WASHINGTON, D.C., February 12, 2026 — Common Sense America President and Founder Steve Crim encouraged President Donald J. Trump to call for an American manufacturing renaissance, boost supply chain resilience, and catalyze infrastructure development during his upcoming State of the Union Address on February 24.
“To unleash a Golden Age in American manufacturing, we need to stop pushing investment and production overseas and focus on creating jobs right here at home,” wrote Crim, who recently launched the American Foundations project last November. “Your administration’s renewed focus on slashing red tape and reducing overly burdensome permitting policies is crucial to unleashing American mining, energy, and manufacturing dominance.”
The letter highlighted cement as one key building material that deserves considerable attention as the nation aims to ramp up its domestic manufacturing capacity.
Crim continued: “Cement is the backbone of American infrastructure. We can’t build our roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, airports, data centers, places of worship, and homes without it. Yet the cement industry faces significant challenges … In 2024, domestic cement production declined by 4%, while the U.S. imported nearly 25% of cement from untrustworthy foreign sources. Time and again, faulty imported products from countries like China have endangered Americans and weakened our nation. We can’t let the same situation unfold with cement.”
The letter closed with a potential roadmap to help solve the national cement shortage, grow America’s economy, and create new jobs across the country.
“Through your strong leadership, you can ensure that we have access to the critical construction materials we need and stand up for the American worker by setting Build America, Buy America standards for cement used in taxpayer funded infrastructure projects, requiring construction material importers to produce cement mill and ASTM quality assurance testing certificates for all imported materials, recognize cement as critical infrastructure, and ease permitting obstacles to new cement plant construction,”Crim concluded.
See here for the full letter.
About American Foundations
American Foundations, a project of Common Sense America, is committed to ensuring that our nation’s infrastructure is built on strong, reliable cement — made right here at home. Learn more at: strongamericanfoundations.org.