U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D.-Mich.) has introduced legislation to create the National Institute of Manufacturing, which would streamline national manufacturing programs.
During a recent press conference, the senator said that the new federal agency would be modeled after the National Institutes of Health.
Peters said there are federal 58 programs spread across 11 agencies that deal with manufacturing.
“They’re not coordinated, it’s not efficient, taxpayer money is being wasted,” he said. “We need to be focused on the mission, which is to strengthen good-paying manufacturing jobs in America.”
The National Institute of Manufacturing would “speak with one voice for manufacturing in the country,” he said, and allow a comprehensive strategy for enhancing manufacturing around the country.
The effort has been in the works for at least a year with the legislation building off a proposal Peters announced last year.
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Peters noted that the United States’ global share of manufacturing has dropped by 35 percent in the last 15 years.