I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6160 

To establish the United States Chief Manufacturing Officer in the Executive 

Office of the President with the responsibility of developing a national 

manufacturing strategy to revitalize the manufacturing sector, spur economic growth, and expand United States competitiveness, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 

Mr. RYAN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. REED, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. HONDA, and 

Ms. KAPTUR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish the United States Chief Manufacturing Officer 

in the Executive Office of the President with the responsibility of developing a national manufacturing strategy 

to revitalize the manufacturing sector, spur economic 

growth, and expand United States competitiveness, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chief Manufacturing 

5 Officer Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The manufacturing sector consists of estab4 lishments that are primarily engaged in the trans5 formation of materials, substances, or components 

6 into products. 

7 (2) The Federal Government supports manufac8 turing in a variety of ways; manufacturing related 

9 activities are scattered in several agencies in the ex10 ecutive branch. 

11 (3) Manufacturing employment, output and ex12 ports are impacted by tax policies, state of infra13 structure and transportation, small business regula14 tions, environmental regulations, trade policies, inno15 vation ecosystems, workforce development, and edu16 cation initiatives, with national security implications. 

17 (4) Manufacturers account for 12 percent of 

18 the total gross domestic product output in the 

19 United States, employing 9 percent of the workforce. 

20 Total output from manufacturing was more than 2 

21 trillion dollars in 2014. In addition, there were more 

22 than 12 million manufacturing employees in the 

23 United States in 2015, with an average annual com24 pensation of about $80,000. 

25 (5) Legislative policies and executive actions 

26 often result in unintended, inconsistent, and conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Sep 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6160.IH H6160

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1 flicting outcomes with respect to the growth of man2 ufacturing in the United States. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that a well-designed national manufacturing strat5 egy would benefit the United States economy in several 

6 important ways: 

7 (1) A revitalized manufacturing sector enables 

8 the United States to derive more of its economic 

9 growth from exports and domestic production than 

10 it has in the past two decades. 

11 (2) Average domestic wages would rise in re12 sponse to growing manufacturing output, as manu13 facturing jobs historically have paid higher wages 

14 and benefits than nonmanufacturing jobs. 

15 (3) A growing manufacturing sector would help 

16 lay a foundation for future United States economic 

17 growth, since manufacturing industries perform the 

18 vast share of private-sector research and develop19 ment, which fuels the innovation that serves as a 

20 primary engine of economic growth. 

21 (4) The United States would expand its long22 standing leadership in advanced manufacturing tech23 nologies with Federal investments in manufacturing 

24 research and development, education, and workforce 

25 training. 


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1 (5) There has always been a strong connection 

2 between domestic manufacturing and national de3 fense and homeland security. A strong and innova4 tive manufacturing industry will maintain the 

5 United States military superiority and will allow for 

6 an unquestionable ability to respond quickly to 

7 threats and catastrophes. 

8 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES CHIEF MANUFACTURING OFFICER. 

9 (a) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 

11 appoint a United States Chief Manufacturing Officer, by 

12 and with the advise and consent of the Senate. The posi13 tion of the Officer shall be in the Executive Office of the 

14 President and report to the President through the Chief 

15 of Staff. Such appointment shall not be construed to au16 thorize an increase in the number of full-time equivalent 

17 employees within the Executive Office of the President. 

18 (b) PAY.—The annual rate of pay for the United 

19 States Chief Manufacturing Officer shall be an Executive 

20 Schedule rate of pay (subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 

21 5, United States Code), as determined by the President, 

22 commensurate with the qualifications and expertise of the 

23 individual appointed to be such Officer. 

24 (c) DUTIES.—The primary duty of the United States 

25 Chief Manufacturing Officer is to develop the national 


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1 manufacturing strategy described in subsection (d) and 

2 the other duties include the following: 

3 (1) Advise the President on policy issues that 

4 impact the economic activities and the workforce in 

5 the manufacturing sector. 

6 (2) Chair the Committee on Technology under 

7 the National Science and Technology Council. 

8 (3) Foster the coordination of manufacturing9 related policies and activities across agencies by— 

10 (A) encouraging the use of best innovative 

11 manufacturing practices across the Federal 

12 Government; 

13 (B) ensuring the use of best information 

14 technologies and cybersecurity practices for 

15 manufacturing; and 

16 (C) analyzing the status of manufacturing 

17 technology needs across agencies. 

18 (4) Conduct technology policy analyses to im19 prove United States manufacturing productivity, 

20 technology, and innovation, and cooperate with 

21 United States manufacturing industry in the im22 provement of its productivity, technology, and ability 

23 to compete successfully in world markets. 

24 (5) Determine the influence of economic, labor, 

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1 agement, and government policies on technological 

2 developments in manufacturing sectors worldwide. 

3 (6) Identify technological needs, problems, and 

4 opportunities within and across the manufacturing 

5 sector that, if addressed, could make a significant 

6 contribution to the economy of the United States. 

7 (7) Assess whether the capital, technical, and 

8 other resources being allocated to manufacturing are 

9 likely to generate new technologies, are adequate to 

10 meet private and social demands for goods and serv11 ices, and are sufficient to promote productivity and 

12 economic growth. 

