From the John Arrington for Senate campaign…
On Friday, January 29th at 2:00 p.m. Senate candidate John Arrington will be holding a press conference at the iWireless Center near the Rock Island arsenal. In response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, Mr. Arrington will be sending letters to the President, Congress, and the Pentagon today demanding that an assessment be taken of defense systems manufactured overseas, and that all defense related products be returned to the U.S. for production. “Discussing jobs without including our disappearing manufacturing industry is like discussing healthcare without tort reform, it’s a Band-Aid approach,” stated Arrington. “Americans must produce in order to sustain our economic future, and that must start with our Department of Defense.”
In 2008 the U.S. Dept. of Defense budget exceeded $510 billion, with 50% currently spent manufacturing defense systems products, overseas. For example, crucial components for our F-16 fighter jets are either manufactured or assembled in sixteen different countries, including Russia. “Even being the good Christian that I am, if I worked making missile parts for North Korea, who hate America and Israel, I would not make them very well,” Arrington mused. These manufacturing jobs need to be in America, expanding our manufacturing industry and helping put Americans back to work all over Illinois and the United States. This is a critical economic as well as a security challenge.
With an unemployment rate hovering around 10% nationwide and higher in certain areas of the Quad Cities, it is imperative that job creation starts at home. We can no longer allow these billions of dollars to go outside of the U.S. along with the millions of jobs, and our citizens not be allowed to compete for those jobs particularly at the Rock Island Arsenal and throughout our country. John Arrington is proposing that starting today we assess all of our defense related contracts and begin circulating those billions of dollars throughout the U.S. to create hundreds of thousand of good paying jobs, aimed at revitalizing our disappearing manufacturing industry. According to Mr. Arrington, “Adam Smith, the father of free trade stated never allow your neighbors to make your defense system parts and Arrington is pushing for this change immediately.”
Arrington is also proposing that a freeze be implemented on all commercial imports as well to address other manufacturing challenges including the astronomical trade imbalance between our trade partners. America has a 300 billion dollar trade imbalance with China and growing. “When I look at these numbers, I can only wonder why someone is not behind bars for the way our country is being sold down the river,” said Arrington. “While some may say I’m a protectionist, I would respond ‘you’re absolutely right’, but someone has to protect the interests and future of America, and that is me” said Arrington.