Washington, D.C. — Today, the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing introducing several bills (H.R. 5479, H.R. 5495, and H.R. 5505) that will help the United States identify and respond to manufacturing supply chain risk. These bills incorporate ideas advanced earlier this year in a report by the Center for American Progress—including supply chain mapping, support for the transfer of scientific and technical knowledge into operational manufacturing processes by funding public-private partnerships such as Manufacturing Extension Partnerships and Manufacturing USA institutes, and carefully targeted subsidies to build essential capacity.
Following the committee hearing, Marc Jarsulic, senior fellow and chief economist at CAP, released the following statement:
The policies reflected in these bills will help strengthen U.S. supply chains and make manufacturing more competitive. Legislation of this kind is required to support innovation in manufacturing and to address significant risks to our supply chains that have been brought into stark relief by the pandemic—including access to microchips and pharmaceuticals. These policies deserve serious consideration and support.
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Julia Cusick at [email protected].