The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
ECONOMIC GROWTH
Claudia Tenney unveils Renew NY-22 plan to restart Central New York jobs
ROME, N.Y. » Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, R-22, was surrounded by some of the district’s big names in manufacturing at a roundtable discussion hosted at Revere Copper on Tuesday.
Representatives from manufacturing facilities across NY-22 -- including Brian O’Shaughnessy of Revere Cop- per, William Brown of TECT Power, Gregory Owens and Matt Roberts of Sherrill Manufacturing, Lou Callea of Raymond Corporation, Jim Nichols of Buckingham Manufacturing Co. Inc., Brian Reid of Indium Corporation, Stephen Flint of AIS Rome, Graham Brodock of Kris-Tech Wire, Cory Albrecht of MVCC, Fred Matt of F.X. Matt Brewing Company, John Kabot of Turbo Machined Products and Marge Davis of American Metal -- had the opportunity to catch the Assemblywoman’s ear as it pertains to challenges facing manufacturers.
They highlighted the need for tax and regulatory reform, infrastructure upgrades and the high cost of energy. Tenney also shared her personal experience
and challenges in owning and operating her family’s manufacturing facility in Chenango County. “One of the most interesting parts was at the very end, talking about an apprenticeship program and getting people in our community to get a job, learn how to grow and gain the skills to be in that job and work in a business,” Tenney said. “We still need people to do work with their hands, people who are craftsmen and who can be trained and are skilled.”
Greg Owens, CEO of Sherrill Manufacturing and Liberty Tabletop, was an advocate for an apprenticeship program between manufacturers and local colleges.
“One of the big concerns was finding qualified employees,” Owens said, before discussing an apprenticeship program modeled after successful programs in Germany. “Where manufacturers like ourselves can work with local trade schools and colleges and bring in apprentices, it would be part of their tuition and be free to the manufacturer for a certain period of time, just like they do in Germany and other countries that are successful at growing manufacturing jobs, and that would be a good kick-start to the productivity of our companies.”
“That’s the challenge,” Tenney said of getting skilled talent to stay in or come to the area. “One issue that came up repeatedly was the need for more skills training, which will increase the pool of qualified applicants that our local employers can tap into. Expanding career and technical education must be a priority in Washington. Just recently, the House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, but wemust domore to improve the skills and qualifications of our workforce. The feedback from today’s meeting will be vitally important in helping me craft meaningful legislation to help job creators grow and thrive in Upstate.”
Following the manufacturing round table, Tenney introduced Renew NY-22, a plan to create jobs, grow the economy and increase economic opportunity in upstate New York.
“As the owner of a small manufacturing firm, I ran for Congress to fight for hardworking Americans who have been neglected for far too long and I understand firsthand the hardships that businesses throughout our region face on a daily basis,” Tenney said. “Our job creators in Upstate are struggling just to stay afloat. Throughout my time in Congress, it has been my top priority to provide a voice for hardworking families and small businesses while fighting to re- build our communities.”
Described as “a plan to bring back jobs, create growth and increase opportunity” in Tenney’s district, Renew NY-22 is broken down into five different categories: restoring economic opportunity, reforming tax code, revitalizing the agricultural sector, reinvesting in infrastructure, and rebuilding communities.
Reforming Our Tax Code
•Driving down rates while simplifying the tax code;
•Protecting deductions that matter to New Yorkers;
•Preserving municipal bonds for local governments;
•Alleviating upstate counties of Albany’s unfair and burdensome Medicaid liability.
Restoring Economic Opportunity
•Passage of the Financial CHOICE Act, a bill that rolls back Dodd-Frank regulations which “unleashes small banks and community lending institutions by streamlining the regulatory process and repealing some of the most burdensome and costly aspects of Dodd-Frank.”
•Introducing legislation to ease the chartering process for new banks in an attempt to provide rural communities greater access to capital and banking services.
•Spearheading legislation to boost local manufacturing in Upstate by requiring the federal government to source flatware domestically, a practice that was routine from 1976 to 2006.
•Strengthening regionally- driven approaches to manufacturing by cosponsoring the Make it in America Manufacturing Communities Act, which would codify the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership program into law, allowing communities across the country to compete to receive expedited consideration for federal economic development funds. Formore on Tenney’s plan to Renew NY-22, visit www.tenney.house.gov/renewny22.