U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today introduced legislation to establish the position of U.S. Chief Manufacturing Officer in the Executive Office of the President.
The U.S. Chief Manufacturing Officer (CMO) will be responsible for coordinating manufacturing-related policies and activities across agencies. The CMO will also develop a national manufacturing strategy to revitalize the manufacturing sector, spur economic growth, and expand United States competitiveness.
“Domestic manufacturing plays an integral role in supporting hardworking families and nearly 3,000 small businesses across our state,” Daines stated. “Manufacturing jobs pay an average of 17 percent higher wages than non-manufacturing jobs and we need policies in place that enable small businesses to be globally competitive and help create more of these high-paying jobs.”
On average, each manufacturing job creates additional three to four jobs due to the required research, development and process design, and needed supply chain and post sales services. However, manufacturing employment, output and exports are all affected by such issues as tax policies, state of infrastructure and transportation, small business regulations, environmental regulations, trade policies, innovation ecosystems, workforce development, and education initiatives.
Paddy Fleming, Center Director Montana Manufacturing Extension Center Montana State University: “This is great to news to the 2,841 manufacturers of Montana, who provide 23,931 high paying jobs that support another 61,742 Montana jobs. Having Senator Daines and the US Senate recognize the importance of manufacturing in the US economy will do wonders to help change the perception of manufacturing. This will in turn, help Montana’s manufacturers recruit the employees that they desperately need to continue their growth.”
Tom Spika, CEO of Spika Design & Manufacturing, Lewistown: “This is great news to the small manufacturers of Montana. This will bring a directed and national focus to the issues that are hampering growth of America’s manufacturers including workforce training, technology adoption and the proper funding of each state’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership.”
Douglas K. Woods, President, the Association For Manufacturing Technology. “A Chief Manufacturing Officer in the Executive Office of the President that sets a strategy based on rapid innovation is the best support our government can give American manufacturers as they respond to the opportunity and challenges of an increasingly connected, automated world.”
Rusty Patterson, President, the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM). “We firmly believe the Office of the Chief Manufacturing Officer will provide the president and the nation with an executive officer who will strengthen the U.S. economy by shaping national manufacturing policy, promoting greater innovation and R&D investments to expand advanced manufacturing, and enhancing the competitiveness of American manufacturers in ever-changing domestic and global markets.”
Thomas G. Loughlin, ASME Executive Director. “Establishing a single officer to govern manufacturing policy will ensure that sustained investment in advanced manufacturing initiatives—such as training and educating a skilled workforce, building a robust and enduring domestic manufacturing base, and further developing industrial technologies—will protect our national security and ability to compete globally in the most efficient and effective way possible.”
Robert Atkinson, ITIF President. “Manufacturing constitutes a vital pillar of the U.S. economy and remains a key provider of high-wage, high-value-add jobs for American workers. But it’s clear that policymakers need to be doing more to ensure this critical industry thrives. ITIF supports legislation to designate a Chief Manufacturing Officer in the White House.”
Robert G. Kiggans, Former Chairman, IMS International. “With technology advancing rapidly, our manufacturing workforce has to be prepared to retrain several times during their career. This bill could not happen at a better time. We should move quickly!”
This legislation has been supported by: American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT), Automation Federation (AF), International Society of Automation (ISA), Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Intelligent Systems International (IMS-I), Manufacturing Alliance of Communities (MAC), National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), and National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM).
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