The U.S. manufacturing sector has long been the primary driver of wage growth and a high quality of life among middle class Americans. Unfortunately, changes in the global economy and other factors here at home have led to a severe loss of manufacturing jobs and stagnation of wages in recent years.

Of course Delaware is no stranger to manufacturing job loss.  Since 2003, Delaware's manufacturing sector has declined by roughly 30 percent.  At the same time we’re failing to effectively train workers for the high-skill jobs that will drive the economy in the coming decades.  As many as 600,000 manufacturing jobs are vacant across the U.S. because workers don’t have the sufficient skills and training required to fill those positions.

In 2011, I joined many of my colleagues in the House of Representatives in developing the Make It In America agenda, a collection of bills and ideas designed to reinvigorate the American manufacturing sector.  Certain parts of the Make It In America agenda, like research and development, trade and infrastructure, and job training are particularly important to Delaware manufacturers.

Below, you’ll find my thoughts on what federal manufacturing policy should look like with a particular focus on how we can help Delaware manufacturers grow.  This includes several of my own ideas as well as components of Make It In America and other legislation. 

 

Major Manufacturing Legislation I've Introduced:


Name of bill: Research and Development Tax Credit Extension Act
H.R. Number: H.R. 905
Date Introduced: 2/28/13
Description: Increases the business research and development tax credit from 14 percent to 17 percent and makes it permanent to help stimulate economic growth.
Full bill text


Name of bill: Made in America Act of 2013
H.R. Number: H.R. 2664
Date Introduced: 7/11/2013
Description: Creates America Star labeling program so consumers can better identify products and parts made in the U.S.
Full bill text


Name of bill: Manufacturing Communities Investment Act
H.R. Number: H.R. 3735
Date Introduced: 8/1/2013
Description: Increases New Markets Tax credit and designates portions of it for manufacturing businesses that locate in communities that have suffered major manufacturing job losses.
Full bill text


Name of bill: The Skills Connection Act
H.R. Number: H.R. 4758
Date Introduced: 5/29/14
Description: Allows the Department of Labor to use existing resources to improve, expand, and centralize many of the services it already provides including the creation of a job bank to automatically link employers with the skilled workers they need.
Full Bill Text

 


Manufacturing Legislation I've Cosponsored:

 

Name of bill: Scaling Up Manufacturing (SUM) Act
H.R. Number: H.R. 616
Date Introduced: 2/12/13
Description: Provides a tax credit for any company to open their first full-scale manufacturing facility in the U.S.
Full bill text

 

Name of bill: Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act
H.R. Number: H.R. 924
Date Introduced: 2/28/13
Description: Creates a separate investment credit for the deployment of offshore wind that will be capped at the first 3,000 megawatts deployed.
Full bill text

 

Name of bill: Partnership to Build America Act
H.R. Number: H.R. 2084
Date Introduced: 5/22/13
Description: Provides a new way to fund infrastructure projects by allowing companies to repatriate their overseas profits so long as they use a percentage of those profits for the purchase of infrastructure bonds.
Full bill text

 

Name of bill: Put America Back to Work Act
H.R. Number: H.R. 535
Date Introduced: 2/6/13
Description: Makes Build America Bonds a permanent part of the tax code.
Full bill text