America’s supply chain crisis is creating economic challenges for local manufacturers and business groups while opening up opportunities for China, U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) learned during a Nov. 29 roundtable he hosted at Syracuse, N.Y.-based Morse Manufacturing Co. Inc.
“I was glad to host a roundtable discussion with local manufacturers and leading business groups to talk about the challenges they’re currently facing,” Rep. Katko said on Monday. “From our conversation, it’s clear our nation has become over reliant on China for critical goods.”
As a result, the congressman said that local manufacturers, businesses and families are being negatively impacted by a supply chain crisis, which is “giving China opportunities to compromise vital goods like medicine and semiconductors,” he added.
During the roundtable, Rep. Katko and the participants discussed the ongoing supply chain crisis, supply chain security, and the importance of strengthening domestic manufacturing to create economic opportunity in central New York, while reducing the nation’s reliance on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Rep. Katko was joined by representatives from the Manufacturers Association of Central New York, CenterState, Nucor Steel, Mohawk Global, and Hillrom.
“China wants to compete, not cooperate,” the congressman said. “Our nation must recognize that and start taking deliberate steps to bolster domestic manufacturing. Doing so will ensure we have reliable access to critical goods, promote supply chain security, and create good-paying jobs in communities like ours in central New York.”
In Congress, Rep. Katko has taken several actions to address supply chain challenges and spur economic activity in central New York.
In September, for instance, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the bipartisan Domains Critical to Homeland Security Act, H.R. 3264, a Katko-authored bill he introduced in May with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) that requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to identify and address risks within the American supply chain.
The House passed H.R. 3264 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, H.R. 4350, which is under consideration by the U.S. Senate.