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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MANUFACTURING LEADERSHIP ACT
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HON. TOM REED
of new york
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Mr. REED. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support for the
Manufacturing USA Programs, the Manufacturing Institutes and their role
in advancing U.S. Manufacturing.
These programs are the only ones of their kind in this country
designed to bring business partners together in full collaboration,
built to foster communities of innovators and entrepreneurs, and
equipped to move specific new technologies into the manufacturing
mainstream. We need these types of communities to propel advanced
manufacturing out of the research labs and into the marketplace. The
United States is a global leader in scientific and engineering
research, but we are lagging in taking that research into the
marketplace. The Manufacturing USA program has shown that the time to
market can be greatly reduced in the right environment.
In the four short years of their existence, 14 Manufacturing
Institutes have entered separate technology areas key to our future
competitiveness. The partners in these institutes contribute matching
funds equal to or greater than the government share. At the end of
2017, the matching funds were already being invested at $1.50 for every
$1 investment from the federal government, speaking to the enthusiasm
of the industry participation.
More importantly, 844 manufacturing firms and 297 educational
institutions were participating in the collective institutes along with
150 other entities, such as state and local governments.
In the years since that report, the Manufacturing USA program has
reached a spending match of $2 for every $1 of federal funding, with
1,300 member organizations across the institutes, supporting 270 major
collaborative industry-led R&D projects, and offered training
opportunities for more than 200,000 people.
As a result, global competition in the manufacturing sector is
growing tremendously. Several of our international competitors have
focused government-supported efforts to develop their industrial
sectors and commercialization strategies.
The European Union's Horizon 2020 program invested 80 billion Euros
in funding over 7 years and a follow-on program is in development.
Germany's Fraunhofer Society, established in 1949, currently includes
72 institutes focused on applied research and development across
various technology domains relevant to manufacturing. In 2017, the
Fraunhofer Society budget totaled about $2.6 billion, with about $2.25
billion in contract research. 30 percent of this budget comes from
government funds, and 70 percent from private.
China has set advancing manufacturing as one of their six top
priorities and is on the path to opening 40 manufacturing institutes by
2025. The country is following the plan set by the Manufacturing USA
program.
Korea (a country less than 1/6 the size of the USA) is spending $291M
on the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), established in
1989 to strengthen their small and mid-sized manufacturing base.
The list goes on: Japan, Singapore, the UK, and others are all
heavily investing in manufacturing.
This is why The Manufacturing USA program is so important--because it
is our best effort to respond strategically as a nation to this
mounting competition. The program allows the United States to focus its
resources on high-value industries and ensure future leadership around
the globe.
In December 2017, the White House published a National Security
Strategy of the United States which states, ``Economic security is
national security'' and calls out the need to lead in research,
technology, invention, and innovation.
In response, the National Institute of Standards and Technology
reached out to our countrymen and women and reported on how we can
better come together as a country and make use of our government
investments. They reported 5 strategies to transfer the results of
Federal research and development investments to the benefit of our
country's commercial, economic, and national security interests. This
report is the most extensive of its kind to explore the value of
Federal US research investments.
Furthermore, the Manufacturing USA program is uniquely positioned to
address and is addressing the following 4 strategies: Private sector
engagement, Entrepreneurial workforce, Tools and services for
technology transfer, and Understanding of global science and technology
trends and benchmarks.
The groundwork for this program has been laid. The strategy for
supporting our industrial base and securing our economic future has
been thought through. We must continue our support for this program to
safeguard our continued prosperity. I urge you all to support this bill
to extend the term of federal funding for the Manufacturing USA program
and to expand on the government-private partnerships operating under
the program.
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