Standing in front of rows of tractors and heavy equipment at a longtime North Alabama family business, U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) picked up the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday in his bid for another term representing Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District.
The endorsement was announced at Huntsville Tractor & Equipment on Research Park Boulevard, a business Strong said has been operated by the Crane family for more than three generations and grown into what he described as the largest single-store Kubota dealership in the country.
For Strong, the location provided a fitting backdrop for a campaign event centered on business, jobs and North Alabama’s continued growth.
“What’s even better is to be right here at a family business in North Alabama,” Strong said. “It’s been here for more than three generations. And what they built this to. But capitalism is alive and well here.”
Moore Hallmark, vice president and managing director of regional government affairs for the U.S. Chamber, said the organization was again backing Strong because of his record on issues important to employers and the business community.
“He’s become a friend of ours at the Chamber. He’s a leader in Washington,” Hallmark said. “And it’s our goal every year in every election cycle to elect the most pro-business Congress we can.”
Hallmark pointed specifically to Strong’s positions on taxes and regulation.
“Congressman Strong, he’s got a strong business vote with us and is supportive of the issues that are important to us, from lowering taxes for families and businesses and cutting regulatory red tape that helps our economy grow, that creates jobs, that makes our community stronger,” Hallmark said.
The endorsement is the Chamber’s third for Strong. The organization backed him during his first congressional campaign in 2022 and again in 2024. Strong has also received the Chamber’s Advocate for American Business Award.
Strong said the endorsement reflects what he sees happening throughout the district.
“To have this endorsement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, it’s just, it’s just a great honor,” Strong said. “And again, it shows our businesses are thriving here locally. We’ve still got work to do. And that’s exactly what I hope to do in another term in Washington, D.C.”
He pointed around the dealership to make the connection between the region’s larger economic-development wins and businesses serving the construction and agriculture industries.
“You look right here. The Crane family that owns this business right here understands what this equipment means,” Strong said. “When we’re growing jobs here, that means there’s more construction, there’s more dirt to be moved. They’ve got the equipment to do that.”
Strong said North Alabama is positioned for more growth, particularly as major federal missions expand at Redstone Arsenal.
“We’re going to continue to grow,” he said. “You looked at it, whether it’s roads, whether it’s businesses, we’ve got the right mixture.”
The campaign stop followed an early-morning appearance on Monday, when Strong delivered his annual Washington Update before a sold-out crowd of more than 1,000 at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber breakfast in the Von Braun Center’s Saturn Ballroom.
There, Strong moved from the small-business backdrop of Huntsville Tractor & Equipment to the multibillion-dollar federal programs helping drive North Alabama’s economy, touching on missile production, U.S. Space Command, Golden Dome and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Asked about concerns over U.S. missile inventories following recent military operations, Strong said North Alabama’s defense industry is already being pushed to replenish those stocks.
“North Alabama is doing everything in its power to fill our clip,” Strong said.
He pointed specifically to increased PAC-3 missile interceptor production and credited the region’s defense workforce with expanding capacity.
“We doubled the capacity of the PAC-3,” Strong said. “It’s the people in this room that made that happen.”
Strong said the broader defense manufacturing base is now operating at a pace he has not seen before.
“We’ve used a lot, but I can tell you right here our advanced manufacturing is being pushed at a level never pushed before,” Strong said. “And I think that our finest hours are still ahead, and our community plays a large role in that.”
With the Artemis II astronauts also in Huntsville on Monday, Strong reiterated his support for NASA’s Space Launch System and Marshall Space Flight Center.
“Our fingerprints, our DNA is all over SLS,” Strong said. “And I think right now what we ought to do is be lining up even more missions for SLS.”
Strong also said the relocation of U.S. Space Command to Redstone Arsenal is moving smoothly and predicted North Alabama will play a major role in Golden Dome.
He recounted a recent Oval Office conversation with President Donald Trump in which, according to Strong, the president told him to prepare for an expanded Huntsville role.
“He said, ‘But get ready and get focused on Golden Dome, because Huntsville and North Alabama is going to get a bigger piece of the pie than you even know,’” Strong said.
“North Alabama, Golden Dome is on the horizon, and we’re going to play a huge part in it.”
Strong also provided an update on the planned national veterans cemetery in North Alabama, saying federal and state commitments now total approximately $33.5 million for the project near U.S. 72 and Ryland Pike.
“When you see the schematics in this veterans cemetery, it is going to make our community proud,” Strong said. “And our veterans deserve it.”
Strong, first elected to Congress in 2022, serves on the House Appropriations Committee and chairs the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology.
Courtesy of 256 Today
