WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a full committee hearing today titled, The Future of American Manufacturing: Maintaining America's Competitive Edge.

Opening Remarks 

The Honorable Steny H. Hoyer, Democratic Whip, U.S. House of Representatives

Witness List: 

Panel I 

The Honorable Gary Locke, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce 

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“This country cannot subsist as a service economy. We will not thrive as a nation if we do not make things. In order to get our economy humming again, we need to buy – and make – American. I want everyone’s best ideas on how we can encourage more manufacturing. These ideas, in turn, will serve as the basis for legislation to rebuild American manufacturing and make our country better, stronger and safer.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

“I believe that the federal government can fulfill its role as a smart partner for private-sector job creation by investing in the innovation, infrastructure, and education our economy needs to grow. That’s an idea that finds support across the spectrum. There is no reason why Democrats and Republicans can’t come together for stronger job-training partnerships, a fair playing field for American exporters, and efforts to hold China accountable for its currency manipulation.”

The Honorable Steny H. Hoyer, Democratic Whip, U.S. House of Representatives

“Without a doubt, domestic manufacturing production is vitally important to the United States, ensuring both our national and economic security, and providing good-paying jobs to millions of Americans. Maintaining a vibrant U.S-based manufacturing sector is necessary if we are to protect our citizens, create good jobs, foster innovation, and ensure that our nation retains the capacity to make products that we, and the rest of the world, need to transition into a cleaner, greener economy.”

The Honorable Gary Locke, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce

The Department of Commerce invites you to submit questions about manufacturing via comments on its blog, Twitter (use hashtag #LockeChat) and on the Department of Commerce’s Facebook page. As the Secretary’s schedule permits, he’ll answer some of the questions throughout the day.

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