Right now, manufacturing in America is at a pivotal moment.

President Donald Trump and congressional leaders have made growing manufacturing in the U.S. a top priority — expanding our industrial base, increasing investment and creating jobs. Now, it’s up to all of us — manufacturers, educators and policymakers — to turn that vision into action.

That’s why the National Association of Manufacturers is in Miami this week as part of our Competing to Win Tour — highlighting the policies, workforce initiatives, and innovations that will shape the future of manufacturing. We’re here in Florida — home to more than 14,000 manufacturers and 353,400 manufacturing jobs — to focus on what’s ahead.

At Miami Dade College, we’re meeting with students and administrators to ensure that the next generation has the tools and skills to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. The choices we make today will define the future of manufacturing — not just in Miami, but across America.

One of the most important choices ahead involves tax policy. The 2017 tax reforms fueled a historic manufacturing resurgence — delivering investment, wage growth and job creation. 2018 was the best year for manufacturing job creation compared to the previous 21 years. Since then, manufacturers have been able to reinvest in their businesses, expand operations and raise wages.

But now, that certainty is at risk. Key tax provisions have expired, and more will lapse at the end of 2025. A new NAM and EY study found that if tax reform is not extended, it could put nearly 6 million jobs at risk, including more than 1.1 million manufacturing jobs. Florida alone could lose 399,000 jobs and $36 billion in wages.

Manufacturers are calling on Congress to act now — before rising uncertainty slows investment even more and costs jobs.

That means maintaining the 21% corporate rate, the 20% pass-through deduction and the rates that small and family-owned manufacturers pay. We also need tax incentives that help businesses expand — like immediate R&D expensing to drive innovation, enhanced interest deductions so manufacturers can finance growth and full expensing for new equipment and machinery.

Manufacturing is a capital-intensive industry. We plan in terms of years, not months or days.

Tax certainty fuels investment, but investment alone is not enough. As manufacturers modernize and expand, they need a workforce ready to power the next era of industry.

That’s especially true as artificial intelligence accelerates manufacturing modernization — enhancing efficiency, bolstering safety, expediting innovation and improving product quality. According to surveys by the Manufacturing Leadership Council, most manufacturers see AI as a “game-changer” for the industry and 96% say they plan to increase AI investments by 2030. But AI is not about replacing jobs — it’s about creating them.

A recent NAM AI report confirms that AI will change jobs more than it will replace them. One-third of manufacturers expect to hire more workers because of AI, not fewer. But we have to prepare today’s workforce for tomorrow’s technology.

That’s why manufacturers in Florida and across the country are equipping workers with AI-driven skills. Miami-Dade College is helping to lead the way with one of the nation’s pioneering AI education programs — training students for high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs of the future.

Miami’s evolving economy is perfectly positioned to take advantage of AI-driven manufacturing. Florida companies are already integrating AI into precision manufacturing, aerospace engineering, biomedical devices and advanced materials production. Miami Dade is ensuring that students here are first in line for these opportunities.

Even beyond AI, manufacturers are facing a workforce challenge. A Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte study projects a shortfall of 1.9 million manufacturing jobs by 2033. We must act now to fill that gap and ensure the industry continues to thrive.

Miami-Dade College’s new AI and advanced manufacturing programs are a national model — bringing industry and education together to create direct career pathways. With more than 400,000 open manufacturing jobs today, these programs are essential to ensuring that workers have the skills to succeed.

Manufacturing in America isn’t at a crossroads — it’s moving forward. With tax certainty, AI leadership and more talent, this decade can be the strongest era for U.S. manufacturing in history. But to truly seize this moment, we must also curb excessive regulations, secure energy dominance, fix our broken immigration system, expand trade opportunities and achieve real permitting reform. Each of these priorities strengthens the foundation for manufacturing growth, ensuring that companies can invest, hire and innovate right here in the United States.

Manufacturing built this country. Now, let’s create the future.

___

Jay Timmons is president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers. Brewster Bevis is president and CEO of the Associated Industries of Florida.

Post Views: 0

A year and a half after he first named her to the Commission on Ethics, Gov. Ron DeSantis is reappointing Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich to the pivotal panel.

It’s the second time the Governor has reappointed her. In December, the Commission unanimously elected her to serve as Vice Chair.

She still has not received Senate confirmation.

DeSantis first appointed Descovich, a 50-year-old Indialantic Republican, to the nine-member Commission in September 2023.

The Commission is responsible for, among other things, investigating and issuing public reports on complaints of breaches of public trust by public officials and employees. Five of its members are appointed by the Governor. The remaining four are appointed by the Senate President and House Speaker. All serve two-year terms.

Descovich came to the role nearly three years after co-founding Moms for Liberty, a controversial conservative organization formed in 2021 that promptly made headlines for fighting mask mandates during the pandemic, LGBTQ inclusion in public schools and critical race theory curricula.

