September 21, 2013

The Milford Daily News: Warren praises innovation on tour of EMC in Franklin

In her first visit to the Milford area since her campaign, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, got a firsthand look at the state’s innovation economy at work, touring the EMC Corp. facility here.

By: Matt Tota
The Milford Daily News
September 21, 2013

In her first visit to the Milford area since her campaign, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, got a firsthand look at the state's innovation economy at work, touring the EMC Corp. facility here.

As Capitol Hill prepares for another budget fight, Warren has been crisscrossing the state to learn in part how Massachusetts residents view issues such as proposed federal budget cuts.

The senator met privately with EMC executives for nearly a half an hour before touring the manufacturing floor, where technicians build the high-capacity data storage systems that have become the Hopkinton-based company's bread and butter.
Speaking afterward to a fraction of EMC's 10,000 Massachusetts employees, Warren said the proposed cuts represent a "smart country doing an incredibly stupid thing."

"These are cuts that make no sense at all," she said.
Later, Warren reacted to Friday's news that the GOP-controlled House passed a spending measure that includes a provision to cut off funding for President Obama's health care reform law.
A battle is expected in the Senate over the measure - as Democrats will try to remove the provision - and more inaction could lead to a partial shutdown of the government.

"They can vote as many times as they want to get rid of Obamacare," Warren said, referring to House Republicans. "They don't have the majority of the people."

Of the looming fight, she said, "We cannot hold our country and our country's economy hostage."

Democrats and Republicans have to end this stalemate, she said. "We need to pass a budget," she said. "That is the responsible thing to do. It is the responsible thing to do for our economy; it is the responsible thing to do for our country."

Joining Warren were state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, and Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland.

"I'm glad that Sen. Warren came here to Franklin," Roy said. "This is the largest manufacturing facility that EMC has in the East Coast."

Read the full story here.