DPCC Co-Chair David Cicilline Calls On President Trump To Protect American Workers and Create Jobs

Image

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman David Cicilline, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy & Communications Committee (DPCC), today joined Democratic Leaders from the House and Senate to demand President Trump stop betraying hard-working Americans and start working with Democrats to create jobs and grow the economy.

As a candidate, President Trump made countless promises to improve the lives of American workers. At every turn during his first 100 days, President Trump has undermined and betrayed working families through an inability to protect and create jobs, buy and hire American, stand up to countries like China when it comes to trade, abandon America's crumbling infrastructure, and slash job training programs.

It's time the President work with Democrats to create jobs, get manufacturing moving again, and grow paychecks for all hard-working Americans.

Below are Congressman Cicilline's remarks as delivered. Click here to watch the video.

"My home state is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. It started at Slater Mill in Pawtucket. And as the Industrial Revolution spread, it empowered millions of working people. Good-paying jobs in manufacturing built our nation's middle class in the 19th and 20th centuries. That was true for shipbuilders and textile workers in Rhode Island, steelworkers in Buffalo, automakers in Detroit, and in other cities and towns all across our country. These jobs offered good wages for honest work. They helped millions of working people support their families, buy a home, send their kids to college, and save for retirement. But over the past few decades, our manufacturing sector has been devastated by bad trade deals and a tax code that rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas."

"It's long past time that Washington to stop undermining our manufacturing sector. It's long past time for us to stand up for working people. To put it simply, if we want to fully rebuild our economy we need to strengthen American manufacturing and start making things again in America. That's exactly what Donald Trump said he would do during the presidential campaign. In December 2015, only weeks before the Iowa caucuses, he said, we're going to have jobs again, believe me. We're going to have manufacturing again. And just last February, he pledged that his Administration will return significant manufacturing jobs to our country. But this is just another broken promise."

"During his first 100 days in office, President Trump has failed to use American steel for the Keystone pipeline. [He] proposed $2.5 billion in cuts for the Labor Department, which will reduce funding for job training in advanced manufacturing and proposed the complete elimination of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a federal initiative that provides critical matching grants to support regional manufacturing economies. Mr. President, actions speak louder than words. And your actions make clear that you're just not that interested in making things in America again. Rather than keep his promise to help create good manufacturing jobs, the President has instead continued to focus on divisive issues that appeal to only a very narrow segment of his own political party. He's trying to repeal Obamacare, [he's] trying to impose a Muslim Ban, and tomorrow, he's planning to propose more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. But, as we close in on the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, he's offered nothing but broken promises for working people. Nearly 100 days in, and the President still has no plans to revitalize American manufacturing."

"If Donald Trump were serious about putting working people first, he'd work with Democrats to pass bills we've already introduced to strengthen manufacturing. He'd work with Whip Hoyer to pass parts of the Make it in America agenda. He'd work with me to pass the Make it in America Manufacturing Communities Act that I've introduced with Senator Gillibrand, or he'd work with Senator Murphy, Senator Baldwin and I to modernize buy America provisions….He'd sit down with Democrats in both chambers to improve job training services for folks who want to work in advanced manufacturing. But that's not what Donald Trump is doing. His policies are weakening American manufacturing, not strengthening it."

"In the past 100 days if we've learned anything, it's that this Administration cannot govern solely by signing executive orders or passing bills with only Republican votes. If Donald Trump wants to keep the promises he's made to working people, then he needs to start working with Democrats to deliver results. We're ready to go. We've introduced bills to get American manufacturing moving again. All we need now is a real partner in the White House who's more concerned with results and less concerned with politics."