| Newsroom > | AMT NEWS > | ONgovernment > |
|
18 January 2012DC2011: It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.A look back at the triumphs and tribulations of our elected leaders in managing the economy and boosting the manufacturing sector during the 1st session of the 112th Congress… (more) |
|
|
18 January 2012President names two co-chairs for White House Office of Manufacturing PolicyIn December, President Obama named the two co-chairs of the White House Office of Manufacturing Policy – Commerce Secretary John Bryson and National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling. (more) |
|
|
18 January 2012R&D tax credit expiredIf there was one thing Congress was able to consistently prove last year, it was its ability to create uncertainty within the manufacturing and business sectors. The repeated budget battles, temporary budget extensions, and near government shutdowns left the future of many pro-business programs and essential tax credits in limbo. (more) |
|
|
09 December 2011Super Committee – anything but “super”Not surprisingly given the last year in politics, the deficit “Super Committee” announced it failed in its mission to cut at least $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit over the next decade. The impasse triggers across-the-board spending cuts in both defense and non-defense programs beginning in 2013. (more) |
|
|
09 December 2011Trans-Pacific Partnership talks continueLast month, President Obama spent time in Hawaii and throughout Southeast Asia promoting a free trade agreement between the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP’s nine member countries – the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalem, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – have held nine rounds of negotiations, concluding the ninth in October. On Nov. 12, leaders of the participating countries announced the broad outlines of an agreement. (more) |
|
|
03 November 2011Washington focuses on tradeAlthough the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act, S. 1619 doesn’t specifically mention China, its supporters want to use it to allow retaliation against China’s long practice of holding down the value of the yuan to give Chinese products an unfair price advantage in the global market. They cite a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute that estimates China’s currency manipulation not only significantly contributed to our record high trade deficit with China in 2010 but also to the loss of nearly two million U.S. manufacturing jobs over the last decade. (more) |
|
|
03 November 2011Administration jobs plan to be splitThe president’s jobs plan hit a snag last month, and no amount of bus tour stops or town hall meetings could save it. The Congress is sharply divided over the American Jobs Act, the administration’s $447 billion package to get businesses hiring again. (more) |
|
|
12 October 2011Washington’s attention focuses on jobsThe president sent the much-anticipated American Jobs Act to Congress last month. The White House claims the $447 billion package of tax incentives and stimulus spending will boost job creation nationwide. Republican leaders don’t agree. They oppose most parts of the plan and strongly object to raising taxes to pay for it. (more) |
|
|
12 October 2011Vehicle manufacturing program at riskThe latest continuing resolution had congressional lawmakers debating over the future of a vehicle manufacturing program supported by AMT. Started under President George W. Bush, the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program provides capital for auto and component parts manufacturers to conduct their manufacturing here in the United States. Loans are offered to retool old plants and build new facilities for the production of advanced vehicles technologies. (more) |
|
|
12 October 2011Help your customers get ready for the manufacturing Renaissance!Boston Consulting Group’s recent report Made in America, Again: Why manufacturing will return to the U.S. predicted a U.S. “Manufacturing Renaissance.” They forecast that by 2015, rising Chinese labor rates and currency would make it more economical to supply the U.S. by manufacturing here. For the economic trends to have a rapid impact on the behavior of major U.S. companies, however, the companies will have to calculate their total cost of offshoring. Unfortunately, most companies’ calculations are rudimentary, rather than complete, mainly comparing prices rather than the entire cost of offshoring. (more) |
|
|
12 September 2011Washington goes back to workIt’s hard to believe that the August recess is over already. In Washington, the past month has been a welcome respite from the partisan battles that preceded it. While Members of Congress spent the break getting an earful from constituents fed up with the dysfunction in Washington, President Obama took to the road on a 3-day bus tour of the Midwest to convince voters that he has a plan to reduce the deficit and put Americans back to work. (more) |
|
|
