COLUMBUS, Ind. — One of Columbus’ high-tech companies received a visit Thursday afternoon from Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana.
Indiana’s senior senator spoke with some of the 40 employees at Precise Tooling Solutions, a specialty manufacturer that builds and repairs injection tooling.
Young, who resides in Center Grove, told the workers at the Scott Drive facility that they are “on the front lines of a manufacturing revolution in this country.” He also emphasized it is important that the United States continue to lead the world in manufacturing.
When Precise Tooling Solutions CEO Don Dumoulin opened the floor for questions, Young heard a number questions that seem to reflect what is on the minds of many Americans.
“Do you see a time coming when the government will work together in a bipartisan and civil way going forward?” employee Ron Kraft asked.
Young replied that he has “incredibly principled disagreements” with both Democrats and Republicans, but different opinions should not obscure common ground that both major parties have or will discover.
For example, Young said he is now working with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York.
“It’s kind of a Felix and Oscar ‘Odd Couple’ situation, but Sen. Schumer and I have discovered we both dislike how China does business,” Young said.
That has led to a partnership between Young and Schumer on an effort to make sure the U.S. does basic research and development in cutting-edge technologies like robotics, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, the senator said. This partnership also invests in people, so Americans workers is capable of utilizing those technologies, he added.
For more on this story, and a photo of Sen. Mike Braun visiting Toyota Material Handling on Thursday, see Friday’s Republic.
