GOP U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil says it’s “absolutely essential” to seize the opportunity presented by the overturning of the Chevron doctrine to reduce regulations on businesses.
Speaking yesterday during an Association of Equipment Manufacturers panel hosted in Milwaukee on the first day of the Republican National Convention, the Janesville lawmaker slammed the “burden that the regulatory state continues to place” on industry.
“We as legislators, in particular in the Senate and the House, have a huge opportunity to rightsize this,” he said. “We’ve seen, for example, the EPA really run roughshod over congressional intent. The Supreme Court is finally shifting that back to elected officials.”
The U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned a decades-old “Chevron doctrine,” under which the courts deferred to federal agencies’ interpretation of ambiguous laws. Steil described the move as a “lifeline” for elected officials, arguing the existing regulatory framework for businesses has been “stifling.”
“If you’re at a time when inflation is high, when costs are going up and it’s harder for families to afford the things that they need, we need to be focused in on Washington, on policies that bring cost and inflation down,” he said.
Kip Eideberg, senior vice president of government and industry relations for AEM, yesterday said U.S. equipment manufacturing is “stronger than it’s been in a generation” as production levels are up and construction of new factories is underway across the country.
He noted one third of the $70 billion economic impact in Wisconsin from manufacturing is linked to producing equipment.
When asked about the future of this industry in the state, Steil underlined the importance of the coming presidential election in November. He argued tax cuts enacted under then-President Trump “will be on the table” next year depending on the results of the election.
Steil also pointed to a research and development tax credit and the accelerated depreciation accounting method as two key policy elements.
“In a state like Wisconsin, which is a capital-intensive state, a heavy manufacturing state, that ability for accelerated depreciation has real-world implications on the decision of global businesses in particular to be investing in the United States,” he said.
While he touted the state’s workforce as an economic asset, he also called for better aligning the educational system with the needs of employers.
“That’s not really a federal answer because each state, as we would all know, is very different on what those workforce needs are,” he said. “But truly empowering the states to make those educational decisions are going to be essential.”
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