House Approves Bipartisan Bill To Boost American Manufacturing Competitiveness and Job Growth

Statement

The House of Representatives today continued its efforts to grow the economy and create jobs by passing the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, H.R. 5865, by a vote of 339 to 77. This bipartisan legislation, authored by Reps. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), will develop a plan to help promote job growth and make American manufacturing more competitive.

The Act will establish a public-private American Manufacturing Competitiveness Board to advise the president on manufacturing issues and conduct a rigorous analysis of America's manufacturing sector. The Board will also develop and submit to the president a national manufacturing competitiveness strategy, which will help eliminate red tape, encourage investment, and create more American manufacturing jobs.

"Statistics show the manufacturing sector was the hardest hit in terms of job losses during the Great Recession. While manufacturing accounts for just a tenth of our nation's jobs, manufacturing has suffered a third of our nation's job losses," said Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Mary Bono Mack (R-CA). "We have a chance now to reverse this trend, and I applaud the hard work of Mr. Lipinski and Mr. Kinzinger in developing a bipartisan plan for improving manufacturing in the United States."

"The American people are tired of stalemates, they are ready for action and they are ready for both parties to focus their energy on the people who elected them. Now is the time to act, before this window of opportunity for a manufacturing renaissance passes us by. I'm proud of this legislation and think it's a strong first step in finding solutions to help our nation's economy," said Kinzinger.

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