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A House of Representatives committee recently held a hearing on a bill designed to drive breakthrough innovations to tackle climate change—a priority that has the strong support of the 51�Թ��� and manufacturing businesses across the country.

The Clean Industrial Technology Act (CITA) would set up a Transformational Industrial Technology Program at the U.S. Department of Energy, and would drive new technologies aimed at increasing the technological and economic competitiveness of manufacturing in the United States. The program would also find pathways to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and create a technical assistance program to help local communities and states evaluate and incentivize the adoption of technologies that reduce industrial greenhouse gases. The legislative hearing on the CITA was held by the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. In the Senate, the 51�Թ��� has been working closely with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on similar legislation.

“Manufacturers have always been about solutions,” said Rachel Jones, Senior Director of Energy and Resources Policy at the 51�Թ���. “We need real-world technologies to address our global climate problem, and legislation like the CITA provides a common sense opportunity to move our efforts forward. This bill takes a clear-eyed look at the unique challenges that different energy-intensive industries face as we all work toward ensuring a safer and more prosperous future.”

Manufacturers across the country are deeply involved in sustainability programs, leading the way for other industries in protecting our environment. Most manufacturing companies have already pioneered new technologies and implemented meaningful programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With more than 12 million men and women employed by the industry in every state in the country, manufacturing businesses have a unique perspective on the challenges of our shared path forward and have consistently worked with Congress to promote bills like the CITA.

“Providing incentives for U.S. businesses, schools and laboratories to bring game-changing technologies into the commercial sector isn’t just good policy; it’s common sense,” said Jones. “Cooperative partnerships between industry, government and academia benefit all three sectors and the country as a whole.”

Manufacturers contributed 18 percent more value to the American economy over the past decade while reducing the carbon footprint of their products by 21 percent—demonstrating that productivity and sustainability are compatible with each other—and keeping the industry’s promise to promote sustainable solutions.

“Manufacturers are committed to reducing greenhouse gases and addressing climate change while preserving our global competitiveness,” said Jones. “This legislation is a great example of how we are working with policymakers to turn aspirations into reality in order to protect our environment and improve our world. Manufacturers applaud the House Science Committee and Sen. Whitehouse for their leadership.”

Jason Gustine has always enjoyed learning how things are made. As an area manager at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Topeka, Kansas, he taps into his lifelong interest while making use of the people skills and the processes he learned in the military.

“I was worried it would be a culture shock, and I wasn’t going to fit in,” said Gustine. “But going into a manufacturing facility, it fits exactly with the military mindset. That was the biggest surprise—how easy that transition was.”

Military service runs in Gustine’s family. His father is a former helicopter pilot who served in Vietnam, and Gustine was determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. He joined the U.S. Army in January 2008 and served 11 years in the military—as a mechanic, a Blackhawk crew chief, a standardization instructor and eventually a leader in quality control, making sure helicopters were safe to fly.

When he was beginning the transition out of military service, Gustine joined up with the , which aims to connect manufacturers with highly qualified candidates and offer transitioning service members manufacturing-related training and support, creating a pipeline between the military and manufacturing. Through the program in Fort Riley, Kansas, he realized that manufacturing was a perfect next step for him.

“It fit into my wheelhouse,” he said. “A lot of it was maintenance and mechanics, which I’d been doing my whole life. Making sure that the product they’re sending out is the right quality. And every Friday, we would go tour a different facility. That’s what opened my eyes to what manufacturing had to offer.”

He credits the Heroes MAKE America program with helping to smooth the transition out of the military.

“Getting out of the military is a very stressful time,” he said. “I had all these skills—I had worked on helicopters for 10 years—but I didn’t really know how that was going to transition to the civilian world.”

Gustine has been impressed with the way manufacturing has integrated high-tech processes into daily operations without lessening the need for skilled employees, and the industry continues to emphasize the need for new workers.

“People have this idea that it’s all automated now, which is not true at all,” he said. “As manufacturing goes more autonomous, there are more skilled positions available.”

Gustine is enthusiastic about what manufacturing has to offer and encourages other service members to consider the wide range of available roles.

“The manufacturing field is so big—you can do everything from making tires in Topeka to building cars in Ohio,” Gustine said. “Whatever you want to do, you can find your niche or find your spot. It opened my eyes to how much manufacturing there is in the United States. Find out where you want to go, and the sky is the limit in manufacturing.”

