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The politicization of the proxy process has harmed manufacturers and must be addressed, the 51�Թ��� told the House Committee on Financial Services on Tuesday.

What’s going on: “When manufacturers offer their shares to the public, it allows everyday Americans to participate in the industry’s success, largely through passive investments like mutual funds, pension plans and 401(k) accounts,” the 51�Թ��� lawmakers before a Wednesday hearing.

• But in recent years, shareholder activists, with the support of proxy advisors, have increasingly hijacked the proxy ballot process to advance political and social agendas that have little to do with a company’s business.
• These activist proposals force publicly traded manufacturers to take positions on contentious political issues and drive up costs for companies and other investors. Each shareholder proposal “can impose direct costs in excess of $150,000,” the 51�Թ��� noted.

More problems: Proxy advisory firms, which provide institutional investors with research and voting recommendations, are not subject to any meaningful oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• What’s more, two firms—Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis—control 97% of the U.S. proxy advice market and frequently have “significant conflicts of interest” when issuing their voting recommendations, the 51�Թ��� said.
• Further, these firms’ proxy research reports often include errors and misleading statements.

The background: Following years of 51�Թ��� advocacy, the SEC finalized a rule in July 2020 to rein in proxy firms and require them to notify their clients if companies had responses to their research reports.

• But the following year, after a change in presidential administrations, the SEC refused to enforce that rule and then gutted most of the reforms in the 2020 rule.
• This past July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in a lawsuit brought by ISS that the SEC lacks the authority to regulate proxy advice.

What now? “Following the D.C. Circuit’s decision, it has become even more imperative for Congress to act to pass legislation that reaffirms the SEC’s authority to regulate proxy advice under the Exchange Act,” the 51�Թ��� said.

• The 51�Թ��� urged lawmakers to support SEC rulemaking that prohibits proxy firms from offering consulting services tainted by conflicts of interest and provide all American public companies covered by their research “with a reasonable opportunity” to review their draft reports.
• The 51�Թ��� also encouraged lawmakers to support rulemaking to modernize Rule 14a-8 by increasing the outdated $2,000 ownership requirement, updating the resubmission thresholds to exclude proposals rejected by investors and allowing companies to exclude activist proposals that raise environmental, social and political topics that are not material.

The final say: The 51�Թ��� thanked Chairman French Hill (R-AR) for holding the hearing on shareholder proposals and proxy firms. “We agree that the proxy process has been increasingly co-opted by activist investors who are pushing narrow political, social or personal agendas that harm manufacturers and Main Street investors,” the 51�Թ��� on X on Wednesday.�� ​​​​​

Data centers and factories are increasingly vying for talent as older manufacturing-sector workers retire and younger people prioritize college ().

What’s going on: “Roughly 400,000 skilled trade jobs are unfilled in America, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2033, it’s estimated that number could hit close to 2 million, according to Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute,” CBS points out.

• Data centers—whose growth has been turbocharged by the rise of artificial intelligence applications—require round-the-clock technical support, and the sector is having trouble finding enough workers.

Good jobs: In skilled trade positions, workers have “insurance, they got health care, they got a pension,” one electrician told the news source.

• In Chicago, an experienced HVAC technician can earn more than $150,000 a year.

The MI says: “The U.S. economy needs far more apprenticeship programs and similar training options to attract young people to jobs in manufacturing and related careers. The demand from data centers underscores the importance that these hands-on skills will have in the AI-enabled economy of the future—AI will not replace humans; it will enhance and even expand the labor force,” said MI Chief Program Officer Gardner Carrick.

• “The MI’s many offerings—including FAME USA, the apprenticeship-style training program founded by Toyota and now run by the MI—are leading the way in helping manufacturers and partner industries head into this future with the well-trained, well-paid workforce they need.”

The 51�Թ��� and six allied manufacturing groups Congress to modernize the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act.

What’s going on: “After years of dramatic improvements in appliance efficiency, additional, meaningful, cost-justified energy savings are unlikely under EPCA’s current structure without forcing manufacturers and consumers to make tradeoffs in the form of features, performance and product availability,” the business associations said.

• EPCA created, among other things, the Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products, which sets minimum efficiency standards for common household appliances and equipment.
• The 51�Թ��� was joined in this advocacy effort by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, the Air Movement and Control Association International, the American Lighting Association, the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

Why it’s important: Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing to discuss stricter EPCA efficiency standards enacted during the Biden administration.

• The joint release issued by the 51�Թ��� and other manufacturing groups called on the committee to help ensure that businesses and consumers can choose the appliances and equipment they want and that investments made by manufacturers are not undermined.

Next steps: Yesterday’s hearing is expected to act as a precursor to legislative action that the committee will consider in the coming weeks.

