Chairman Quayle, Ranking Member Edwards, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the Administration’s National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) initiative. As the President has said, “[An] economy built to last demands that we keep doing everything we can to.… keep strengthening American manufacturing.”1Secretary of Commerce John Bryson amplified that message when he told us that in order to create good paying jobs, we need to help more American businesses “build it here and sell it everywhere.” As the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology at NIST, I see every day how critical the United States manufacturing base is to our economy.
A report by the National Science and Technology Council, “A National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing,” stated that advanced manufacturing is a matter of fundamental importance to the economic strength and national security of the United States.2 The President has articulated a plan to bolster the U.S. manufacturing base, outlining a blueprint for American manufacturing and supporting a number of manufacturing initiatives in the FY 2013 budget, including the NNMI.