Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Bolster American Manufacturing and Innovation

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), along with U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Rob Portman (R-OH) and Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tim Ryan (D-OH), and Haley Stevens (D-MI) recently introduced a bipartisan, bicameral Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy Act. The Act would create a new Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy (OMII) overseen by a Chief Manufacturing Officer in the Executive Office of the President. This new office will help strengthen America’s manufacturing industry and workforce and improve global competitiveness following the coronavirus pandemic.

This legislation will also develop a long-term plan to ensure the growth and national security of the U.S. manufacturing industry and workforce, as well as coordinate efforts to support manufacturing across the federal government, improve workforce development and job creation, and enhance research and development.

OMII would be modeled on the Executive Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to supply the President with manufacturing and industrial perspectives and expert advice. The office will also provide a comprehensive survey and cross-administration management of efforts to ensure global leadership in manufacturing critical to the long-term health and national security of the United States. Officials involved would develop a National Strategic Plan—to be updated quadrennially—streamlining relevant needs across sectors and goals to guarantee American manufacturing leadership. 

The legislation would also establish a Federal Strategy and Coordinating Council composed of many federal leaders, including the Defense, Commerce, Energy, Treasury, State, and Veterans Affairs Secretaries, National Security Advisor, and others. They would work to identify vulnerabilities in American supply chains and workforce skills, areas where investment is needed, and other national priorities. The act also calls for the formation of a National Institute of Standards and Technology-sponsored, federally-funded research and development center, the Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy Institute. Among other inclusions, the act would also set up the President’s Advisory Committee on Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation to convene representatives from the business, consumer, defense, public interest, and labor sectors to provide guidance on the national landscape.

For additional information, please view the Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy Act, the fact sheet, and press release.