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40 SMT Magazine • July 2017 IMPACT Interviews the industry are doing similar things—compa- nies are different sizes, in different locations— but the headaches we're dealing with are pret- ty much the same, like workforce development, skills gap, over-regulation, taxes, healthcare, all those things. Goldman: Hearing it from all over the country has got to make an impression. Heath: Yes. My guess is it's not the first time they've heard any of these issues pop up. They probably would hear it as they talk to other in- dustries as well. IPC will be presenting two awards tonight to senators. Goldman: Excellent. We'll have two people from the Senate hearing from us and we'll be hearing from them. It's really a two-way street. You pick up a lot from them and we learn their views and a little inside info on the workings on the Hill. Heath: Then tomorrow we're going to head to the Hill. Go pound the message into the Sen- ate, I guess. We'll have some group sessions and then I'll stay over tomorrow afternoon and I'll have some meetings with individuals from Tex- as and Wisconsin, which is where we have our facilities. Goldman: You'll be able to speak with both. That's wonderful. Heath: That's the hope. That's what they (IPC staff) are trying to get set up. Goldman: You can imagine all the other indus- try groups that are also pulling at them, which has got to make it tough for scheduling. That's why we don't always get to speak to the sena- tors and representatives themselves. Heath: That's so true. But it's amazing when you get them out into your facilities. Over the last four or five months now, we've had the staffers from several of our Congressmen's office come through our Texas and Wisconsin facilities. We had Congressman Michael McCaul come through the Austin facility. That was great— we're getting in front of them. When they come through and look at it they're saying, "We had no idea this is what electronics manufacturing was like." They had no clue. Goldman: It's possible they've never been in manufacturing facility at all. They think it's go- ing to be dirty and smelly and rough; manufac- turing is a dirty word to them, I suppose. Heath: Well, they see the pictures of the facil- ities where people are putting stuff down by hand. That's what they think you're doing. Scott Pruitt greets Shane Whiteside. Alexander Gray, special assistant to the president.