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The lagging recession and the recent news that China is set to overtake the United States in global manufacturing has helped to focus congressional action on getting our country back on track to being the world's top manufacturer. Without a focused plan to advance our domestic manufacturing sector, we will concede a vital component of our nation's economic strength, lose middle class jobs and become more dependent on foreign economies like China. That is a dangerous scenario that will compromise our economic and national security over the long haul. Frankly, we cannot expect a real economic recovery without a resurgence in manufacturing, and we cannot achieve that while we allow other countries to bend the rules and undercut American companies.
 
Below are some of the ways I've have been working to hold foreign governments like China accountable, restore those lost jobs and revitalize this tremendously important industry.
 
Developing a National Manufacturing Strategy
 
One piece of legislation moving through Congress is HR 4692, the "National Manufacturing Strategy Act." The bill would convene a Blue Ribbon panel of Cabinet secretaries, federal department heads and two governors to identify and set goals for ways the US can boost our manufacturing sector, by re-examining things like our tax climate, environmental regulations and labor policy which have a major impact on the cost of doing business. This nationwide effort has wide, bi-partisan support among the American public which you can review in a polling brief written by the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
 
I was astonished to learn that the bill's authors, however, failed to include anyone from the business or manufacturing community on this manufacturing panel. In my comments during discussions over the bill, I said we need "people who have actually done this for a living, not people who have talked about it, read about it, or stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night." As a result, the final bill was revamped to include nine private sector leaders to help set strategic manufacturing goals for our nation. The bill passed the House on July 28th with my support and awaits passage in the Senate.
 
Chinese Currency Manipulation
 
As part of this national strategy, a critical componentof American access to global markets is addressing the illegal actions of China 's currency manipulation, which subsidizes their exporters who then sell goods at artificially low prices here in the US . It undercuts our manufacturers, puts them out of business, and kills American jobs. And it also helps to keep our trade imbalance with China so out of whack: an extraordinary 83 percent  of America's non-oil trade deficit is with China.
 
I've made no secret of my disdain for these policies resulting in cheap manufactured goods from overseas being dumped into our domestic markets. My bill, the "Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act" (HR 2378) has 133 co-sponsors and resolves many of the inequities in our trade relationship with China.
 
I know that American businesses can compete with anyone, anywhere, so long as all parties operate on the same competitive playing fieldfollowing the same set of rules. Right now, China has a distinct advantage, and we cannot expect the hemorrhaging of American jobs to subside if Congress sits on the sidelines and allows China to continue these harmful policies. Many in Congress have joined me in calling for retaliatory relief in the form of tariffs or increased duties on these imported goods, to protect American businesses and workers.
 
Keeping Foreign Governments Out of US Steel Companies
 
As Vice-Chair of the Steel Caucus in Congress, I helped lead bi-partisan efforts along with Chairman Pete Visclosky (D-IN) in rallying 50 members of Congress against a looming Chinese purchase of a 14% stake in a Mississippi steel facility. Anshan Iron and Steel is run by the Chinese government, and it's my belief that this purchase would allow China to further undermine our domestic steel market. This is an issue that gets deep into our national security, by allowing foreign governments to take ownership stakes in industries that are absolutely vital to our own infrastructure, and our industrial and military might. Allowing this deal to move forward would create a dangerous precedent that would be difficult to unravel.
 
You can read about the Steel Caucus' efforts in working to stop this deal, by clicking here. Last Thursday, it seemed our efforts were a success when a Chinese official told the press that Anshan was backing out of the deal due to pressure from US lawmakers. However, in the latest example of inconsistent statements from Chinese officials, Anshan flip-flopped and said Friday they are in fact not backing out of the deal.
 
The Steel Caucus in Congress will continue working to make the public aware of this deal, to finally put a stop to it. The Association for American Manufacturing acknowledged our work, and had some kind words which you can read here.
 
Summary
 
By keeping a laser-like focus on the segment of our economy which produces goods (and not just the service sector) we will create real wealth, protect jobs and ensure a vibrant future for our domestic economy.
 
-Tim Murphy


Posted by Tim Murphy
August 26, 2010 10:00 pm

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The online political news website, Politico, has a feature called "The Arena" where policy experts, journalists and others contribute their thoughts on a given topic. Yesterday, in a question about the economy, Scott Paul, the Executive Director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, wrote:
 
"Republicans should focus on the economy. It's clearly the top concern of voters. However, the prescriptions that Romney suggests represent a step back into the Bush economy, which produced virtually no private sector jobs over the course of nearly a decade. Free trade as a panacea? That proposal won't work with Romney's own base, much less Independents and Democrats who are deeply skeptical about America's role in the global economy and want us to get tough on China, an idea that was completely absent in Romney's piece. There are Republicans like Rep. Thaddeus McCotter and Rep. Tim Murphy who seem to understand the need to revitalize the engine that drives our economy - manufacturing - and get tougher with China. Romney would be well advised to consult with them."
 


