WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) spoke on the House Floor today in support of H.R. 5865, the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, a key part of House Democrats' Make It In America plan. The bill calls for the development of national manufacturing strategies in 2014 and 2018. Below are his remarks and a link to the video:       

Click here to watch the video. 

 “I want to congratulate Dan Lipinski for authoring this legislation. It is one of the key pieces of our Make It In America agenda, which my distinguished colleague from North Carolina [Rep. G.K. Butterfield] has discussed. I want to thank my dear and good friend Mary Bono Mack for her leadership on this effort. As the gentleman said, and I could adopt his remarks, the previous speaker, Mr. Kinzinger, we do need a manufacturing policy, we do need a manufacturing renaissance, and we do need a psychology that America’s going to be number one and stay number one and create the kind of good paying jobs for our people that manufacturing provides.

“Andrew Liveris, who is the CEO of Dow Chemical, wrote a book, the name of that book is ‘Make It In America’ - manufacture it in America, grow it in America, sell it here and sell it around the world.

“Mr. Speaker I rise in support of Mr. Lipinski's bill, the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act. This passed out of Committee unanimously four months ago. This bill is a key part of House Democrats’ Make It In America plan to strengthen American manufacturing. But it's not a Democratic plan. It's not a Republican plan. It's an American plan. All of us can resoundingly support this and take ownership of a renaissance in manufacturing.

“For the past two years our manufacturing sector was a bright spot in our economic recovery, seeing the first increase in manufacturing jobs since the 1990’s. But for the last three months, that sector has begun to contract a little bit – a symptom of Congress’ failure, in my opinion, to take serious action on legislation like Make It In America and, yes, taxes and regulation. The gentleman was correct. That's why we need the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act. This will bring the public and private sectors together with labor and other stakeholders to craft plans to develop comprehensive, national manufacturing strategies in 2014 and 2018.

“Ladies and gentlemen, none of you doubt…that our competitors across this globe are doing this. We are late to this ballgame, but the good news is we are the most able, productive economy in the world and we can compete with anybody. All we need is a good play. Other nations around the globe have strategies to increase their manufacturing. To keep America competitive, it is imperative that we have a plan as well – not to pick winners and losers but to create the environment, of which the gentleman spoke just before me, that allows manufacturing to grow.

“I want to thank again the Ranking Member [Butterfield] for his very compelling statement that he made. The Obama Administration [is] focused on revitalizing the manufacturing sector and Representative Lipinski’s bill ensures that the U.S. government will continue to pursue policies that bolster manufacturing and add jobs. I want to commend Representative Lipinski for his leadership on this issue, as well as Ranking Member Waxman, Ranking Member Butterfield who I've already referenced, and other Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee. But I also want to commend those Republican leaders on the Commerce Committee. And Mr. Manzullo, who is sitting here, my dear friend who has headed up the Small Business Committee, has focused on growing jobs in America. I also want to thank Chairman Upton. I already thanked Chairman Bono Mack, but she is my good friend so I'll thank her again, for their work to make sure this bill came to the Floor with bipartisan support.

“Mr. Speaker, the Energy and Commerce Committee reported this bill in June with a bipartisan vote. I'm sure it will receive a bipartisan vote tonight. I will tell you there’s no place in America you could go – not the most conservative district, not the most liberal district, not the most Republican district or the most Democratic district – and you can talk about Make It In America and you get heads nodding in agreement. This is not an issue of philosophy. It's a pragmatic issue of growing our economy, creating the kinds of jobs that our people need – jobs that pay well, give them good benefits and a bright future for them, their families, and their children. So, I commend both the Republican and Democratic sides for bringing this piece of legislation to the Floor and urge its unanimous adoption by this Congress.”

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