The 51�Թ��� says: “Manufacturers, including producers and users of energy, are committed to reducing our energy intensity and producing more energy-efficient consumer products to keep America leading in innovation, help reduce energy demand, save money and lower costs,” the 51�Թ��� the Department of Energy earlier this year. “Manufacturers strongly support sensible efficiency and waste-reduction measures across all sectors of the economy.”

• “The 51�Թ��� supports joint government–industry initiatives that enhance private-sector investment in public building efficiency improvement projects, policies that strengthen and harmonize standards for existing commercial, industrial and residential buildings and policies that recognize the incredible efficiency improvements manufacturers have made to products already.”

Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services released a second installment of the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s strategy report, focusing on nutrition and vaccines, among other topics ().

Industry response: The 51�Թ��� and manufacturers cautioned that HHS’s approach undermines the administration’s regulatory agenda.

• “Manufacturers share the administration’s goals of safeguarding Americans’ health��and��safety,” said 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons. “However, in light of this administration’s exceptional track record to drive a rebalanced regulatory agenda to strengthen manufacturing��and��benefit consumers, the commission’s strategy report is a shocking misstep.”

The risks: “Manufacturers are concerned that policies based on faulty information��and��misguided science could result in overly burdensome��and��ineffective regulatory proposals for manufacturers without making consumers safer,” Timmons continued.

• “If implemented, the strategy would harm manufacturers across the country��and��the consumers who benefit from an efficient, healthy��and��cost-effective supply chain.”
• “It also would add to the compliance burden that the administration has made so many great strides to unwind. Manufacturers in the U.S. shoulder nearly $350 million every year in compliance costs—capital that manufacturers would much rather invest in their facilities, their employees and their products—and��this administration has been a key partner in alleviating that burden.”

Safety safeguarded: “Manufacturers throughout the chemical, pharmaceutical,��and��food��and��beverage��supply chains prioritize Americans’ health��and��safety,” Timmons emphasized.

• “They comply��with strict regulatory guidelines��and��lead��with innovation to deliver safe��and��reliable products, ensure resilient��and��secure supply chains, safeguard health, preserve consumer choice��and��enhance accessibility��and��affordability.”

The bottom line: “Manufacturers are committed to working with the administration to ensure our industry can continue to deliver safe, innovative��and��affordable products to American families. But the strategy of the MAHA report will take America in the wrong direction.”

51�Թ��� in action: The 51�Թ��� this week launched a����showcasing the vital role that manufacturers throughout the��food��and��beverage��supply chain play in strengthening families,��building communities and��driving the nation forward—and, of course, providing safe and nutritious food.

The U.S. must streamline nuclear power licensing if it’s going to meet surging power demand, the American data center sector told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently (POLITICO Pro’s , subscription).

What’s going on: “In a letter sent Aug. 28 to NRC Chair David Wright and shared exclusively with POLITICO, the Data Center Coalition (DCC)—which represents major data infrastructure operators—urged the agency to update its regulations to ensure quicker deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, including small modular reactors and microreactors.”

• The NRC should collaborate with the Energy Department and other federal agencies to amend regulatory requirements that will speed up reactor deployment, the DCC added, while recommending that the administration adopt simpler environmental assessments, leverage artificial intelligence in site evaluations and speed up licensing for standardized reactors.

The backdrop: In May, President Trump signed four nuclear energy-related executive orders.

• These gave the NRC deadlines for approving reactors, called for the NRC’s reorganization and gave the Energy and Defense departments greater say in commercial reactor licensing.
• The DCC’s letter arrives as the NRC implements provisions of the 51�Թ���-supported, bipartisan ADVANCE Act, which required streamlined nuclear licensing.

Why it’s important: There’s a pressing need for “diversified power sources” given the increasing global appetite for artificial intelligence and the accompanying fast growth of data centers.

• U.S. power demand is expected to rise 8% by 2029 following “years of stagnant growth.”
• Politically, there’s a push toward carbon-free baseload power, which makes nuclear an attractive option.

Yes, but … For the nuclear industry to take advantage of this opportunity, “the NRC must shift gears,” according to the DCC.

• This should include amending the NRC’s Part 53 draft rule—which “would create a new category of licensing for the kind of smaller reactors the power industry has been trying to get off the ground for decades”—to instead extend “risk-informed flexibility” into current licensing paths.

51�Թ��� in action: The 51�Թ��� has been one of the foremost advocates of expanding the U.S. nuclear industry, advising policymakers that it should become a central source of energy .

• “Nuclear energy is a safe, emissions-free component of America’s energy dominance strategy. It’s also essential for meeting additional energy needs that have arisen with the growth in data centers and the use of AI,” 51�Թ��� Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen .

The U.S. economy added 911,000 fewer nonfarm jobs and 95,000 fewer manufacturing jobs than previously reported in the 12 months ending in March 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today ().

