Portland Man Plays Starring Role Tuesday in Legislators' Visit

By Cassandra Day

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Richard Blumenthal stopped by a Middletown precision aerospace parts manufacturer to highlight to need to pass the Manufacturing Reinvestment Account Act.

The legislation would allow businesses like the family owned Pegasus Manufacturing to reinvestment account to reinvest profits into their business tax-free.

Chris DiPentima, president of Pegasus, offered the pair a tour of the facility, stopping at the work station of John Sullivan of Portland.

Not only is Sullivan a toolmaker, DiPentima told the legislators, but he was the captain of Xavier High School's 1971 undefeated football team and was just inducted into the Middletown Sports Hall of Fame.

Saying DeLauro and Blumenthal were in the presence of "sports royalty," DiPentima added that Xavier's '71 squad won 41 games in a row. "He reminds us of that every day," he joked.

Sullivan showed the duo how he makes fuel gauges, or blade and vanes, which measures the volume of air that goes through a direct opening for jet engines.

"It really is the time to focus on jobs and the economic growth," Blumenthal said. Earlier, Pegasus reps told the lawmakers that they work with Connecticut's science, technology, engineering and math career center to target middle schoolers. 

“This (legislation) gets them a bigger return on their hard-earned dollars, ultimately creating jobs and boosting the economy," DeLauro said. We must support domestic manufacturing, a key part of Connecticut’s economy since Eli Whitney’s era.”

Blumenthal said: “This bill is a spark plug to jump start investment in a key sector of our local and national economy, growing jobs and supporting industry nationwide. Manufacturers like Pegasus are central to our economic growth, producing specialized products that propel global industry, using high-skilled labor and innovative technology that is second to none.”

Graduates of technical high schools earn a degree that often guarantees them a good job in the industry — in which average pay is $70,000 annually, DeLauro and Blumenthal learned.

Last March, Blumenthal joined managers, employees and workforce development leaders at Pegasus in Middletown to spotlight a $10 million federal investment in Connecticut’s advanced manufacturing workforce.

The legislation would enable manufacturers to open a MRA, similar to an IRA in a community bank. They would be able to make annual pre-tax contributions of up to $500,000 into these accounts, for a period of seven years. Funds withdrawn from the account could be invested in machinery, facilities and job training.