Camden, NJ - Friday, Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01) and Democratic Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (MD-5) got a first-hand look at South Jersey workers at their best.

The Congressmen, along with Camden Mayor Dana Redd toured the Port of Camden and Camden Iron & Metal, now known as EMR, and watched hard-working laborers process recycled metals for export to countries around the globe.

“This is American business and industry at its finest,” said Rep. Norcross during the tour. 

Whip Hoyer, the architect of the “Make It In America” initiative, wanted to see this work in action, and accepted an invitation from Rep. Norcross to visit the area.

Hoyer’s “Make It In America” plan explores public-private investment to create new jobs and foster economic growth opportunities for local workers & communities across the United States.

In an interview to reporters streamed live on Periscope via Rep. Norcoss’ Twitter feed, Whip Hoyer referenced an earlier on-site conversation with Rep. Norcross at EMR amid heaps of mangled metal being prepared for processing, saying: “Don kept saying, this isn’t pretty. Oh yeah, this IS pretty. It’s not so much the superficial, as it is the substance. The job creation, the families that are served, the families that are stable.”

The Congressmen also toured the future site of Holtec International, which recently broke ground on a world class, $260 million state-of-the-art technology center on the Camden Waterfront that will span over 47 acres and employ as many as 2,000 craft laborers during construction and 1,000 skilled workers from across South Jersey.

Next week, Rep. Norcross intends to introduce the Workers Opportunity Retraining Competitive Grant Act of 2015. WORC creates a scholarship of up to $2,000 to unemployed or displaced workers, so they can transition into skilled manufacturing positions.

“The manufacturing industry is what made this country great. Efforts like this will make our workforce great again.”

This builds on recent commitments to South Jersey including the designation of Camden as a “Promise Zone,” as well as Rep. Norcross’s  joint announcement with Congressional colleagues last month regarding  a multi-million dollar grant that invests in job training for local students and workers.

Harry Hagan, the director of marine operations at EMR summed up the spirit of today’s tour, telling the Congressmen and Mayor Redd, “For the first time in 26 years I see people walking .. and they’re walking a little different. They’re walking a little taller and their heads are up.”