Washington Post, “In Midwest, Obama Sings Praises of Stimulus Plan“:

EAST PEORIA, Ill., Feb. 12 — President Obama on Thursday touted the $789 billion economic stimulus package nearing congressional approval, telling workers at a huge manufacturing plant here that “a new wave of innovation, activity and construction will be unleashed all across America” once the plan is enacted.

The Post’s story is built around the President’s appearance at the Caterpillar plant in Peoria, Ill. Caterpillar and its top executive, Jim Owens, are advocates of expanded trade opportunities. So…

While Owens supports the stimulus plan, he is part of a group of manufacturing executives who had expressed concern that a “buy American” provision in the stimulus legislation could lead to retaliatory actions by other countries. The provision would require infrastructure projects in the stimulus bill to be built with U.S.-made iron and steel.

The final version of the stimulus bill includes the provision, although it says it must be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.

“Absence of that wording would be perceived as violating our trade agreements and risking retaliation by countries accounting for 80 percent of our exports,” said Franklin J. Vargo, vice president for international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers. “Even with that language, the provision affects countries not participating in the World Trade Organization agreement or not having a bilateral trade agreement with the United States.”

And a reasonable Washington Post editorial, “A Fiscal Gamble — The stimulus package isn’t pretty, but it is a risk worth taking.”

Finally, Bloomberg reports on the weakened tax provisions included in the final conference report, a set-back for manufacturing and the economy, “Tax benefit push falls short“:

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Manufacturers lost a last-minute lobbying campaign to fully restore a business tax break that House and Senate negotiators all but eliminated from the $789 billion economic stimulus bill.

Instead, lawmakers agreed to make more companies eligible for the tax break while still shutting large companies out of the benefit, according to a description released by the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees.

For the NAM’s view of these developments, the tax provisions, and our support for final passage, see this statement and letter posted at Shopfloor.org last evening.

Chicago Tribune, “Obama touts deal as boost to Caterpillar workers:”

WASHINGTON — Even before the deal was completed in Congress, President Barack Obama on Wednesday said evidence already had turned up that his economic rescue plan would improve the lives of American workers.

Three times during the day, the White House asserted that Caterpillar Inc., the giant maker of construction and other equipment that has recently laid off workers, would be able to rehire employees if Congress approved the stimulus bill.

But as the president prepared for a Thursday trip to visit a Caterpillar plant in East Peoria, Ill., it was not clear how strong an example the company would provide of the job-creating powers of the bill.

USA Today, “Stimulus fight gives Obama lessons early“:

Peoria Journal-Star, “Welcome, Mr. President“:

President Barack Obama will hold a meeting with workers at the Caterpillar Inc.’s Building HH in East Peoria on Thursday to discuss the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

The president’s arrival, departure and meeting with workers will be closed to the public.

3 p.m.: Arrival at the Air National Guard 182nd Airlift Wing at the Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport

3:25 p.m.: Meeting with Cat workers at Building HH, 901 W. Washington Ave., East Peoria

5:45 p.m.: Departure from the Air National Guard

Peoria Journal-Star, “Our View: From Abe to Obama, the circle closes in Peoria”

Washington Examiner, “Obama uses Caterpillar to push stimulus plan“:

President Obama chose a Northern Virginia construction site on Wednesday to personalize the stakes of the stimulus plan, saying its passage would give back jobs to laid-off Caterpillar workers.

The company “has announced some 20,000 layoffs in the last few weeks,” Obama said, adding that Chairman and CEO Jim Owens “said that if the [stimulus] passes, his company would be able to rehire some of those employees.”

Jim Geraghty, National Review Online, “If You Want to Quote Caterpillar, Mr. President . . .”: “Say, President Obama, perhaps you ought to also pay attention to what the company is saying about the “Buy American” provisions in the legislation.”

From the Peoria Journal-Star:

PEORIA — President Barack Obama is tentatively scheduled to stop in the Peoria area and visit a Caterpillar Inc. facility while in central Illinois on Thursday.

While there’s been no official announcement from the White House about the visit, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told media members aboard Air Force One on Monday that Obama would stop in Peoria and visit a Caterpillar plant.

It would be the third visit in just more than two years by a sitting U.S. president, including the second one to Caterpillar. Former President George W. Bush visited a factory in East Peoria on Jan. 30, 2007, to give a speech about free trade.