13 (8) Propose studies and policy experiments, in 

14 cooperation with agencies, to determine the effective15 ness of measures with the potential of advancing 

16 United States technological innovation in manufac17 turing. 

18 (9) Encourage the creation of joint initiatives 

19 by State and local governments, regional organiza20 tions, private businesses, institutions of higher edu21 cation, nonprofit organizations, or Federal labora22 tories to encourage technology transfer, to stimulate 

23 innovation, and to promote an appropriate climate 

24 for investment in manufacturing-related industries. 


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1 (10) Propose manufacturing-related cooperative 

2 research involving appropriate Federal entities, 

3 State or local governments, regional organizations, 

4 institutions of higher education, nonprofit organiza5 tions, or private industry to promote the common 

6 use of resources, to improve training programs and 

7 curricula, to stimulate interest in high technology 

8 manufacturing careers, and to encourage the effec9 tive dissemination of manufacturing technology skills 

10 within the wider community. 

11 (11) Serve as a focal point for discussions 

12 among companies that manufacture in the United 

13 States on topics of interest to the manufacturing in14 dustry and workforce, including discussions regard15 ing emerging and advanced technologies. 

16 (12) Promote Government measures, including 

17 legislation, regulation, and policies with the potential 

18 of advancing United States technological innovation 

19 in manufacturing and exploiting manufacturing in20 novations of foreign origin. 

21 (13) Develop strategies and policies that would 

22 encourage manufacturing enterprises to maintain 

23 production facilities and retain manufacturing jobs 

24 in the United States and use manufacturing supply 

25 chains based in the United States. 


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1 (14) Support communities negatively impacted 

2 by the closure or relocation of manufacturing facili3 ties by promoting efforts to revitalize communities 

4 for new manufacturing enterprises. 

5 (15) Assist States in their economic develop6 ment plans for manufacturing and in their efforts to 

7 relocate manufacturing facilities within the United 

8 States rather than moving manufacturing outside of 

9 the United States. 

10 (16) Promote the goals of Network for Manu11 facturing Innovation Program established under sec12 tion 34 of the National Institute of Standards and 

13 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

14 (17) Encourage participation of public and pri15 vate organizations, State educational agencies, and 

16 institutions of higher education in the annual cele17 bration of National Manufacturing Day to enhance 

18 the public perception of manufacturing. 

19 (18) Any other function and activity assigned 

20 by the President. 

21 (d) NATIONAL MANUFACTURING STRATEGY.—The 

22 national manufacturing strategy shall contain a summary 

23 of the current state of manufacturing in the Federal Gov24 ernment and comprehensive strategies for— 


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1 (1) innovation policies and initiatives and in2 vestments in research and development; 

3 (2) identifying and addressing the anticipated 

4 workforce needs of the manufacturing sector; 

5 (3) strengthening education and the required 

6 training and certifications for manufacturing; 

7 (4) creating training and appropriate career 

8 paths to manufacturing jobs for qualified veterans 

9 and others that have become unemployed; 

10 (5) promoting the development of quality con11 trol and other technical standards; 

12 (6) maintaining reliable physical and tele13 communications infrastructure, and the required in14 vestments in infrastructure projects as needed for 

15 manufacturing; 

16 (7) analyzing the status of manufacturing tech17 nology needs in the industrial sector and providing 

18 recommendations for economic and labor force ex19 pansions; 

20 (8) monitoring technology directions and ana21 lyzing strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportuni22 ties in the United States manufacturing sector; 

23 (9) implementing appropriate tax incentives and 

24 credits to assist manufacturing enterprises improve 

25 their competitiveness; 


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1 (10) recommending Federal and State regula2 tions to reduce cost of manufacturing and improve 

3 productivity; 

4 (11) promoting the export of United States 

5 manufactured goods and enforcement of fair trading 

6 rules; 

7 (12) developing plans to strengthen the manu8 facturing ecosystems that would continuously foster 

9 the growth of advanced manufacturing; 

10 (13) identifying other forms of assistance to 

11 companies that manufacture in the United States to 

12 successfully compete in global markets; 

13 (14) coordinating the United States national 

14 manufacturing strategy with manufacturing strategy 

15 from each State to ensure a well-integrated national 

16 strategy; and 

17 (15) such other issues determined to be nec18 essary by the President. 

19 (e) REPORTS.—Not later than 24 months after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, every 24 months there21 after, and upon request by the President or the Congress 

22 for an updated or interim report, the United States Chief 

23 Manufacturing Officer, in consultation with the Director 

24 of the Office of Management and Budget, shall submit to 

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1 ufacturing strategy described in subsection (d). The report 

2 shall address strategies to promote innovation and invest3 ment in domestic manufacturing, support the development 

4 of a skilled and diverse manufacturing workforce, promote 

5 equitable trade policies, expand exports of manufactured 

6 goods, enable global competitiveness, encourage sustain7 ability, and support national security. 

8 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 102 of the 

9 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 

10 U.S.C. 6622) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(d) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Committee shall be 

13 the United States Chief Manufacturing Officer.’’. 

14 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

15 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

16 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, 

17 United States Code. 

18 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

19 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

20 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High21 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

22 (3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

23 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 

24 is described under section 501(c) of the Internal 


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1 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 

2 section 501(a) of such Code. 

3 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

4 the several States, the District of Columbia, each 

5 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

6 States, and each federally recognized Indian tribe. 

7 (h) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No ad8 ditional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

9 out this Act. This Act shall be carried out using amounts 

10 otherwise made available for such purposes. 

Æ 


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