Congress Developing Bipartisan Strategy on Manufacturing

Released June 9, 2011

Last year, U.S. House Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) introduced the bipartisan National Manufacturing Strategy Act, which passed the House by a vote of 379-38. Now, Lipinski has partnered with Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) on a new version of the act, H.R. 1366, which would require the president to establish a Manufacturing Strategy Board of federal officials, two state governors from different parties and private-sector manufacturing leaders. Every four years, the board will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the manufacturing sector covering matters ranging from financing to trade to the defense industrial base.

Based on this analysis and public input, the board will develop a strategy that includes making specific recommendations for bolstering American manufacturing to the president, Congress and industry. The board will assess the implementation of its recommendations annually, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office will conduct a separate review.

In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has teamed up with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) to introduce a slightly different bill, the National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2011. It would require the commerce secretary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the nation’s manufacturing sector and submit to Congress a national manufacturing strategy. The report should include an assessment of U.S. manufacturing capacity, including what goods are produced, where they are produced and in which sectors the U.S. is most competitive.

The U.S. Department of Commerce would coordinate manufacturing assessment and recommendations with other federal agencies, including the departments of defense, energy, labor and treasury, Small Business Administration, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. In addition, the report will include at least two public listening sessions that provide witnesses from manufacturing sectors, as well as a database of information derived from surveys of private manufacturers in order to understand how public policies can be tailored to promote manufacturing competitiveness.