But the Senate, which must confirm all Ethics Commission appointments, declined to confirm Descovich last year, marking the first time in DeSantis’ tenure as Governor that one of his ethics appointees failed to receive confirmation.

Then-Senate President Kathleen Passidomo cited a citizen complaint that “politicized” the process. The complaint, by Melbourne resident Robert Burns, alleged Descovich was a paid lobbyist for Moms for Liberty.

She was and is not registered as a lobbyist, but she earns roughly $56,000 in salary and benefits from the group while advocating policy in the Legislature, according to Florida Bulldog. Ethics Commission members are prohibited from lobbying state and local governments.

Descovich has denied ever working as a lobbyist and said Moms for Liberty isn’t a lobbying organization either.

But her activities are still problematic for the role the Governor assigned her, according to Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Tina Scott Polsky, who was one of three Democratic lawmakers who voted against Descovich’s confirmation in February 2024.

“There are many people out there who we can find who are maybe part of a political party but do not run one of the most divisive organizations in this country,” she said. “We need to be better than this.”

Passidomo said she would put Descovich’s confirmation “on hold” while the proper interests got “through the whole process” of evaluating her Ethics Commission eligibility. In the meantime, despite that snag, Descovich has served on the panel.

Descovich conceived Moms for Liberty shortly after losing her Brevard County School Board seat. She officially launched the group on Jan. 1, 2021, alongside former Indian River County School Board member Tiffany Justice and Sarasota County School Board Member Bridget Ziegler, the wife of Christian Ziegler, who was ousted as Florida GOP Chair last year in the wake of a polyamorous sex scandal to which both spouses were party.

Moms for Liberty has been lauded by conservatives for its efforts to pass Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents, which prohibits LGBTQ-inclusive instruction in public school and allows for easier book-challenging processes.

Descovich has characterized her group’s efforts to censor lessons and materials as a “battle between good and evil.”

“The enemy wants to come between us and our children,” she said during a July 2024 panel discussion with the Governor. “Once that happens … our families are done, our communities are done and our country is lost.”

Progressives and civil rights organizations maintain that Moms for Liberty’s central tenet is intolerance. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) labeled it an “extremist” group with ties to far-right organizations.

Descovich said in 2023 that Moms for Liberty was looking into suing the SPLC over the designation, which she said drew “a huge target on the backs of every mom that stands up at school board meetings and speaks out for her children.”

The lawsuit never materialized.

DeSantis has been a big Moms for Liberty supporter. He appointed Duval County member Esther Byrd to the State Board of Education. At its 2023 summit, the Governor railed against transgender athletes, preferred pronouns, Disney and drag queens “coming for your kids.” An offshoot group formed by First Lady Casey DeSantis called Mamas for DeSantis backed the Governor’s short-lived presidential bid.

The DeSantises are hardly the only politicians to have shown the group love. President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Fried and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have all appeared on a Moms for Liberty stage.

Post Views: 0

A proposed pilot program would help feed hungry students in Florida’s public colleges and universities.

West Palm Beach Democratic Sen. Mack Bernard filed a bill (SB 980) that would launch an initiative called the “Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program” within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to combat hunger on campuses and provide support for efforts to reduce food insecurity among students.

The Agriculture Commissioner would be required to identify three state universities or Florida College System institutions with the highest percentage of Pell Grant-eligible students to participate in the pilot program, and would adopt rules to implement the program.

A participating state college or university in the pilot program would be required to establish a hunger task force that would need to include representatives from the student body and hold meetings at least three times during the course of the program. The task force would be required to set at least two goals to address hunger on campus, each accompanied by an action plan.

Furthermore, staff members would be designated to be responsible for assisting students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provide options that enable students to use SNAP benefits on campus, or provide students with information on authorized SNAP retailers in the area surrounding the campus where they would be able to use SNAP benefit transfer cards.

The pilot program would host an activity or event during the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week to promote awareness of hunger on the nation’s campuses, and provide at least one physical food pantry on campus, or enable students to receive food at no cost through a stigma-free process.

Campuses would be able to partner with local food banks or food pantries and would be required to develop a student meal credit donation program or designate funds that might be raised through a program for free food vouchers.

Participating institutions must report to the Department on program implementation and results, while the Commissioner would be required to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature by Jan. 1, 2027, detailing the program’s impact and recommendations for future funding and implementation.

The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) would evaluate food insecurity on campuses through a study and would be required to include recommendations for any changes to general law, Board of Governors’ regulations, or State Board of Education rules needed to address food insecurity on campuses.

OPPAGA would further be required to submit a report on its findings to the Legislature by Dec. 1, 2025.

If passed, the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program would be established beginning July 1 and would run for a duration of one year.

Post Views: 0