Lieberman toured the Mount Vernon Mills Arkwright plant, which makes fabric for work gloves, blankets and linens. Lieberman told workers the nation has lost 2.4 million manufacturing jobs in the past 2š years, and South Carolina has lost about 53,000 of those jobs.

The plant employs 138 hourly employees and 28 salary, said plant manager Bob Hayes. Many of those employees have watched other manufacturing plants disappear over the years and are fearful for their own jobs.

"We hear about it every day and think we could be next," said department manager Becky Inman.

Lieberman said Bush has ignored China's currency manipulations that keep product prices and labor costs artificially low.

"If we don't do something to stop the bleeding, to protect and rebuild the manufacturing sector, not only are we not going to be the economy we want to be, we're not going to be the country we want to be," Lieberman told workers.

He said he plans to introduce legislation next week that would give the White House 90 days to negotiate an end to China's currency under-valuation.

At an earlier stop, he questioned the spike in gasoline prices. According to the federal Energy Information Administration, they jumped 5.7 cents from last week.

In South Carolina the average is $1.499, the lowest in the nation but only 8 cents from the all-time high of $1.576 March 14.

Lieberman suggested the Bush administration, with its close ties to the oil industry, has not kept a close enough watch on prices.

"I find it suspicious that prices are jumping so dramatically just before one of the busiest driving weekends of the year," he said.

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