Two Perriello co-sponsored bills pass as part of "Make it in America" initiative

Press Release

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed three more bills to create jobs and support American manufacturing as part of House Democrats' new "Make it in America" initiative. The House passed the National Manufacturing Strategy Act and the End the Trade Deficit Act, both co-sponsored by Rep. Tom Perriello, as well as the Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Act. These bills will promote the competitiveness of the American manufacturing sector and support the millions of American jobs in manufacturing. All three bills passed with wide bipartisan support.

"After more than a year of fighting for a plan to boost American manufacturing and construction, I am glad to see the House pass the first major pieces of the "Make it in America' agenda. We must start making, building, and growing things in America, so I'm glad to see progress towards a National Manufacturing Strategy and the End the Trade Deficit Act," said Rep. Perriello. "A strong manufacturing sector puts Americans back to work, and if we level the playing field with China, Americans will win. I never expected there would be so much resistance in Washington to supporting the American worker, but we are overcoming that to produce a path to progress for American jobs."

Rep. Perriello is an original co-sponsor of the National Manufacturing Strategy Act (HR 4692), a bill that will result in America's first national plan to enhance the global competitiveness of American-made products and create good-paying manufacturing jobs. For too long, federal efforts to support manufacturing have been inefficiently spread over several agencies, with policies too often reacting to problems instead of proactively supporting American industry. The forward-looking National Manufacturing Strategy will be developed with input from federal and state government representatives, as well as the private sector. The bill has the support of private groups representing business and labor, including the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Association of Manufacturing Technology, the AFL-CIO and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Rep. Perriello is also a co-sponsor of the End the Trade Deficit Act (HR 1875). The Act establishes the Commission to End the Trade Deficit which will identify the structural causes of America's long-running trade deficit, which totals $6.4 trillion over the last 30 years. The Commission will then make recommendations on ways to reduce deficits, policy changes to level the playing field for American manufacturers, enhance competitiveness, and more efficiently coordinated federal efforts to reduce trade deficits.

The Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Act will boost the competiveness of the U.S. clean technology industry in both domestic and international markets. The bill will help American clean technology firms connect with new overseas markets, and boost domestic manufacturing through measures to reduce production costs and encourage innovation and investment on our shores.

Reviving America's manufacturing sector is a top priority for Rep. Perriello. So far, he has:

* voted to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas
* provided support and resources for workers whose jobs are outsourced
* opposed expansions of NAFTA-style free trade agreements
* won inclusion of Virginian-made products in the Home Star energy efficiency bill
* secured federal funding to support manufacturing specifically in Central and Southern Virginia, including infrastructure upgrades in several industrial parks and educational programs to prepare workers and share manufacturing best-practices
* fought to include "Buy American" provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
* supported tax credits for research and development

Last week Rep. Perriello joined with his colleagues to introduce House Democrats' new "Make it in America" initiative. "Make it in America" will provide incentives for manufacturing investment in the U.S., create a level playing field for U.S. manufacturers, improve U.S. infrastructure, and strengthen the labor pool through improved education and training programs.

He voted for the first bill of "Make it in America," the U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act which passed with broad, bipartisan support. The Act reduces and suspends certain tariffs on components so that American made products are priced more competitively on the global market. The House is expected to take up several bills as part of the "Make it in America" initiative over the coming weeks.

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