U.S. Representative Sandy Levin
12th District of Michigan

 
House of Representatives - September 21, 2005  
 
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY COMPETITIVENESS ACT OF 2005
 
 
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to say, listening to this debate, to the gentleman from Georgia; to my friend from Michigan; to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the chairman of the Committee on Rules; and to the Speaker of the House; and to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), this is outrageous. You have no excuse. Three million manufacturing jobs lost in the last 4 years or so, another 110,000 the first 8 months, and you will not allow a debate on an amendment that relates to manufacturing, the ATP amendment of Mr. Honda's.
This shows two things: number one, an abuse of power. This is no longer the House of the people. This is the House of people who mistake autocracy for democracy. Secondly, do not stand up with your platitudes about caring about manufacturing when you will not even allow us to debate a bill that relates to an instrumentality. What has ATP done? Oh, not industrial policy. It has funded path-finding research in composites, high temperature superconductors, next-generation liquid crystal displays, and low-cost manufacturing for digital mammography which is in the news every day now. And you will not even debate it. It is a shame.

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