Pella — Five of the Republican presidential candidates each spent 15 minutes today taking questions about what they would do to improve manufacturing in America.

The National Association of Manufacturers' Republican Presidential Forum on Manufacturing was held Nov. 1 at the Vermeer Global Pavilion in Pella, Iowa. Mary Vermeer Andringa, Chairman of the NAM Board, and President of Pella-based Vermeer Manufacturing, welcomed approximately 400 business professionals, students and other visitors to the event.

With pieces of Vermeer's heavy manufacturing equipment as a background, the candidates took questions from "PBS Nightly Business Report" host Tom Hudson and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R).

The questions focused on external factors that affect American manufacturing, including energy, regulations and the state of the American workforce. Manufacturing has lost two million workers in the past four years, though 60 percent of the country's exports remain manufactured goods. There are 12 million American jobs tied to manufacturing.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was the first candidate to be interviewed. He quickly shifted from addressing manufacturing specifically to his plan to create jobs. Perry opened the door to blaming government regulations for America's struggling economy. This was a common theme among all of the candidates.

"We're not building what is being innovated here," former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum said.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, of Minnesota, took the discussion further and blamed overzealous litigation for holding America back.

"I see lawsuit abuse all around me," Bachmann said.

She believes tort reform is necessary to improve America's manufacturing economy. As for Texas Congressman Ron Paul, his belief is that America's monetary system needs to be addressed to improve the economy.

"The biggest (American) export is money," Paul said. He added that consumption is our disease, stemming from America's tax, regulatory and monetary policies.

"You can go down the list," former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said regarding the regulatory burdens facing American employers. Gingrich mocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for trying to punish farmers for raising dust into the air on a dirt road. He went on to blame the National Labor Relations Board and others for being unfriendly to business.

When the discussion turned to energy policy, all of the candidates indicated they support expanded drilling and utilizing the natural resources America has instead of importing oil and energy resources from other countries. They blamed the U.S. government for making it difficult for these natural resources to be accessed. Gingrich said he would create a new EPA to encourage expansion of business opportunities.

"I'm an 'all of the above' energy guy," Perry said. Bachmann used the same phrase. "I'm more focused on the job creation that comes with domestic energy creation," Perry added.

Santorum, who voted against ethanol tax credits, believes in a national energy policy and that America can drill its way to lower oil, and thus gasoline, prices.

The candidates were asked for their thoughts on the role of government in promoting businesses. They felt that the government should not "pick winners and losers," but instead should facilitate and help promote research and development by private businesses. They felt the best way to promote American businesses is to reduce tax burdens.

"Let's quit punishing Americans for making money," Perry said.

 Santorum was the first candidate to blame "uncertainty in what the federal government is doing" as a barrier to business. He, and other candidates feel it is necessary for the federal government to provide certainty regarding the government's portion of operational costs. All of the candidates support repealing the "Affordable Health Care Act," referred to by the candidates as "Obamacare." They also support repealing the Dodd-Frank bill, which impacted the way banks do business.

Every candidate but Paul discussed a broader range of policies and issues currently facing voters. Paul's statements stuck to fiscal policy and how the strength or weakness of the dollar is dependent upon the Federal Reserve.

"There's a limit to how much weight you can put on the dollar," Paul said.

George Gussack, a manufacturer from another early voting state, Nevada, said he liked the event. He was most impressed by Perry and Gingrich.

With the major topic of the forum as manufacturing, the chord struck home with Newton, Iowa, Mayor Chaz Allen. Allen saw Maytag leave his town when it was sold to Whirlpool, which announced it was cutting hundreds of other jobs this week.

"It's one thing to campaign and another to govern," Allen said. "I think they did a good job of answering questions, but when they get there, they'll have 535 other people to get it past."

Pella Christian High School student Aubree Else attended the forum with her class. She found the event very interesting. The candidates discussed the need for an educated workforce, especially a need for more engineers in America. Else agreed that more science and technology education in school would be beneficial.

"In some cases, it would be a good thing," Else said. Each candidate was on stage individually with the hosts, which may make it difficult to name a winner. Dr. Andrew Green, Political Science Professor at Central College in Pella, said if he had to pick a winner of today's forum, it would either be Gingrich or Santorum, who seemed to resonate with the crowd at times.

"It was nice hearing those folks on the stage one at a time," Green said. "I thought it was a great forum."

The forum was broadcast live. Video of the event is available at www.iptv.org. The Iowa Caucus is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2012.

Look for more on the forum in the November 4 Journal-Express.