PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS MAKING OUR COUNTRY MORE SECURE BY REBUILDING OUR MILITARY AND REVITALIZING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 20, 2019 PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS MAKING OUR COUNTRY MORE SECURE BY REBUILDING OUR MILITARY AND REVITALIZING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING “Our economy is the envy of the world, our military is the most powerful on earth, and America is winning each and every day.” – President Donald J. Trump   REBUILDING OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE: President Donald J. Trump is working to rebuild our military and strengthen our defense industrial base. Today, President Trump is visiting the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, OH, America’s last remaining manufacturer of the Army’s main battle tank:  the M1A2 Abrams. The facility also builds the DCHA1 Stryker, an armored fighting vehicle that serves as the centerpiece of our military’s Stryker Brigade Combat Teams. The plant nearly went out of business under the Obama administration, but President Trump’s investment in our defense has revitalized it. President Trump requested 174 Abrams tanks in fiscal year (FY) 2019, and $714 million was invested in January to carry out his Administration’s request. The Lima plant has added more than 150 workers since the last year of the Obama administration, with plans to hire 400 more over the next year and a half.   The revitalized plant will directly employ more than 1,000 employees and support many more across the supply chain.     In Ohio alone, almost 200 suppliers will assemble parts and materials for these tanks. INVESTING IN OUR SECURITY: President Trump has made historic strides rebuilding our military in order to keep our Nation safe. President Trump signed legislation providing $700 billion for defense in FY 2018 and $716 billion in FY 2019. The President’s FY 2020 budget proposal continues this rebuilding by requesting $750 billion in defense spending. President Trump directed the first whole-of-government assessment of the United States manufacturing and defense supply chains since the Eisenhower Administration. Thanks to the President’s work, our military members have received their largest pay raise in nearly a decade. BRINGING BACK AMERICAN MANUFACTURING: The President is fulfilling his promise to bring back American manufacturing, creating more good paying jobs for American workers.  Thanks to the President’s pro-growth agenda, investments are pouring into American manufacturing by expanding and reopening existing factories and bringing more jobs. Since President Trump’s election, manufacturers have created nearly half a million jobs.   More than 260,000 manufacturing jobs were created last year alone. Manufacturing jobs are being created at six times the pace of the previous administration’s last two years.   According to a National Association of Manufacturers survey, manufacturer optimism soared to a record high last year. Blue-collar workers are on track to receive almost $2,500 more in annual wages. To protect our domestic industries and our national security, President Trump enacted tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. President Trump is supporting American manufacturing by pursuing new trade deals and renegotiating old ones that failed American workers.