WATCH: Davids Recaps Made in Kansas Tour, Highlights Efforts to Fix Supply Chains
Last week, Representative Sharice Davids visited three local manufacturers as part of her Made in Kansas tour, hearing directly from local businesses as she works to pass bipartisan supply chain and manufacturing policy in Congress. Throughout the week, Davids shared her efforts to lower costs and support domestic manufacturing, from railroad construction materials to life-saving medical supplies.
Watch a recap of Davids' Made in Kansas tour of three local businesses:
Davids recently met with President Biden to emphasize the need to fix our supply chains and address rising costs by making more goods in America. Now, she has been named to the conference committee, a bipartisan group of Senators and Members of Congress tasked with negotiating a final supply chain bill to send to the President's desk. As one of the two Kansas lawmakers selected to serve on the committee, Davids visited several local manufacturers to hear their priorities ahead of the negotiations.
Here's where Rep. Davids' Made in Kansas tour took her:
- At A&K Railroad Materials, Davids shared her support for investing in infrastructure and domestic supply chains and heard about A&K's impact on both the local economy and national transportation networks.
- At Knit-Rite, a medical textile manufacturer, Davids discussed her work to support American-made medical supplies, particularly small and mid-sized manufacturers. Her amendment to the supply chain package, which passed the House earlier this year, would ensure small businesses are considered in upgrades to our medical supply chain, not just big corporations.
- At Stryten Energy, a leading manufacturer of advanced battery and energy storage technology, Davids discussed her work to support innovation and workforce development, so that Kansas workers can continue to compete against countries like China.
Davids has been a leader on the House version of the supply chain bill, known as the America COMPETES Act. This comprehensive economic package contains several priorities for Kansas, including investments in domestic semiconductor "chip" production. Davids has met with several local businesses impacted by the chip shortage, including the Fairfax General Motors plant that went idle for months last year and local medical device suppliers who have been struggling to serve patients. Additionally, the bill includes resources to strengthen supply chains, reduce inflation, and promote American global leadership at a critical time. Increased competition from China has cost the U.S. approximately 985,000 manufacturing jobs between 1999 and 2011.