Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of this bill, I rise in enthusiastic support of H.R. 2996, the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act. The public-private partnerships created by this bill will help rebuild our Nation's manufacturing capacity and grow private sector investments in manufacturing.

I hail from Silicon Valley, the Nation's epicenter of technology and innovation. Right now, Silicon Valley is experiencing a manufacturing resurgence. Companies see the benefit of locating their manufacturing in areas with R&D and a high-tech workforce. Nearly 18 percent of Silicon Valley jobs are in manufacturing, and these advanced manufacturing jobs are high paying.

This bill will replicate some of the important qualities of Silicon Valley across this Nation. It will build partnerships between government, academia, and industry to address targeted manufacturing challenges.

I applauded President Obama when he first proposed a network of manufacturing innovation institutes, and I thank the cochairs of the Manufacturing Caucus, Mr. Reed and Mr. Kennedy, for authoring this legislation to authorize such a network.

I have worked with my Silicon Valley constituents to help build strong bipartisan backing of this bill, and I am glad we are on the floor considering it tonight. Hopefully, once this bill is enacted, we can win one of these hubs for Silicon Valley to focus on important

challenges like developing the next generation of semiconductor manufacturing tools.

This bill is an important step for countering the incentives that other countries are offering American innovators and manufacturers to relocate overseas. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2996 because it will help revitalize American manufacturing. It is a game-changer.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in enthusiastic support of H.R. 2996, the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act. As a proud cosponsor of this bill, I am pleased that the House is considering it today.

The Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act (RAMI) will help rebuild our nation's manufacturing capacity by creating public-private partnerships that will foster an environment in which the private sector is willing to invest in the strengths of our nation and American manufacturing will grow.

I applauded President Obama when he first proposed the creation of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation to improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, stimulate research and development, and increase domestic production. I supported his call for additional centers beyond those he initially proposed, worked in the Appropriations Committee to find funding for some centers, and have suggested to the President that at least one institute should be located in my Silicon Valley district.

Silicon Valley is known as the epicenter of technology and innovation in the United States. What is not as widely recognized is the extent to which Silicon Valley is also experiencing a manufacturing resurgence. Nearly 18 percent of Silicon Valley's jobs are in manufacturing, and that number is growing--the local manufacturing sector is projected to grow by 5 percent by 2018. These advanced manufacturing jobs are offering higher pay than nonmanufacturing jobs.

By being co-located with the research and development Silicon Valley is known for, these manufacturers are both boosting R&D investments and experiencing the benefits of more control of their manufacturing processes, quicker turnaround from research to product realization, higher quality, and greater intellectual property security.

The Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act seeks to replicate some of the important lessons from Silicon Valley around the nation. RAMI will build public-private partnerships through Centers for Manufacturing Innovation between higher education institutions and community colleges, small and large manufacturers, and government to promote best practices and address targeted advanced manufacturing challenges. These advanced manufacturing hubs will also address the skills gap by producing a next generation talent pool of skilled production workers and engineers by focusing on education, workforce training, research and development, and commercialization.

Despite its manufacturing successes, Silicon Valley still continues to experience higher than average unemployment, partly a result of the past outsourcing of manufacturing jobs due to low wages overseas and incentives offered by foreign competitors. With the passage of the RAMI Act, we can we look forward to hosting an advanced manufacturing hub, potentially focused on enabling the transition to the next-generation 450 mm silicon wafer semiconductor manufacturing tools, which would enable Silicon Valley to take advantage of its R&D excellence and bolster its manufacturing sector in new ways, helping us to recover some of those jobs lost to past outsourcing.

Over the past few years, I've been proud to work with House Manufacturing Caucus Co-chairs Reps. Tom Reed and Joe Kennedy on this authorization effort, along with Silicon Valley tech leaders and university stakeholders. I appreciate the willingness of some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who were key to building bipartisan support for this effort, particularly my Chairman on the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee Frank Wolf, to talk with us about this legislation and to join as cosponsors of this important bill.

Our competitors around the world are offering American innovators and manufacturers a wide range of incentives to relocate overseas. The RAMI Act will ensure that American innovation and technology development remain at the top of the manufacturing sector, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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