When Goods Are Made in America, Middle-Class Families Will Make it in America, Too

Last week, the President signed a bill that will hold Wall Street accountable for the job-killing crisis caused by its recklessness. However, in order to fully recover from the financial crisis, we must continue to focus on Main Street. That's why I'm proud to announce the "Make it in America" agenda, a new initiative designed to strengthen the manufacturing industry – the backbones of the American economy – and restore the 8 million jobs lost since the beginning of the Great Recession.

When the recession hit, many Americans worried that much of the manufacturing industry and the jobs it provided were gone for good. The Make it in America agenda aims to restore the competitiveness of our domestic manufacturing industry both at home and abroad. This initiative will create incentives for companies to invest in domestic manufacturing through innovation that continues to allow America to be competitive in a global economy. The Make it in America agenda includes legislation that will help meet these goals.

This week, the House of Representatives passed two of these bills: The U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act and the Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act.  The U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act is projected to add billions of dollars to our economy and support tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs.  The SECTORS Act brings together business owners, unions, educators, and workforce leaders to develop plans to train Americans in industries critical to our economic prosperity, such as manufacturing, information technology, and renewable energy.

Rebuilding the manufacturing industry will not be an overnight process; for this reason, we need long-term strategy to ensure that our efforts are having their intended effect.  Among the bills we will consider is the National Manufacturing Strategy Act, which will direct the President to create a manufacturing strategy for the nation every four years, ensuring that every administration will be focused on providing manufacturing jobs for middle-class families. 

We must also support technological innovations that will make the manufacturing industry more cost-efficient and competitive. The Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Act will ensure that clean-energy firms have the assistance they need to compete both at home and abroad and increase the productivity and reduce production costs of clean energy firms, increasing the accessibility of this critical technology.

Finally, the End the Trade Deficit Act will establish a commission to develop strategies to reduce the trade deficit and help Congress develop a comprehensive trade policy for the 21st century. 

America has always been proud to be a country that makes things. Some worry that those jobs and that pride are a thing of the past—but I don't think so.  The Make it in America agenda will help America regain its manufacturing edge.  By fighting for legislation that looks out for working people, the Make it in America agenda affirms that the priorities of Congress are in line with those of the American people. This agenda will strengthen our the manufacturing industry, develop a long-term plan for the trade deficit, advance both innovative technologies and the ability of firms to compete in a global economy, and create a level playing field for American manufacturers that compete worldwide.  At the end of the day, the greater the number of goods that are made in America, the greater the opportunities for our middle-class families to make it in America.