CONGRESSMAN LLOYD SMUCKER 0806

This episode of the RJ. Harris Breakfast Show catches up with latest updates from Washington. Congressman Lloyd Smucker joins RJ. Harris to discuss the current state of affairs in the House and the key issues that are on his radar.

Congressman Smucker shares his insights on the recent accomplishments of the House, including securing the border, preventing a massive tax increase, and reducing taxes on American families and small businesses. He also highlights the importance of manufacturing in his district, which has seen a significant boost in economic growth and job creation. The Congressman emphasizes the need for good immigration policy and connecting people with great jobs that offer upward mobility.

One of the pressing concerns he's hearing from businesses and constituents is the difficulty in finding workers, which is affecting various industries, including manufacturing and the trades. To address this issue, Congressman Smucker is working on bills that would ramp up apprenticeship programs, allowing people to earn while they learn and paving the way for great careers.

To hear more about Congressman Smucker's thoughts on the current state of the economy, the importance of manufacturing, and the challenges facing businesses, tune in to this episode of the RJ. Harris Breakfast Show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Seven thirty six twenty four to go until eight o'clock.
This is the RJ. Harris Breakfast Show, and I want
to start out by well, first of all, good morning,
Congressman Lloyd Smucker, how are you today, sir?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good good morning, R. Jay. Always good to be with you.
Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
It's great to have you here, and I want to
thank you, and I'll tell you why. You normally are
on here the first Monday of every month, and you
are here like clockwork every now and then you have
to change it to another day, and that happened today
and you're on Thursday. But you know, there are many
out there that I've dealt with over the years that
just would have canceled and there would have been no

(00:47):
monthly report. So I personally want to thank you. You
come on here and you chat with us no matter
what every month and we look forward to it. So
thank you.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Well. I always appreciate the ob actunity and thanks for
the flexibility. And yeah, I wouldn't I wouldn't miss it.
I always enjoy the conversation and enjoy connecting with your listeners.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Well, the house has had a lot going on lately,
and it seems to me that you have accomplished some things,
but we never seem to that's never ballyhooed, isn't.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Well. Yes, we're now in our August district work period,
so I'm back in the district meeting with constituents, businesses,
local organizations, which is really important to hear directly from
the people that I represent. But you're right, we wrapped
up a really productive stretch before we left town for

(01:44):
this work period. If you look back over the past
year and a half, you know, we've secured the border,
We've prevented a massive tax increase, reduced taxes on American families,
on small businesses, we've strengthened military, and we're continuing to
work to restore fiscal responsibility. So you're right. Maybe it

(02:08):
doesn't get talked about enough, but it's been a really
productive period. It's been productive Congress.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
So you are here in the district and you're rubbing
elbows with people. What is it you're hearing that are
the big concerns now? Is gas? The price of gas
one of them?

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Sure, yes, people of course are concerned about the price
of gas, price of food. But you know, we're seeing
some really encouraging signs in the economy. We expected as
a result of the One Beautiful Bill that we would
see stronger economic growth, we would see an increase in manufacturing,

(02:50):
and that's exactly what we're seeing. Manufacturing activity has now
reached the strongest level in more than four years. Factories
are hiring again, production is increasing, new orders are growing.
And that's especially important here RJ. Because here in Pennsylvania,

(03:11):
Central Pennsylvania, in the eleventh District, Lancaster in York Counties,
manufacturing is a really important part of our economy. In fact,
many people may not know how important it is. We
have a very diverse manufacturing economy here in our district.
We've also I already mentioned we prevented one of the

(03:32):
largest tax increases, what would have been one of the
largest tax increases in American history, by extending tax relief
for families and small businesses. And what I hear from businesses,
that's really important. They need that certainty. They very much
appreciate that we've made that permanent so they can make
hiring decisions, they can make investment decisions based on long

(03:56):
term policies, rather than not knowing what was going to
happen with the tax increase and other provisions that were
in that bill. So they need the confidence that Washington
isn't going to pull the rug out from under them
every couple of years. And so we're seeing that increased activity.
I think because of that. The stock market is continuing

