Business & Tech

Israel: Bring Back 'Made in America'

The congressman offers ideas to grow the economy.

When it comes to growing Long Island’s economy, Rep. Steve Israel, D-Huntington, is offering what he calls a “common sense” approach.

With a bag of props, Israel produced show-and-tell items to propose solutions to a global challenge, as he addressed about 80 business leaders at a breakfast for small business owners in Port Washington Friday.

In the bags were goods he’d purchased at National Park Service gift shops – a calendar from the Grand Canyon, a “TR Bear” from Sagamore Hill, a National Park ranger doll, a liberty bell. None of these items, he said, were made in America. The calendar and bear were made in China, the doll in Taiwan, the bell in Pakistan.

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Even his prop bag was made in Vietnam: it was a medic’s bag from a U.S. soldier Israel had met in Kabul.

Israel spoke of his recent legislation, the “American Parks, American Products Act," requiring all items sold by the National Park Service in gift shops and at the National Archives to be made in the United States.

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“Every site must give first preference to American-made products,” Israel said, drawing a roomful of applause.

His second proposal is to make available small business loans to companies that want to “in-shore” jobs – that is re-tool their operations to eliminate the need to off-shore work. The idea, Israel said, stemmed from a conversation he had with Jim D’Addario, who heads up Farmingdale-based D’Addario Strings. In that conversation, Israel said that D’Addario, in looking to return more manufacturing to Long Island, had discovered that while off-shoring jobs had initially brought costs down, expenses ultimately crept back up over quality control, energy and shipping costs.

If every American spent $3.33 on U.S.-made goods each year, they would save 10,000 jobs, Israel said.

Friday’s breakfast was hosted by the Town of North Hempstead Business & Tourism Development Corporation and held at The Amsterdam at Harborside in Port Washington. 


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