This week, I joined Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on a trip to North Carolina where we saw firsthand how critical innovation is to our economy. He heard from business leaders and university presidents at Research Triangle Park and visited Corning Incorporated’s optical fiber manufacturing plant in Wilmington.
At Research Triangle Park, one of the country’s largest R&D centers, Secretary Geithner engaged in a discussion about accelerating economic growth, putting more Americans back to work, and helping U.S. companies compete in the global marketplace. He emphasized the need for Congress to pass the package of investments and tax incentives in the American Jobs Act.
The infrastructure provisions alone – some of which will be up for debate in the Senate next week – would propel almost $800 million worth of transportation projects to fix roads, rails, bridges and airports in North Carolina.
Later, he toured Corning’s Wilmington facility, which is the world’s largest fiber optics manufacturing facility. While there, the Secretary saw each step of the production process and had the chance to meet men and women who have been working at the plant since it started manufacturing fiber nearly three decades ago. Today, this facility supports more than 1,000 high-tech manufacturing jobs and exports more than half of the fiber it produces to countries around the world. Its cutting edge technology, culture of innovation, and dedicated workforce is indicative of the enduring strength of our economy.
As the Wilmington Star News reported, “Geithner's visit to Corning was a chance to highlight the importance of the nation's information infrastructure.” Infrastructure is about more than planes, trains, and automobiles. For example, optical fiber – which is capable of moving massive amounts of information at the speed of light – is crucial to meeting the advanced communication needs of the 21st century. The President’s jobs plan includes projects that would connect communities and classrooms to high speed internet and increase demand for the kind of optical fiber that is manufactured in Wilmington.
Before heading back to Washington, Secretary Geithner sat for an interview with CBS’ Norah O’Donnell. Speaking to the need for Congress to act to strengthen growth and create jobs he said, “If they act on these proposals then growth will be stronger, unemployment will be lower, and more Americans will be back to work.”
This trip was a reminder that we are a country that invents, creates, and builds things here – things the world needs. It was also a reminder that next week, when the Senate takes up the next slate of provisions of the American Jobs Act, they face a critical opportunity to keep our economy running at its full potential and help businesses in North Carolina and across the country compete at their best.
Victoria Suarez-Palomo is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Business Affairs and Public Liaison.