Posted by Murphy for Congress
August 18, 2010 5:00 pm

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The terrible tragedy of the BP oil spill has clearly demonstrated that safety can never be compromised when it comes to recovering our nation's energy resources. We need new standards that improve safe energy exploration, protect jobs, and promote our energy independence - not a blanket ban that will have the opposite effect. In fact, one of the most important ways our country can improve oil and gas drilling safety techniques is by continuing to fund our national energy research labs like the one right here in South Park at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). I've been working hard to make sure federal research funding for this facility and its contribution to safe drilling research isn't arbitrarily and unnecessarily cut.

Tougher Standards for Off-Shore Drilling

There is near universal agreement on one thing - BP must be held accountable for the full cost of this disaster - and taxpayers should not be held financially responsible for any part of it.

As the clean-up continues and hope grows that the well is sealed, Congress has been working to investigate this disaster, find solutions, and ensure that a spill like this never happens again.

That's why a little over a week ago, I voted along with every member of the Energy & Commerce Committee to pass bi-partisan legislation that puts in place tougher standards for well design and ensures that the blow-out preventers, which are designed to be fail-safe and protect from surges and explosions in gas and oil wells, will actually be fail-safe. The failure of the blow-out preventer is what led to the BP disaster.

Our Committee's investigation found that this was no accident - BP blatantly took shortcuts in its construction.

This bill still must pass through the full House of Representatives, as well as the Senate, but it is a big step in the right direction to help raise the standards on these rigs and do our best to keep this from happening again in the future.

SW Pennsylvania Must Continue Contributing to the Improvement of Safe Drilling and Exploration

Last week, I worked with Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) to ensure that pending legislation in Congress which deals with the BP spill would not gut drilling research funding from our national laboratories, and unnecessarily cut federal research jobs. The legislation, as it is currently drafted, would send tax dollars to a private consortium of companies and colleges. I have major concerns with this change in research funding, because many of these same companies that would be tasked with these research responsibilities were responsible in part for the current BP spill.

The NETL in South Park, in particular, has an established expertise in fluid flow, fire science, high pressure fluids and gases - all under the umbrella of deepwater drilling research. Most importantly, I strongly believe that these federal laboratories and scientists can best balance the need to develop safe new drilling techniques, with our shared desire to protect the environment.

I have gone to great lengths to raise concerns with Congressman Gordon about cutting this funding to NETL, and the signals and assurances we are receiving are positive. I'm hopeful that funding to the NETL will remain intact.

Drilling Ban Will Kill Tens of Thousands of Jobs

As a result of the spill, the administration continues to go back to court to try and impose an off-shore drilling ban that will shut down a major source of our domestic energy supply, and kill jobs. This is the wrong path to take.

The reality is there are over 3,500 off-shore oil and natural gas rigs, with less than 100 that are considered deep-water wells like BP's Deepwater Horizon. Putting a stop to each of these, as the administration is pushing for, would reduce our domestic energy supply, raise energy rates (and everything from consumer goods to gas prices), increase our dependence on foreign oil, and kill American jobs. One study done recently found that an 18-month ban could cost more than 36,000 good-paying jobs nationally.

Stopping production across the board is not a realistic energy policy that strengthens our national security or helps our economy. Our goals should be to enhance safe, off-shore drilling standards, which will protect rig workers, local industries, jobs and our environment. And most importantly, ensure that a spill like this never happens again.

Let me know your thoughts by emailing our campaign at contacttim@electtimmurphy.com

-Tim Murphy



Posted by Tim Murphy
July 27, 2010 1:10 pm

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A dismal jobs report.. record spending.. record debt.. trial balloons about increasing taxes.. Washington still doesn't get it. And now the political games the Democrat leaders in Washington are playing with the federal budget are eerily reminiscent of a popular fairy tale we all read many, many years ago.

Remember Hans Christian Anderson's, the Emperor's New Clothes? The short tale is about some scam artist tailors who sold the Emperor "invisible" clothes that only the "pure of heart" could see. The vain Emperor, who was afraid of admitting he was fooled, paraded through town in his skivvies as all the people bought into the big scam and lavished praise on the Emperor's elegant new clothes. Everyone except for a boy who had nothing to do with the big lie - he laughed at the Emperor and stated the obvious, the Emperor had no clothes!

Well, it seems fairy tales can live forever, as this story is alive and well in Washington. Last week, Democrats offered a make believe budget, pretended to vote on it and are now proudly parading about town in their "new clothes." The problem is - no budget exists!

There is a rule on the books since 1974 that the House must pass a budget as a blueprint for federal spending. Without it, individual appropriation bills can't move forward, like those for defense, education, transportation and others. For the first time in over 30 years, and already months past the annual April 15th deadline, Congress has failed to enact a budget blueprint. Nothing written, nothing even discussed and nothing passed.

So why the refusal to pass a budget? News reports suggest the shamefully obvious: "there is little appetite for taking on these issues in an election year." In other words, Democrat leaders are avoiding completing one of Congress' central functions because they don't want their most vulnerable members to have to vote, before an election, for higher taxes or more debt to fund their runaway spending.

