Press Release

September 18, 2013
Cardin Hears from Maryland Manufacturers about How the Federal Government can be a Better Partner for Success

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a member of both the Senate Finance Committee and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, sat down with about two dozen Maryland manufacturers earlier this week in Columbia, MD, for a discussion of how to expand manufacturing jobs in our state.  Led by the Regional Manufacturing Institute, the roundtable discussion covered such topics as sequestration and the need for reliability and predictability for local businesses.

 

“We are open for business in Maryland. We are not ceding manufacturing in our country and we are not ceding manufacturing in Maryland,” said Senator Cardin. “The things we make in Maryland are the very best in the world, so there are many success stories of growth, but we must do more to create more jobs and bring middle-class jobs back to the U.S. Throughout the summer, I have been visiting companies statewide with my ‘Made in Maryland’ jobs tour to hear from leadership and employees how the federal government could be a better partner and remove obstacles to business growth.”

 

Topics of the discussion included difficulties gaining access to capital; burdensome regulations; the impact of sequestration and an uncertain federal budget. Senator Cardin emphasized the need for reliability and predictability for manufacturers who count the federal government among their customers.

 

“Manufacturing will never be what it was, but it can be what it should be – a high tech, advanced technology industry that creates production jobs in an innovative economy. Manufacturing must once again be an essential part of America’s economic engine and a pathway to middle class living. As manufacturing declined, our middle class has decline. We can no longer stand by silently to allow that to continue,” said Mike Galiazzo, President, Regional Manufacturing Institute (RMI).  Founded in 1990, the non-profit RMI was created for manufacturers in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Today, RMI of Maryland represents the interests of manufacturers statewide – providing programs, services, and advocacy.

 

“From Volvo Truck Group to Paul Reed Guitars, Marlin Steel to Hardwire, it has been tremendously helpful to for me to listen to the needs of local businesses and bring real ideas back to Washington,” Senator Cardin said. “Maryland companies are on the cutting edge of their industries. They want to reinvest in their communities and make their businesses successful. The federal government should be supporting policies and investing in infrastructure and programs that promote private-sector growth, including a predictable tax code and federal budget.”

 

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