NEW WINDSOR — As the next federal COVID 19 package is in the process of being reviewed by the Senate, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has announced her support for two bills: The End Outsourcing Act and the Relaunching America’s Workforce, to be included in the next package. These measures focus on prioritizing American manufacturing and workforce development incentives for companies consisting of American workers.
Wednesday afternoon, Gillibrand and Orange County officials visited PRG Scenic Technologies in New Windsor, a company that has made custom stage sets and props for live theatre for some 30 years; but, due to the impact COVID 19 has had specifically on the live entertainment industry, switched their output to producing PPE and thermal scanners for workers and businesses.
Gillibrand said PRG is a prime example of why local companies, with American workers, need to be protected from outsourcing and given the opportunity to have adequate training to create opportunity should they be in a position where they may have to find other work.
“We have to do everything that we can to make sure that hardworking people in New York and across the country aren’t left behind. That’s why it’s critical that, as a country, we invest in worker training,” said Gillibrand. “It will help people who are out of work get the skills, career navigation assistance and other services they need to be able to reenter the workforce more quickly and more easily,” she said.
The End Outsourcing Act will prohibit companies from receiving federal tax incentives and contracts if they do not employ American workers and will include a 20 percent tax credit for bringing outsourced jobs back to the U.S. The Relaunching America’s Workforce Act will request $15 billion in funding for workforce development programs, part of which will fund grants for local companies to partner with local educational institutions to create curricula for workforce training.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said PRG displays the ingenuity and capability American companies have and that the county is dedicated to showing American manufacturing is still viable.
“The Americans can still make this. We can still manufacture. We can still do things,” said Neuhaus. “I want to thank you for your creativity. You basically heard all of the manufacturers in our region to make sure they stay afloat and we’re going to continue to do what we can, working together, to make sure these jobs stay here in America,” he said.
Gillibrand added that in addition to pushing for these bills, she will also be concentrating on efforts to rebuild the arts and entertainment industries after the hard hit they sustained during the COVID crisis. The Hudson Valley is one of such regions that had a burgeoning entertainment and production industry prior to COVID 19 that has since been derailed.
NEWS STORY PROVIDED BY: Mid Hudson News - www.midhudsonnews.com