This plan makes the Emperor's tailors look like petty thieves.

Democrat leaders rushed to quell taxpayer criticism last Thursday by offering a rule on a totally separate bill that had a line in it which "deemed" (or in other words, "pretended") that there is a $1.121 trillion budget cap. And so, they passed a "budget." While they have gambled on whether this will help their electoral prospects in the fall, the danger in the absence of a real budget is that no one is held to account for the record deficit, the massive borrowing from China or the runaway spending in Washington.

Not to be outdone by the clever tailors, they are now taking this political charade a step further by saying that this year's record $1.6 trillion deficit is actually a CUT in spending and that anyone who didn't vote for the "Emperor's new clothes" is actually AGAINST cutting the deficit (oops - they mixed in a fairy tale with George Orwell's 1984)! These "down-is-up", backwards antics came in the form of an attack press release against me last Friday from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

To suggest this budget cuts anything is ridiculous, but more importantly, to pretend that the cap is a reasonable substitute for a formal congressional budget framework, is a joke. My vote against it at the end of last week is what I am now being attacked for.

This would all be very humorous if it weren't so serious. The same leaders engineering this reckless budget fiasco are the same leaders that spent a trillion dollars in borrowed money from China on a jobs stimulus bill that didn't create jobs. Now as we stare at nearly 10% unemployment, reports that our national debt will triple and an economy that is struggling to get out of a deep recession, Democrat leaders in Washington are floating the idea of raising taxes on the middle class. The absence of a budget makes the forthcoming tax climate a big unknown for businesses assessing their ability to expand and create jobs over the coming months.

At a time when Congress should be injecting confidence into our economy to start creating jobs again - whether through tax cuts, reduced regulation or putting in place a realistic plan to cut government spending - they are doing the exact opposite. Instead, they are adding more uncertainty in into an already timid economy by talking about raising taxes, increasing regulation and setting new records for debt and spending. Even a report released today by the US Conference Board found that slow gains in job growth are a result of businesses and job creators being unsure of our economic recovery.

Despite the Democrats best attempts to rewrite and change the ending of their adaptation of the Emperor's New Clothes, the public has caught onto this budgeting gimmick and knows that with record deficits, millions of Americans out of work, massive new spending and looming tax increases, no one is living "happily ever after."



Posted by Tim Murphy
July 06, 2010 5:00 pm

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With our economy in a deep recession, we cannot rely solely on service-based industries and the financial sector to grow our way back to full employment. We need to be able to produce and sell a product. Key to that goal is shoring up our manufacturing base and ensuring that they have the ability to conduct business in a balanced and fair world marketplace. For years, that marketplace has worked against them as cheap foreign goods have put many of our country's factories and manufacturers out of business, while at the same time eliminating hundreds of thousands of good-paying middle class jobs. Republican and Democrat administrations have both allowed this to happen.

There is no greater evidence of that than in news earlier this week that the United States will cede the position as the world's top manufacturing economy - a position we have held for over 100 years - to China in the coming years.

Over the past year, I've tried to keep you up to speed on legislation I've been working on in Congress (HR 2378) that seeks to end the unfair trade practices engaged in by countries like China. China has artificially kept their currency low, which illegally subsidizes their exports and allows them to dump cheap goods into our markets - under-cutting American manufacturers.

Last weekend, in response to growing criticism from around the world, the Chinese government announced that it will permit greater flexibility and ultimately allow its currency's value to appreciate. To some, this came as welcome news ahead of this weekend's G-20 summit in Toronto.

I believe it is too little, too late, and we cannot continue to rely on China's empty promises to fix this - especially when American jobs are at stake. The New York Times expressed similar skepticism yesterday. It's time for the US government to step up and exert pressure. 

The cost of inaction is too great to ignore: more job losses and a fading middle class.

Yesterday, I joined with Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio to call on the Commerce Department to


Congressman Tim Murphy holds a press conference on China trade policies in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
recognize undervalued currencies as an illegal trade subsidy that could be rectified with countervailing duties or tariffs to protect American businesses. This action would finally level the playing field.

The rally was a success - earning national press attention from the New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg and others, and drawing increased and much needed attention to this important issue for workers, employers, and our overall economy particularly in southwestern Pennsylvania. You can also watch part of our press conference here.

We were proud to have the support of the American Iron and Steel Institute which joined our efforts yesterday on behalf of steel workers and manufacturers who know full-well the impact of China's unfair trade practices.

With over 120 co-sponsors already in the House of Representatives for our legislation, we must continue to turn up the pressure on the Administration and Congressional leaders to get the bill to an up-or-down vote, so we can start holding China accountable.

I hope you'll join me by spreading the word about HR 2378 on Facebook, Twitter and other social media, or writing letters to the editor of your local paper or contacting talk radio. Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

Tim Murphy



Posted by Tim Murphy
June 24, 2010 4:30 pm

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