(04:18):
to set record highs. So four to one K accounts,
retirement accounts are benefiting from that. People are taking up
for their young children, the Trump accounts. Millions of people
now participating in the Trump accounts. And remember every eligible
newborn right now, every newborn begins life with a one

(04:41):
thousand dollars investment account that will grow over time, and
that's going to make a big difference over the next
few decades. And so you know, I'm hearing people grateful
for what they saw on the tax policy. I didn't
mention no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. These
are all really important things that many many Americans and

(05:02):
many people across our district are taking advantage of.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
So one of the things that is going on though
that I hear is it's still difficult for employers to
find people. And you know what's interesting about a congressman
is I find it in every business. It's not just
a matter of convenience stores and things like that. It

(05:28):
is to manufacturing in the trades, so people are complaining,
you can't get you can't get people.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
I've experienced this as you know of working in construction
as a contractor business owner for decades prior to serving
in the States and then in Congress. It was always
our number one issue, and that's why I think it's
really important. There's a lot of things that we need

(05:56):
to be doing to address that. One is connecting more
Americans with great jobs that are available. We need to
continue to move people off dependence on government to connecting
them with a great job that gives them the ability
the upward mobility improve their lives. We need good immigration policy.

(06:19):
I think it's important that we secure the border, and
now that we've done that, we need to understand that
we need workers available to fill these jobs to continue
to grow the economy. So there's a lot that we're
working on. One of the things, one of the bills
that I introduced just recently, would ramp up apprenticeship programs.

(06:42):
So back to connecting people with jobs that are available.
There's a lot of jobs available. I was in construction,
but manufacturing, hospitality, and apprenticeship programs allow people to earn
while they learn and results in great careers for people.

(07:03):
And so, you know, I think for a long time
we've pushed everyone to a four year baccalaria degree, which
I wouldn't discourage, but there are a lot of other
great pathways to a great career and we need to
continue to focus on that. So, yeah, one hundred percent,

(07:24):
that's what I'm hearing from people across businesses across the
district as well. There continues to be a shortage of
workers available right.

Speaker 1 (07:34):
Before we close down. What do you face when you
get back to work, Well, I mean you're working now,
but I should say when you get back to Washington.

Speaker 2 (07:46):
Back to d C. Yeah, I understand. You know, we
have the new fiscal year coming up already on October first,
before we left town, we passed a short term continuing
resis that would take government funding through the end of
the year. Now, I normally don't like continuing resolutions, but

(08:08):
we've seen Democrats use shutdowns several times in the last
few years to the detriment of the American people, and
so one of the things we're going to need to
do is before October first, ensure that we aren't in
that situation again. It's going to take us pushing that
through and hopefully Democrats working with us to fund the government.

(08:31):
So that'll be that'll be one of the top of
the one of the items at the top of the
list when we return.

Speaker 1 (08:36):
You did the right thing in the House with the
Say Act. I'm not optimistic that it's going to pass
in the Senate though. I mean, it just looks.

Speaker 2 (08:45):
Like, well, yeah, the Senate's still there this week. This
may be their last day, or they could stay to
take up some of the important pieces of legislation that
we pushed to them. One was another Budget Reconciliation Act,
which would implement the Save Act. Yeah, and that's what
the fourth time we passed it in the House, and

(09:08):
they're talking about potentially doing that. So it's going to
be interesting to see what happens in the Senate today.
But we need them to pass not only the Save Act,
but that bill also included some additional funding for military.
They need to They should pass the CR before they
leave town as well. So yeah, we hope they have

(09:29):
a really productive day or perhaps stay in town and
there until they're able to get some of these things done. Amen.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
Congressman Lloyd Smucker, thank you so much for joining us,
and we'll look forward to speaking to you in September.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
Thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
Always a pleasure. Take care, Congressman Lloyd Smucker. It is
now seven forty six