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Ketchie, a 71-year-old family-owned machine shop based in Concord, N.C., is thriving, thanks to the benefits of tax reform.

Company president Courtney Ketchie Silver is quick to note that tax reform made a transformative impact on its business.

“Because of tax reform, our customers are expanding,” Silver explained. “They’re investing in new equipment, they’re expanding their shopfloors. There’s a general level of confidence, and that’s resulting in increased demand for Ketchie’s products.”

In fact, 2018 turned out to be Ketchie’s best year yet in its seven-decade history. 2018 sales increased a whopping 25 percent year over year.

“Because of this huge demand, Ketchie was able to make a number of capital investments,” Silver said. Overall, Ketchie pumped nearly $500,000 into capital equipment last year, which will help the company continue to meet demand for years to come.

The increased investment led to a hiring boom as well. In 2018, Ketchie expanded its workforce by 20 percent, with all new hiring taking place on the shopfloor rather than in the back office. That sort of single-year growth “has never happened before,” explained Silver. “Employees are excited to see the company grow.”

Existing employees are also benefitting through pay raises and quarterly bonuses. In order to continue to develop their employees, the company has worked with the local community college and has been the recipient of grant funding from the state of North Carolina. Ketchie has also joined the North Carolina Manufacturing Institute to promote manufacturing and help match individuals and employers in the area.

“As we’ve seen for the past year and a half since its enactment, tax reform is giving businesses the ability to reinvest in and expand their operations, and manufacturers are leading the way in this effort,” said Chris Netram, 51�Թ��� vice president of tax and domestic economic policy, said. “Manufacturers have reported record levels of optimism for nine consecutive quarters in our Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, and, through increased spending and investment, that optimism is helping fuel our entire economy.”

“It’s such a change from 2008, 2009,” agreed Silver, referring to 2019’s booming economic climate. “For the first time since then, people are confident. And their actions are following that confidence. Overall, I have a positive outlook for the year.”

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce held a legislative hearing on proposed improvements to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including one bill applauded by manufacturers across the country. H.R. 3169, known as the FASTER Act, would codify and strengthen the “fast-track” recall program, making it easier for companies to issue a voluntary recall if they determine that one of their products is unsafe.

Instituted by the CPSC nearly 25 years ago, the existing fast-track program is intended to provide companies with the ability to quickly recall a product if necessary, eliminating procedural steps like the CPSC staff’s technical evaluation of a product to determine if a defect exists that could harm consumers. That procedure, called a preliminary determination, can take several months. By streamlining the time-consuming review, manufacturers can quickly ensure the safety of consumers when they have already determined that a recall is necessary.

However, the fast track program has frequently been slowed down by bureaucratic Commission obstacles that have delayed even voluntary recalls by months.

“The CPSC’s fast-track program, once an award-winning agency program allowing for swift voluntary recalls, has become hampered by bureaucratic disagreements over non-substantive concerns, such as the wording of press releases and other hold-ups that create unnecessary hurdles to ensuring the safety of products on the market,” said Graham Owens, 51�Թ��� Director of Legal and Regulatory Policy. “In other words, the program’s signature quality—that of being fast—seems to have been recalled itself.”

The bill Congress is considering would make the agency-created fast-track program permanent, while also clearly laying out how the process should work to prevent red tape from creeping back in. Meanwhile, the Commission would still have the power to make companies go through the long-form recall process on a case-by-case basis if it determines the expedited process was insufficient, ensuring that the Commission continues to hold regulatory authority.

“The FASTER Act would alleviate bureaucratic and non-substantive red tape by codifying the fast-track program into law—and by preventing the commission from delaying the posting of public notices of recall plans,” said Owens. “These simple steps would immediately speed up voluntary recalls to the benefit of consumers, manufacturers, and even the Commission itself.”

After fighting for many years to fix these administrative delays, manufacturers are hopeful that Congress will finally update the fast-track process.

“This hearing is a great start toward ensuring manufacturers are able to voluntarily recall products in an efficient and effective manner,” said Owens. “The FASTER Act, if passed, would improve the agency’s effectiveness in discharging its critical mission, and we commend the Subcommittee for focusing on common sense reforms. Manufacturers stand ready to work with Congress and the CPSC to achieve this laudable goal.”

As a production scheduler for Mars, Incorporated, Thomas Schlieper has a hand in sending sweet treats all over the world.

In some ways, it’s very different from his former career. As a teenager, Schlieper joined the Army National Guard because it offered benefits like tuition assistance and scholarships that would help him go to college. When he finished school, he worked in his hometown and eventually decided to go into active service in the U.S. Army. That career spanned two decades and helped lead him to the manufacturing job he enjoys today.

While Schlieper served as an Army senior supply specialist, he enrolled in the , which aims to connect manufacturers with highly qualified candidates and offer transitioning service members manufacturing-related training and support, thus creating a pipeline between the military and manufacturing. Through this U.S. Department of Defense-approved program, he toured the Mars production facility in Topeka, Kansas. Mars recognized his logistics experience and offered him a production scheduler position, which he accepted in February 2019.

“I served 20 years as a logistics guy,” he said. “Ordering supplies, making sure soldiers in the Army had what they needed. The leadership skills I learned in the Army helped me adapt to this new role.”

Schlieper recalls the stress he felt during his first day on the job at Mars, when he wondered whether he was up to the challenges of his new role—and the moment when it all clicked.

“My first couple days there, after I did the orientation, I was overwhelmed,” he said. “I thought, am I getting over my head? I was just a soldier, and now I’m something different.”

He was shadowing another employee when he suddenly realized that the system he would be using as a production scheduler at Mars was exactly the same system he used every day when ordering supplies and managing logistics in the Army.

“I looked at the system, and I was totally relieved,” said Schlieper. “All that stress went away, and I was like, I know this. I can do this.”

Today, Schlieper is deeply immersed in his new industry. He feels it’s a good fit for former members of the military, who will have an easier learning curve as a result of their training.

“Before I retired, some people I knew thought manufacturing jobs were jobs nobody wanted,” he says. “But that’s really not the case. It’s completely different. It’s a whole new world.”

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This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act. The legislation, which was introduced in March, offers a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children—collectively known as Dreamers—as well as immigrants under humanitarian protections, known as Temporary Protected Status.

Manufacturers in the United States have long been outspoken supporters of pragmatic, comprehensive immigration policies—and with a proposal for a pathway to citizenship for these immigrant populations under consideration in Congress, manufacturing leaders are pushing again for bipartisan comprehensive reform.

“Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status participants have become an integral part of our society and our workforce,” said 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons in a letter to Congress. “They have the potential to offer so much more to our country if they can continue their pursuit of the American Dream.”

Manufacturers point to the importance of immigrants to the workforce, particularly in the manufacturing sector, which faces a significant skills gap. And they note that inconsistent administrative actions and unpredictable court decisions have created ongoing uncertainty and posed a serious challenge for these immigrants and businesses in need of new employees.

“Our workplaces reach their fullest potential and our communities and country are strongest when our nation’s immigration policy is clear and compassionate, and addresses economic, workforce and security needs,” said Timmons. “But today, our immigration system is failing to achieve those goals.”

In February, the 51�Թ��� released its own immigration and border security proposal. The 16-page document, entitled “A Way Forward,” is a wide-ranging plan that includes border security and a permanent and compassionate solution for populations facing uncertainty, like the Dreamers. The plan includes priorities from both Democrats and Republicans and is designed to be pragmatic, comprehensive and achievable.

“If we act, we will have given those who deserve it a chance to be a productive and contributing part of our country,” said Timmons. “And we will have upheld the values that make this nation of immigrants exceptional: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity.”

With more than 100,000 employees in the U.S., PepsiCo makes an impact through sustainability initiatives that reach far beyond the brand’s products. Through its program, PepsiCo offers more than 250 free online resources to students, faculty and school staff members across the country with the goal of increasing recycling rates at schools. Via those resources, Recycle Rally helps schools set recycling goals, track progress toward those goals, earn rewards and compete in contests for cash prizes.

Nearly 6,000 schools have participated in Recycle Rally over the past nine years, collecting more than 320 million plastic bottles and aluminum cans. In 2018, PepsiCo began open-sourcing all of their to the general public which has enabled local communities to take advantage of the Recycle Rally tools, including how to start a green team and host a recycling collection drive. And by encouraging recycling, parents of children in the Recycle Rally program reported not only bringing their containers to the school drop off-site, but also increasing recycling of other materials in their homes.

PepsiCo hasn’t stopped there. In 2018, PepsiCo made a $10 million investment in The Recycling Partnership (TRP) to launch “,” an industry-wide challenge to raise $25 million to improve recycling for 25 million families. By providing curbside carts to single-family homes, creating infrastructure to collect recyclables from multi-family housing and offering recycling education and operations, PepsiCo’s investment helps to simplify recycling and create stronger, cleaner communities. In Iowa City, for example, PepsiCo’s TRP investment will support the delivery of recycling carts to every household served by their recycling program—expanding curbside recycling to 16,000 households—along with a customized public education campaign designed to help residents recycle better.