12 September 2011Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction seeks cuts in government spendingA newly formed Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is required to identify an additional $1.5 trillion in cuts between 2013 and 2021. This 12-member panel of both senators and representatives must propose a plan to Congress by November 23, 2011, and Congress must approve this plan by December 23, 2011. Failure to approve these cuts will cause mandatory across-the-board cuts to all government spending, including security and non-security programs. Congress wants to avoid these across-the-board cuts because it would leave the future of too many programs in unpredictable terms. (more) |
|
|
08 August 2011Congress in recess – coming to a town hall near you!Congress in recess – coming to a town hall near you – Congress adjourns for the month of August, making this an ideal time to schedule a meeting with your Senators and Representative to discuss the issues affecting your business and the U.S. manufacturing sector.(more) |
|
|
08 August 2011House approves appropriations billsOn July 15, the House approved the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which brings the total to 5 out of 12 appropriations bills approved by the House of Representatives. (more) |
|
|
11 July 2011Obama Administration launches initiatives to boost manufacturing jobsThe anemic pace of the economic recovery has focused the Obama Administration’s attention on boosting the manufacturing sector, the most powerful generator of sustained economic growth. (more) |
|
|
11 July 2011President Obama signs new pro-business initiativePresident Obama signed an Executive Order on June 15 establishing a new initiative – SelectUSA – which aims to retain and create jobs in the United States. SelectUSA, which will be run through the Department of Commerce and in cooperation with over 24 government agencies, will actively pursue new business investments in the United States by offering unprecedented assistance to businesses looking to expand. (more) |
|
|
13 June 2011Manufacturing Mandate front and center at MEP ConferenceManufacturing Mandate frontand center at MEP Conference - AMT President Doug Woods gave the keynote address to hundreds of manufacturers and Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) service providers at the annual MEP conference. (more) |
|
|
13 June 2011New federal funding opportunity — the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator ChallengeOn May 20, the Obama Administration kicked off the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge in an effort to propel economic growth in regional innovation clusters throughout the country. This program releases $33 million for businesses to collaborate more effectively with the 16 federal agencies involved and help push forward new innovative technologies that strengthen America’s global competitiveness, create jobs, and improve local economies that have been bruised during this economic recession. (more) |
|
|
06 May 2011With FY11 behind it, Congress now tackles FY12With only 5 months to go until FY12, Congress finally managed to pass an FY11 continuing resolution to fund the government through Sept. 30. While belt tightening is certainly warranted, we must continue to invest in programs focused on increasing innovation/R&D, enhancing global competitiveness, and building a next-generation Smartforce. (more) |
|
|
06 May 2011Manufacturing legislation introduced in CongressTwo bills introduced last month aim to strengthen the manufacturing sector. On April 6, The National Manufacturing Strategy Act was re-introduced in the Senate (S. 751) and House (H.R. 1366) with bipartisan support. The legislation, sponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Congressman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), requires the development of a federal strategy to strengthen American manufacturing. The bills contain similar provisions calling for specific recommendations based on a comprehensive analysis of the U.S. manufacturing sector. (more) |
|
|
06 April 2011OnGovernment - April 2011 - Congress takes on the globalization issueA brief status report on three issues that Congress will likely consider in the coming months: free trade agreements, China currency manipulation, Ex-Im Bank reauthorization. (more) |
|
|
06 April 2011SBIR and STTR Reauthorization Act debated in SenateOn March 9, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship approved S. 493, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Reauthorization Act of 2011. (more) |
|
|
06 April 2011House committee hearings look at ways to increase job growthIn an attempt to find ways to increase job opportunities and business growth, Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, began the “Made in America” hearing series in March. (more) |
|
|
07 March 2011The battle of the budgetPresident Obama submitted his FY 2012 budget to Congress last month, but Congress is still wrestling with what to spend (or cut) for the rest of this fiscal year. (more) |
|
|
07 March 2011Graham Schnaars joins AMT’s Government Relations DepartmentGraham Schnaars has joined AMT’s Government Relations Department as Legislative Analyst. (more) |