Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Association of Manufacturers is calling for additional aggressive actions from the federal government to help the industry respond to COVID-19 and future public health emergencies.
Among the additional actions in the NAM’s updated and expanded “COVID-19 Policy Action Plan Recommendations,” the NAM is requesting the federal government create the “Manufacturing Resiliency Fund,” which would include $1.4 trillion in loans to provide desperately needed liquidity to manufacturers and small businesses, protecting the nearly 13 million men and women working within the industry and ensuring their financial security. Manufacturers are also calling on the government to adopt a federal designation that deems the manufacturing supply chain “essential” to help mitigate any interruptions in providing the supplies that are critical to the health and safety of America.
“As manufacturers mobilize to protect the health and well being of our communities and country, the NAM is releasing an expanded set of ‘Policy Action Plan Recommendations’ for Congress and federal agencies,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Our leaders have already acted on many of our original proposals, and if they continue to move swiftly and boldly, manufacturers will be able to rise to this challenge and keep our country healthy, all while ensuring the resilience of our workers, our industry and our economy. This is a crisis unlike anything we’ve seen, and it demands a response of historic proportion.”
The NAM’s updated and expanded “COVID-19 Policy Action Plan Recommendations” identifies five key policy areas where legislative and administrative action would help combat COVID-19 and future public health emergencies:
- Recognize Manufacturers’ Critical Role in the COVID-19 Response
- Protect Manufacturers from Insolvency
- Ensure Economic Security for Manufacturing Workers
- Reduce Regulatory Burdens
- Set the Stage for Economic Growth
The NAM released its original action plan on March 9.
