Mr. Speaker, American manufacturing has always been the engine driving the American economy. And while our recent recession has slowed our growth, American manufacturing is poised -- once again -- to propel our nation and families forward.
My district in Pennsylvania is home to over 700 manufacturing facilities that sustain more than 35-thousand good-paying jobs. People in Bucks and Montgomery counties know that when they buy American-made goods not only are they buying quality products; they're helping businesses -- and workers -- in their neighborhoods and across the country.
With that in mind, last summer, I introduced the Made in America Act -- bipartisan legislation that would connect American consumers to American manufacturers like never before by creating a definitive, standardized definition of American-made goods.
Michael Araten, the CEO of the Rodon Group based in my district, correctly notes that 'the keys to the success of American manufacturing are STEM education, abundant energy, and consumers who can easily recognize that products they love are made in the USA.'
By incentivizing manufacturers to meet certain 'Made in America' benchmarks for domestic production and providing consumers with reliable and easy to understand information, the Made in America Act can meet two valuable goals: reshoring American businesses and jobs, and increasing American purchases of American goods.
'Made in America' has always stood for quality, value and ingenuity -- and with the passage of this common-sense legislation, 'Made in America' can also mean jobs.