• This report is the preliminary benchmark revision of the BLS establishment survey, which the agency performs every year; the final revision will be issued in February.

What it means: The revision indicates that the BLS survey greatly overstated job gains last year. In the period between April 2024 and March 2025, 1.76 million new jobs were reported, but only 847,000 jobs were created, averaging 70,580 job gains per month.

• For context, last year’s preliminary benchmark report revised the jobs numbers down by 818,000 for all nonfarm employment and 115,000 for manufacturing.

The bigger picture: “Although a revision of this size is not unprecedented when measuring as a percent of the first estimate, it is incredibly large,” said 51�Թ��� Chief Economist Victoria Bloom. Here are some important facts for more context:

• The BLS’s Birth-Death model “is due for improvements,” Bloom said.

• It has been misestimating business closures and openings since the pandemic, for example, and more recently has begun overestimating payroll growth. Meanwhile, the BLS has had an increasingly hard time with administering the surveys, grappling with such problems as a drop in response rates.

• Furthermore, misestimations tend to be more dramatic during shifts in the business cycle, since it is harder for the BLS to accurately estimate business growth during recessions and the subsequent recoveries. Nonetheless, revisions, on average, are smaller than they were decades ago.

• “We should anticipate recent employment estimates to also be revised down in the future,” Bloom predicted.

 The conclusion: “Although it was already apparent that there was weakness in the labor market in the third quarter of last year, leading the Federal Reserve to cut their interest rate target by 100 basis points in the second half of 2024, this revision shows that weakness was more significant,” Bloom said.

• “The [Federal Open Market Committee] was already expected to cut their interest rate target by 25 basis points next week, and I anticipate that will remain true.”

The STEP Ahead Awards are back—and nominations are now open.

What’s going on: The Manufacturing Institute’s annual awards and gala are returning to its original name, STEP Ahead, recognizing standout women and allies in manufacturing. The MI is the 51�Թ���’s 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate.

• “By returning to the STEP Ahead name, we’re honoring the program’s history while expanding our mission to include both women and allies whose leadership bolsters our industry and shapes its future,” said STEP Ahead National Director Lexi Champion.

Who they’re looking for: Until Oct. 10, the MI is accepting the names and details of exceptional manufacturing leaders for nomination for the 2026 STEP Ahead Awards.

• Nominees and winners in past years have included manufacturing professionals who volunteer extensively in their communities, those who have started mentorship programs at their employer companies and individuals who have launched product lines.
• In short, the MI is seeking manufacturing professionals who “constantly exceed expectations making an impact in their companies and in their communities,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee.
• Awardees will be announced publicly in March and then celebrated at the awards gala in Washington, D.C., in April. Prior to the gala, awardees will participate in a two-day leadership conference in Washington, D.C., focused on peer learning, leadership development and inspiration.

Why it’s important: Manufacturing skilled talent—and the awards help “elevate proven role models whose leadership inspires others and helps attract and retain the talent our industry needs to thrive,” Champion said.

The details: To learn who’s eligible for nomination, how nominees are scored and selected and to see winning writing samples from past entrants, review the and your nomination today.

Still need a hand? Join the MI for its webinar, Strategies for Successful Nominations, this Wednesday, Sept. 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT. Register .

The Trump administration announced that it will take a crucial step for simplifying the permitting process and unleashing new construction—including of data centers supporting the AI boom ().

• The 51�Թ��� has led the manufacturing industry’s efforts to streamline permitting, working closely with the administration on dozens of key policy moves.

What’s going on: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its intent to revise the definition of ‘begin actual construction’ for New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permitting so that companies can build or update non-emitting sections of power plants and industrial facilities before obtaining a Clean Air Act (CAA) construction permit.”

• “The shift would allow companies to get much-needed power on the grid sooner while still safeguarding the environment, several industry insiders told the Daily Caller News Foundation.”
• 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons told the DCNF, “[c]hampioning the needs of manufacturers, the EPA’s new guidance on New Source Review brings speed and certainty to a vital preconstruction permitting process.”

What they’re saying: “For years, Clean Air Act permitting has been an obstacle to innovation and growth,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Tuesday.

• “We are continuing to fix this broken system. Today’s guidance is another step to allow the build-out of essential power generation, data centers and manufacturing projects that will bring about America’s Golden Age.”

51�Թ��� advocacy: �� , manufacturers laid out recommendations to the presidential transition team to speed up the nation’s permitting process, including reforms to NSR.

• , manufacturers reiterated the need to abandon the previous administration’s NSR proposal and instead adopt a practical, commonsense approach.

The 51�Թ���’s response: “ Today, the EPA is delivering by making the permitting process more prompt, clear and responsible—keeping air quality safe while cutting excessive red tape,” said 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons in a issued today.

