Engler defends Congressional tours of manufacturing plants

National Association of Manufacturers president John Engler on June 7 told the House Committee on Standards and Official Conduct that Congressional staff tours of manufacturing plants serve a viable purpose and should not be discouraged.

Engler described the NAM’s long-standing practice of taking groups of 12 to 15 Congressional staff to on-site visits of manufacturing plants.

“Since nearly all of these manufacturing facilities are located outside of Washington, D.C., it is necessary to travel to get to them,” he said. “Congressional staff see and experience things they have never before seen and experienced, and return to Washington better able to advise members on issues related to manufacturing.”

Engler cited two examples of recent Congressional visits to factories in Illinois, and said that all such field trips take place during Congressional recesses and are approved beforehand by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.

Unfortunately, concerns about changes in lobbying rules, and House approval of H.R. 4975, The Lobbying and Transparency Act of 2006, have had a “chilling effect”  on the program, Engler said.

“The NAM was forced to suspend our educational trips for the remainder of the year due to a devastating drop in participation,” he said.

Engler stated that "ending these tours will impede the ability of the NAM membership to provide input on issues before Congress that directly affect the livelihoods of Americans and our country’s economic welfare, and it will result in members of Congress losing the expertise that their staff can acquire."

“Globalization requires that elected leaders see firsthand how manufacturing facilities operate and what challenges they face from international competition,” he said. “I see it as an obligation for members of Congress and their staff to understand the economic sector that provides growth and stability for our nation’s economy. The only way to meet that obligation is to walk the plant floors and observe and learn how things are made in America. Legitimate educational trips and fact-finding missions will help Congress better reach decisions that reflect the realities of the workplace and this nation’s manufacturing economy. Regardless of the cause, ending these educational visits would benefit neither Congress nor the American people.”