Choose leaders who would strengthen manufacturing

With less than a month left until Texas votes in its Super Tuesday primary, only a short time remains to size up the candidates seeking to lead our country.

For those who care about the U.S. economy and believe in American exceptionalism, there is only one choice: Vote for candidates who will strengthen manufacturing in the United States.

The U.S. is a nation of makers and doers. When manufacturing succeeds, America succeeds.

In Texas, manufacturers add more than $230 billion to the state economy and employ more than 860,000 people.

Manufacturing has the largest multiplier effect of any industry. A dollar invested in manufacturing adds $1.40 in economic activity.

Manufacturers are helping the United States remain the world’s economic leader. But we cannot continue to compete and win in the global marketplace without the right policies here at home.

Energy and infrastructure are just two key areas where we need the right kind of leadership — and where Texans can determine just who supports manufacturing.

America’s diverse energy portfolio gives manufacturers in the United States a leg up. Today’s access to affordable and reliable energy is the result of Americans’ hard work and innovation, and it positions us to chart an energy future that raises the standard of living for everyone.

Unfortunately, some lawmakers and regulators are undermining that access.

Some try to handpick which energy sources Americans can use, advantaging one energy source over another. That is the wrong approach.

Other leaders push overreaching environmental regulations that would limit our energy options. That, too, is wrong.

This past year, the Obama administration issued new rules for power plants and new standards for ozone.

Unfortunately, these regulations go too far and add an unprecedented financial strain to our economy on top of the $330 billion our environmental regulations already cost each year.

That burden will be felt by manufacturers and by American families in the form of higher costs and fewer jobs.

It is time to modernize our regulations, replace ineffective and duplicative rules and pursue policies that are more flexible and less prescriptive.

In addition, government agencies must be held accountable for failing to take into account the commercial feasibility of rules they impose.

The United States must be a global economic and environmental leader, and manufacturers are showing the way: Manufacturers have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 10 percent since 2005 while our value to the economy grew by 26 percent.

Strengthening our infrastructure is key to our leadership. Building on the momentum of the transportation bill that Congress passed last year, the people we elect need to ensure our aviation system remains second to none and that our ports and waterways are open for commerce.

They should support infrastructure projects like the Keystone XL pipeline that deliver both energy and jobs.

When we embrace manufacturing in the United States, we embrace the values that make America an exceptional nation: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity.

Texans can do their part to strengthen our country by supporting leaders who demonstrate a commitment to manufacturing and to these values.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Choose leaders who would strengthen manufacturing."