I Make America, the national grassroots campaign of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), is mobilising tens of thousands of manufacturing workers and their supporters across the United States to call on lawmakers to address national priorities, including modernising the permitting process necessary to build critical infrastructure and boost domestic energy production, ensuring that infrastructure funding moves expeditiously from Washington to urgently needed project sites, and passing a farm bill to guarantee a safe and abundant food supply for all Americans.
"Today, tens of thousands of manufacturing workers across the country sent a clear message to Congress: Fueled by a legacy of grit and ingenuity, equipment manufacturers can out-compete anyone. But lawmakers must act to ensure that the 2.3 million men and women of our industry can out-innovate and out-compete the rest of the world. Improving the federal permitting process, passing a farm bill, and continuing to invest in infrastructure will allow equipment manufacturers to do what they do best: build equipment in America," said AEM senior vice president of government and industry relations, Kip Eideberg.
In the 88,000 letters to Capitol Hill, manufacturing supporters urged lawmakers to take immediate action on the following legislative priorities:
· Bolster the investments made by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act through workforce development, broadband spending coordination, and regulatory reform.
· Modernise the permitting process to unleash the full potential of domestic energy production and deliver critical infrastructure to safeguard America's prosperity and economic security.
· Pass a bipartisan farm bill to bring much-needed certainty and predictability to farmers and ranchers over the next five years.
The activation comes on the heels of CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, North America's largest trade show, which is held every three years in Las Vegas, Nevada. AEM's I Make America campaign engaged with the 139,000 attendees to raise awareness for the policies that will strengthen the industry and ensure that equipment manufacturers can continue to make the equipment that builds, powers, and feeds the world.