Excellent decision, a stop at a manufacturer that has made cutbacks because of the global recession, including major declines in mining and construction around the world. Nevertheless, Caterpillar remains a case study of why exporting is good for the U.S. economy, and the company has been a strong advocate of free-trade agreements with countries like Peru, Colombia and Panama. The company has been a vocal opponent of “Buy Americans” restrictions in the stimulus bill that could — at least in an earlier form — spark a global wave of protectionism.

President Obama’s trip follows last Friday’s announcement that Caterpillar’s chairman and CEO, Jim Owens, will serve on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

In any case, glad to see that President Obama is making a manufacturer one of his early stops during his Administration. It’s definitely appreciated.

* An op-ed in the Chicago Tribune by Jim Owens, “Protection provisions could kill U.S. jobs”

President Obama creates the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, saying:

Put simply, I created this board to enlist voices to come from beyond the Washington echo chamber, to ensure that no stone is unturned as we work to put people back to work and get our economy moving.

Within this group, you’ve got leaders of manufacturing and leaders of finance. You’ve got labor and you’ve got management. You’ve got people who work in small businesses and people who work in large businesses. You’ve got some economists and some folks who think they’re economists. (Laughter.) By the way, these days everybody thinks they’re an economist. (Laughter.) We will meet regularly so that I can hear different ideas and sharpen my own, and seek counsel that is candid and informed by the wider world.

On the manufacturing side, Jeffrey R. Immelt, CEO of General Electric, and Jim Owens, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar Inc.

A welcome announcement…

NBC Nightly News this evening carried a report on Peoria, Illinois, where manufacturers are adding jobs. The thesis of the story is that businesses are learning from past mistakes and doing things differently. Doug Parsons, CEO of Excel Foundry and Machine, comments to the point, “Never get too dependent on one customer, one industry, one product line – you constantly need to be reinventing yourself.” NBC reporter Janet Shamlian notes the company now ships a third of its products overseas.

The workforce issue is also touched upon as Jeff Bahnsen of Foremost Industrial Technologies, a machine shop, says they’re looking to hire people.

Yet the story is so sketchy as to be fundamentally misleading. Shamlian refers to Peoria as “what used to be a one-company town” and calls the area “an unlikely pocket of prosperity.” Peoria has added more jobs this year than any other region in the state, she says.

Caterpillar. Peoria is home to Caterpillar. With all due credit to all the fine companies and manufacturers featured in the story, how can you do a report about Peoria’s economy without naming Caterpillar, a company whose exports rose 20 percent in 2007? NBC also referred to Excel’s export success. We suggest there might be a connection — strong manufacturing exports have encouraged economic growth making Peoria a very likely pocket of prosperity, indeed.

From today’s page one Wall Street Journal, “Exports Prop Up Local Economies“:

Much of the world may be struggling with the economic downturn, but life has been getting better in Columbus, Ind., Kingsport, Tenn., and Waterloo, Iowa.

These out-of-the-way places have become trade hot spots as U.S. exports, fueled by the dollar’s fall, continue to provide a rare spark in an otherwise gloomy economy.

While many economists expect a recent snapback in the value of the dollar and a spreading global slowdown to soften that growth, exports have become a key to greater local prosperity more than at any time in decades.

Columbus, population 40,000, is an export powerhouse thanks largely to diesel-engine maker Cummins Inc., which has added 1,000 jobs there since 2003. Kingsport, population 44,000, is home to Eastman Chemical Co., which is spending $1.3 billion to upgrade its sprawling chemical plant there on the strength of its global sales of plastics and fibers. And Waterloo, population 68,000, owes its healthy export economy to Deere & Co., which has announced its second major investment this year of its tractor plant there.

The stories reaffirms with numerous examples from U.S. manufacturers — and NAM member companies — the themes we emphasize here at the National Association of Manufacturers: U.S. exports are a bright spot in the economy offsetting slowdowns in other sectors, and given their importance it is critically important that Congress enact the three pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Peru and South Korea. See our recent Labor Day report for more.

The article by the Journal’s manufacturing reporter, Timothy Aeppel (who consistently writes accurate, interesting stories), concludes with some observations from Drew Greenblatt, owner of Marlin Steel Wire Product in Baltimore, NAM board member, and tireless testifier to the ability of U.S. manufacturing to compete globally:

Marlin has sold baskets in Mexico and Canada for several years and more recently has found customers far beyond, in places like Denmark, Japan, Israel and New Zealand. “But my all-time favorite is Taiwan,” says Mr. Greenblatt. “Think about the concept: There’s a Chinese shipping clerk over there that opened a box and pulled out wire baskets that say ‘Made in U.S.A.’”