President
Obama announced on March 9 his proposal for a new initiative focused on
strengthening and ensuring the long-term competitiveness and
job-creating power of U.S. manufacturing.
After
touring the Rolls-Royce Crosspointe jet engine disc manufacturing
facility in Prince George, Va., the president described his proposal to
build a network of up to 15 Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation,
serving as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence that will help to
make our manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the
United States. The president’s budget for fiscal year 2013 proposes a $1
billion investment to create this new National Network for
Manufacturing Innovation.
Obama
also said his Administration will take immediate steps to launch a
pilot institute for manufacturing innovation. The pilot institute will
be funded from $45 million of existing resources from the Departments of
Defense, Energy, and Commerce and the National Science Foundation, and
will be selected from a competitive application process.
The
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation will work to leverage new
investment from industry, state and local government, and the research
community. This initiative will be a collaboration between Commerce’s
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National
Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of
Energy.
NIST hosts the newly established, interagency Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office.
