[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[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

                                 ______
                                 

                             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.

                          ____________________