ICYMI: Administrator Zeldin in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump's energy dominance plans driving manufacturing renaissance in Milwaukee
WASHINGTON – Over the weekend, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin highlighted President Trump’s leadership in revitalizing American manufacturing and Powering the Great American Comeback following his visit to Komatsu’s South Harbor factory in Wisconsin.
Administrator Zeldin detailed how EPA is cutting red tape to implement durable, efficient policies that encourage U.S. energy development. He also highlighted how commonsense policies are attracting companies like Komatsu to America, with One Big Beautiful Bill as the next major step to provide certainty and consistency to American businesses and manufacturers.
Read what Administrator Zeldin had to say:
"President Trump has ignited a transformational manufacturing renaissance driven by his promise and policies to secure U.S. energy dominance.
"This week, I spent time in the heart of the Rust Belt — Wisconsin — where 103-year-old Komatsu, the world’s second largest mining equipment manufacturer, is betting its next hundred years on U.S. coal and critical minerals.
"The U.S. has the largest reserves of beautiful, clean coal in the world. President Trump has been its most ardent supporter, for power generation to meet an ever-rising power demand, but also for critical mineral mining as he is the first U.S. president to aggressively seek critical minerals in coal mines.
"We also extract U.S. coal for export — steam coal for electricity generation and metallurgical coal for steel — to 71 countries.
"President Trump has revived U.S. coal, despite the failed attempt of previous presidents to kill coal, and there’s a larger-than-ever mining market in the U.S. for manufacturing.
"I visited Komatsu’s American subsidiary, Komatsu Mining Corp., at its new Milwaukee campus in the city’s Harbor District. It’s a former Superfund site that was remediated by President Trump during his first term. The campus is reminiscent of a time when Milwaukee was an industrial hub.
"Against the backdrop of giant excavators, I saw a prosperous new industrial center being realized under President Trump.
"EPA untangling red tape to encourage US energy development
"Mining equipment manufacturing and the technology that comes with it is returning to America thanks to policies that support American energy development.
"At EPA, we are untangling regulatory red tape at record speed, implementing durable, efficient policies that encourage U.S. energy development. By producing more American energy and removing barriers to deliver that energy, President Trump is attracting and keeping companies, like Komatsu, in the U.S.
"Countries like China, Mexico and some in Southeast Asia, absorbed a great deal of U.S. manufacturing during the Biden administration, and emitted massive amounts of pollution.
"President Trump’s tax policies help reshore U.S. operations and manufacturing, breathing life back into towns across our country where Americans suffered from massive job losses as industry shuttered on U.S. shores and reopened overseas.
"In doing so, reshoring protects our environment because our standards to protect air, land and water far exceed those of any nation.
"President's 'big beautiful bill' will reinvigorate US manufacturing
"The path forward requires the passage of the president's budget which would make the Trump Tax Cuts permanent, providing certainty and consistency to American businesses and manufacturers.
"The 'big beautiful bill' reinvigorates American manufacturing dominance by rewarding companies that build new factories in the U.S.
"Extending the Trump Tax Cuts will make permanent a 15% corporate tax rate for domestic manufacturing and equivalent reductions for pass-through manufacturing activities.
"One of the bill’s hallmark provisions would allow businesses to deduct, up front, the full cost of capital investments like new equipment or factories. They wouldn’t have to spread the write off over the life of the asset, which would cost more money by subjecting them to partial taxes on profits they did not make.
"This savings would allow companies to invest in research and development to evolve and improve our technology and economy.
"In 2018, R&D spending grew 7.4% because of the Trump Tax Cuts. In 2022, under President Biden, R&D spending grew just 3.6% annually.
"The Trump Tax Cuts are good for businesses, but also everyday Americans. The cuts mean higher wages, $11,600 more per worker and $13,300 in take-home pay for a typical family with two children. For every $100 billion of investment, the White House Council of Economic Advisors estimates more than a million jobs would be created, and hundreds of thousands of new homes would be built to support workforce growth in economically disadvantaged communities, especially in rural areas.
"The president's budget bill will unleash economic growth, ushering in a new Golden Age of prosperity for American workers, families, farmers, and small businesses."