Manufacturing.Gov Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6290) to provide for the establishment of a section of the website of the Department of Commerce that shall serve as the primary hub for information relating to Federal manufacturing programs, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6290

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Manufacturing.gov Act''. SEC. 2. MANUFACTURING.GOV HUB.

(a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce.

(b) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Commerce, shall modify the manufacturing.gov website by establishing a section of the website to be known as the ``manufacturing.gov hub''.

(c) Functions.--The manufacturing.gov hub established under subsection (b) shall--

(1) serve as the primary hub for information relating to every Federal manufacturing program, including the programs identified in the report of the Government Accountability Office entitled ``U.S. Manufacturing'' (GAO 17-240), published on March 28, 2017;

(2) provide the contact information of relevant program offices carrying out the Federal manufacturing programs described in paragraph (1);

(3) provide an avenue for public input and feedback relating to--

(A) the functionality of the website of the Department of Commerce;

(B) the Federal manufacturing programs described in paragraph (1); and

(C) any other manufacturing-related challenges experienced by manufacturers in the United States;

(4) establish web pages within the hub that shall focus on--

(A) technology and research and development;

(B) trade;

(C) workforce development and training;

(D) industrial commons and supply chains; and

(E) small and medium manufacturers; and

(5) use machine learning to--

(A) identify frequently asked questions; and

(B) disseminate to the public answers to the questions identified under subparagraph (A).

(d) No Additional Funds.--No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of carrying out this section.

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Mr. PALLONE. 6290.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 6290, the Manufacturing.gov Act.

America's competitiveness helped build the largest, most dynamic economy in the world. But America's competitiveness is facing unprecedented challenges.

Once the envy of the world, our manufacturing base has faced steady headwinds for decades now. Between 2002 and 2020, our Nation's share of global manufacturing activity declined from 28 percent to just over 17 percent. Five million manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2000. Investment in America's small and medium manufacturers, the bedrock of our industrial might, has also declined over the last 20 years by over $200 billion.

To support economic growth and opportunity, we must ensure that the United States has a vibrant, thriving industrial base. It must be capable of developing the technologies and manufacturing the products essential for economic development and prosperity in the 21st century. Fortunately, there are dozens of programs across the Federal Government that provide support for American manufacturing, but today, there is no centralized repository of information about these programs.

Manufacturing programs cannot have their intended effect if not used, and programs cannot be used if potential beneficiaries are not aware that they exist.

The Manufacturing.gov Act requires the Department of Commerce to ensure that the Manufacturing.gov website serves as the primary hub for information relating to Federal manufacturing programs. This critical web page will arm beneficiaries with the information they need to tap into these vital manufacturing programs.

The Manufacturing.gov Act was unanimously reported out of the Committee on Energy and Commerce by a vote of 54-0 in July.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this on a bipartisan basis. It is certainly a goal of this Congress to bring back manufacturing and do whatever we can to encourage domestic manufacturing.

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