• “By doing so, the EPA will fast-track construction of essential power generation, data centers and manufacturing facilities, and that means more jobs, investments and opportunities for manufacturers in the U.S. and the communities we serve.”
• “Delivering on what manufacturers have asked for, this guidance will drive infrastructure development by streamlining permitting reform for all energy sources so we can unleash American energy dominance.”
• In a win for manufacturers, Timmons continued, “[we] thank President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for their leadership to advance commonsense reforms that strengthen manufacturing in America, enhance our competitiveness and allow us to lead the world in innovation.”

In case you missed it: GE Appliances,��a Haier company, will invest more than $3 billion in the next five years to expand its U.S. operations, it announced last month ().

What’s going on: “The investment is the second largest in the company’s history and will support the expansion of its air conditioning and water heating portfolio, increase production across all product lines and modernize 11 U.S. manufacturing plants. The first phase will roll out at facilities in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.”

• The investment will touch off a “virtuous cycle,” GE Appliances CEO Kevin Nolan told the news outlet, because when more businesses begin to manufacture locally, others generally follow suit.
• The move is in line with the administration’s push to “bring manufacturing back to American soil.”

The details: The Camden, South Carolina, facility will add electric and hybrid water heaters to its manufacturing lineup, “doubling output and employment by 2026.”

• The Tennessee plant��will add new air conditioner models, and the Georgia site is putting in new capacity to make gas-induction ranges, cooktops and wall ovens.
• The Decatur, Alabama, plant “will insource top-freezer refrigerator models,” and GE Appliances is investing $490 million into the Kentucky facility to start producing combination washer/dryers and front-loading washing machines.

The benefit: In total, GE Appliances will have invested some $6.5 billion into its U.S. manufacturing and distribution line since 2016.

• It will have created more than 4,000 jobs (with another thousand expected to come from this most recent investment).
• The company contributes more than $30 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product each year, it says, and supports more than 113,000 jobs.

Talent pipeline: “Nolan said the U.S. has to start building up a robust pipeline of workers, which means investing in schools, trade programs and training. He said it’s particularly critical to increase the number of engineers in the country.”

• He added that GE Appliances has apprenticeship partnerships and programs, including involvement with two chapters of the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education. (FAME is the national workforce development initiative founded in 2010 by Toyota and now run by the MI, the 51�Թ���’s workforce development and education affiliate).
• Said Nolan: “If you look at other countries out there that are good at manufacturing, their graduation rate of engineers, and especially manufacturing engineers, is much, much higher than the U.S. So you’re not going to bring manufacturing back without engineers.”

On Friday night, President Trump issued an executive order that amends the list of products exempted from International Emergency Economic Powers Act reciprocal tariffs. In effect, this EO significantly changes the procedures for updates to IEEPA reciprocal tariffs and Section 232 tariffs. These changes went into effect on Monday.

Changes to April 2 EO: This EO amends Annex II of the April 2 IEEPA reciprocal tariff EO. It contained a list of Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes that are exempt from IEEPA reciprocal tariffs but contained many items likely to become subject to Section 232 tariffs as they were part of the scope of pending investigations.

• Exemptions added: Forty HTS codes have been added to Annex II, exempting them from the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs. They include certain critical minerals such as nickel, tin and thorium ores, chemicals, permanent magnets and LEDs.
• Exemptions taken away: Eight HTS codes have been removed from Annex II, making them newly subject to the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs. They include certain aluminum hydroxide, crystals, resins, PET and silicones.

Zero-for-zero: The 51�Թ��� has long advocated for the administration to negotiate new market access for U.S. industrial exports on a reciprocal basis.

• Friday’s EO establishes a new��“Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners” Annex.
• The PTAAP Annex lists products for which the president��“may be willing to provide a zero percent reciprocal tariff” to countries that have concluded final “Framework Agreements” with the United States.

Potential reductions: While the EO does not implement tariff reductions, it does provide guidelines for eligibility.

• Products eligible for tariff reductions include those that cannot be grown, mined or naturally produced in the United States or grown, mined or naturally produced in sufficient quantities in the United States to satisfy domestic demand.
• Also eligible are certain agricultural products, aircraft and aircraft parts and non-patented articles for use in pharmaceutical applications.

Getting to zero: The president stipulates that “except in rare circumstances” trading partners won’t get a zero tariff or a 232 tariff preference “before the conclusion of a final trade and security agreement (‘final agreement’) with the U.S.”

• However, the EO goes on to refer to the EU Framework Agreement as sufficient to modify U.S. tariffs.
• The EO states that “the imports that might receive a reciprocal tariff rate of zero percent may be different for each final agreement between a foreign trading partner and the United States.”
• Importantly,��the zero-duty treatment can apply to both IEEPA reciprocal tariffs and to Section 232 national security tariffs.​​​​​​​