Ryan part of caucus to address industry

About 74,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost per month over 35 months.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two Midwestern lawmakers announced the start of a congressional caucus Friday that is designed to draw attention to the nation's declining manufacturing base.
Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, said the bipartisan Manufacturing Caucus will work to revitalize domestic companies while also supporting the needs of a global economy.
Ohio and other parts of the country with a large manufacturing presence have been hit hard by the economic downturn. Manufacturers nationwide have lost an average of about 74,000 jobs per month over the last 35 months, totaling 2.6 million lost jobs, the lawmakers said.
"We are hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs in this country, and not enough of our political leaders understand the ramifications of losing our industrial base," said House Small Business Chairman Don Manzullo, a Republican from Rockford in northwest Illinois, once a major center for machine tools and furniture manufacturing.
Tax-relief legislation
Manzullo has introduced legislation this year to provide tax relief to struggling U.S. corporations to encourage them to keep production and jobs in the United States. Protecting these jobs in turn will help to spur the economy, he said.
"We formed this caucus to not only to educate Washington on the importance of manufacturing in America but to enact policies to stem the job loss and put our people back to work," Manzullo said.
The 28-member bipartisan caucus includes lawmakers from across the country, such as Erie Rep. Phil English, R-Pa., and Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif.