U.S Manufacturing Needs Senate to Defend Jobs
By Kevin Marks, President of Lock Joint Tube
As someone who has spent nearly three decades building American manufacturing, I've witnessed firsthand both the challenges and opportunities in our energy sector. Since joining Lock Joint Tube in 2006, I've watched our company grow from a traditional steel manufacturer to a key player in America's energy infrastructure, employing 600 workers across Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, and Ohio.
Today, a quarter of our business comes from solar energy—a sector that didn't exist for us just ten years ago. We roll steel torque tubes that form the backbone of solar tracking systems, the infrastructure that helps solar panels follow the sun and maximize energy generation. This transformation didn't happen by accident. It was made possible by federal policy that encouraged American manufacturing while advancing our energy security.
Now, the solar industry has been a bright spot for us. Every pun intended. America’s clean energy investments have delivered tangible results for American workers and manufacturers. Our South Bend facility, which employs 250 Hoosiers, benefits from the 45X advanced manufacturing tax credit for the torque tubes we produce. These aren't abstract policy discussions—they're paychecks for families in Indiana and across the heartland.
But now, this progress faces an unnecessary threat. The House Budget Reconciliation Bill would abruptly reverse course, cutting off energy tax credits prematurely, potentially stranding hundreds of billions in investments and eliminating up to 2 million American jobs. This isn't just bad economics; it would hand competitive advantages back to China just as America is finally starting to gain ground.
The Senate has an opportunity to chart a more responsible course—one that protects existing investments while providing business certainty.
Abrupt policy reversals, chaos, and uncertainty hurt American business. Companies like ours make long-term investment decisions based on stable policy frameworks. Sudden changes don't just affect our bottom line—they affect our workers' job security and our ability to compete globally.
America's energy security depends on reliable domestic supply chains. Over 70% of power capacity that can be deployed in the next three years comes from renewable sources. With electricity demand growing rapidly, driven in part by data centers essential to America's AI leadership, we need all available resources to keep the lights on and maintain our technological edge.
Additionally, we must ensure American incentives benefit American workers, not Chinese competitors. The Senate proposal should include restrictions that would prevent Chinese controlled companies from benefiting from American taxpayer investments, but also needs to avoid unnecessary harm to domestic manufacturing with unworkable restrictions that would make producing anything in America impossible.
This isn't a Republican or Democratic issue—it's an American competitiveness issue. Manufacturing jobs in Indiana don't care about party affiliation, and neither do the families who depend on them. What matters is that we continue building domestic supply chains that reduce our dependence on foreign competitors while creating good-paying jobs at home.
China didn't build its manufacturing sector overnight, and America won't rebuild ours by constantly changing the rules. We need steady, predictable policies that give businesses the confidence to invest in American workers and American communities.
The choice before the Senate is clear: support measured reforms that protect investments and workers, or allow the House bill to potentially eliminate millions of good-paying jobs and cede our hard-won manufacturing gains back to our foreign adversaries.
As someone who has spent my career building things in America, I urge senators from both parties to choose the path that strengthens our economy, secures our energy future, and keeps American manufacturing competitive on the global stage. Our workers, our communities, and our national security depend on getting this right.
Kevin Marks is President of Lock Joint Tube, a steel manufacturing company with facilities in Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, and Ohio.