAM Board Chair Doug Oberhelman. “Senators Allen and Lincoln have a long history of reaching across the aisle to find pro-growth, pro-business solutions, and I look forward to their efforts to help strengthen manufacturing.”
Among the first challenges the bipartisan partnership will take on is the impact of unnecessarily burdensome regulations on manufacturers, NAM said.
“Our regulatory system is too often incoherent, unaccountable and in desperate need of reform,” said Allen, R-Va. “As governor, I witnessed firsthand the impact that regulations can have on a growing economy and small businesses in particular. In Virginia, we took a collaborative approach to protecting public health, ensuring the safety of working men and women and safeguarding the environment without hindering growth. We enacted commonsense policies that eliminated duplicative and complex regulations and embraced smart, innovative ways to achieve shared goals.”
“As senator, I heard from manufacturers and small business owners about the impact of inconsistent and uncertain regulatory policy,” said Lincoln, D-Ark. “We can do better as a nation. To unleash the creative spirit of America’s entrepreneurs, we need a commonsense regulatory system that encourages innovation and investment. An American economy with a simple and streamlined regulatory system would be the envy of the world. I look forward to examining ways in which both parties can work together to address this important issue.”
Lincoln and Allen will work with NAM and its members to advance a manufacturing agenda that is focused on real priorities and the reform of unnecessary impediments to growth, NAM said.
The Business Council of Alabama is the state’s exclusive representative of the National Association of Manufacturers.
-Dana Beyerle