“Recycling is an essential part of PepsiCo’s long-term approach to sustainable packaging for our food and beverage products,” said David Lapp, PepsiCo Beverages North America chief supply chain officer. “We work to support recycling wherever we do business, and as a U.S.-based company with significant operations, sales and local presence in cities and towns across the country, we have a special responsibility to do our part for U.S. recycling.”

As part of PepsiCo’s sustainability agenda, the company aims to build a world where plastics never need to become waste. In less than a decade, PepsiCo’s recycling efforts—through partnerships, pilots, large-scale programs and packaging innovation—have helped recycle more than 425 million bottles and cans.

“Sustainability is a real priority for the manufacturing industry as a whole,” said Laura Berkey-Ames, the 51�Թ���’ director of energy and resources policy. “Companies like PepsiCo are doing outstanding work and making critical progress that should serve as an example for other industries looking to be proactive on the issue.”

51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons warned today of the grave consequences of the administration’s plan to levy tariffs on Mexico, and ultimately manufacturing workers, to stem migration from Central America.

We share ’s frustration with our broken immigration system. But intertwining difficult trade, tariff and immigration issues creates a Molotov cocktail of policy. Manufacturing workers should not be forced to suffer because of DC’s failure to act on immigration.

— Jay Timmons (@JayTimmons51�Թ���)

These proposed tariffs would have devastating consequences on US manufacturers and consumers. We’ve taken our concerns to the highest levels of the administration and strongly urge them to consider the impact of this action carefully.

— Jay Timmons (@JayTimmons51�Թ���)

Saying that intertwining trade, tariffs and immigration creates a Molotov cocktail of policy, Timmons urged Congress and the administration to work together to find a comprehensive legislative solution on immigration, which manufacturers have offered in A Way Forward.

We’re working hard to secure passage of USMCA…the last thing we want is to put that deal in jeopardy. We’ll keep working on both sides of the aisle for USMCA and our immigration plan but we cannot afford to harm millions with tariffs at the same time.

— Jay Timmons (@JayTimmons51�Թ���)

Click here to read Timmons’ full response.

Since Bosch first established a presence in North America in 1906, the company has been a manufacturing leader in the United States. With 410,000 employees worldwide—and 35,400 in North America—Bosch is keenly aware of their global impact and responsibility. Today, it’s leading on climate action and setting an aggressive target for a bold new initiative: On May 9, Bosch announced that the company will be carbon neutral by 2020.

“Climate action needs to be seen not just as a long-term aspiration—it needs to happen here and now,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “As an innovation leader, we want to deliver technological solutions to ecological problems.”

As one of the largest privately-held companies and automotive suppliers in the world, Bosch is well-positioned to make an impact, both through its actions and as a model to other companies. With 400 locations across the globe, Bosch intends to achieve its carbon neutral goal through a four-pronged approach: increasing energy efficiency, expanding proportion of renewables, buying more green power and offsetting carbon emissions. By reaching this goal, Bosch will prevent 3.3 million tons of carbon emissions by 2020—and will be the first major industrial company to reach the carbon-neutral benchmark.

“Our commitment to reducing carbon emissions and climate action is not guided by short-term financial considerations,” said Prof. Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, CFO and deputy chairman of the Bosch board of management, “but takes a much longer-term view.”

As an engineering company, Bosch sees its work in terms of long-range objectives and seeks to understand how even small changes, taken together, can have a significant effect over time. This focus on long-range planning makes it easier to weather fluctuations in the economy and day-to-day business challenges with an eye on achieving larger objectives.

Bosch’s work uses tools that include low pollutant power train technology and artificial intelligence that predictively controls exhaust gas treatment. While most Americans are aware of Bosch through its leadership in consumer goods—from dishwashers to power tools—the company is also a force in sectors like mobility solutions, building technology and industrial equipment. And it is implementing a sustainable model across the board.

“Companies across the manufacturing sector are taking proactive steps to reduce emissions, improve the environment and address climate change,” said Laura Berkey-Ames, 51�Թ���’ director of energy and resources policy. “Bosch’s work is an exciting part of that effort and will help inspire companies in other industries to do their part.”