{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221014358/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/statements_and_speeches/floor-speech-offering-amendments-to-support-job-creation-national-security", "Floor Speech: Offering amendments to support job creation, national security", "2013-11-20", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Christopher Coons", "C001088", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Wednesday, November 20, 2013 \n\t\t\t\t\t Floor Speech: Offering amendments to support job creation, national security \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t As delivered on November 20, 2013  \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\nMr. President, if I might, I\u2019d like to speak about three bills that I\u2019m offering as amendments to the NDAA that all relate to a topic that I\u2019ve spoken to many times here on the floor \u2013 to manufacturing and manufacturing jobs.\nThe first is the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, a bill I introduced last week with Illinois Senator Mark Kirk that enjoys the support of the Presiding Officer as well as Senators Blunt and Stabenow.\nIt has a simple but important objective: to require the creation of a national manufacturing strategy. We need to know our country's direction, as we try to support the growth of manufacturing. We\u2019ve grown more than half a million manufacturing jobs in the last three years \u2013 an encouraging sign, but one we need to strengthen and support with a coordinated strategy between the federal government, state governments, and private sector to align our investments in research and development, in new skills, and in new infrastructure to make sure they're all heading in the right direction.\nOur leading competitors all have successful and well-deployed national manufacturing strategies, whether Germany, China, India, South Africa, Russia, they've all got thoroughly developed, deeply researched, and prominently successful strategies, which we lack.\nOur amendment would require that every four years the Secretary of Commerce, advised by a board of 15 different folks, pull together and think through research and then deliver a national manufacturing strategy.\nThis amendment is bipartisan, simple, does not cost the federal government a dime, and does not create a new program. Like the next two amendments I plan to speak about, it is a common sense measure I hope we adopt.\nSecond, I\u2019d like to speak on the amendment I\u2019m cosponsoring with Senator Blunt to ensure small businesses are not subject to conflicting guidance from federal agencies. In the 1970's, Congress passed a measure for the Small Business Administration to ensure small businesses that get contracts from the federal government aren\u2019t actually fronts for much larger companies. And last year we passed similar, but distinctly different rules for the Department of Defense.\nMost of the time these two sets of rules can peaceably coexist, but in a few cases they conflict, creating compliance difficulties for real small businesses. This amendment would say that when both sets of rules apply to a small business contract, the SBA rules would apply, while the DoD rules would not.\nThis amendment is bipartisan, does not cost the federal government a dime, and helps small businesses focus on effectively delivering products and services without worrying about conflicting guidance.\nLast, I\u2019d like to speak on an amendment I\u2019m cosponsoring with Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey to ensure our defense and intelligence communities maintain their vital technological edge. This is an important measure that could create more opportunities to train America\u2019s best talent and pave the way to new innovations.\nRecently, the Commission on R&D in the U.S. Intelligence Committee reviewed our current and future R&D capacity to support our intelligence community\u2019s vital work. Their unclassified report shows that in fact, we have insufficient funding and a critical deficiency of human capital \u2013 of skilled workers and the cutting-edge thinkers we need in this area. Specifically, it said we may not have the kind of people we really need to build next generation satellites, to gather and process the intelligence upon which our national security relies.\nNow, there\u2019s currently a program run by the Department of Defense designed to address one element of this problem. It\u2019s called the Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation Scholarship Program, or SMART Scholarship Program. The amendment calls on the Secretary of Defense to report back to Congress on two things: whether the SMART Scholarship Program, or similar fellowship and scholarship programs, are in fact providing the necessary number of undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to meet the recommendations in the Commission\u2019s report, and recommendations on how those promises can become concretely improved.\nThis amendment has already passed the House of Representatives by a voice vote and would be an important, if small, step toward paving the way for job creation and ensuring our national security now and into the future. I urge my colleagues to support these amendments and I\u2019m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on these important issues.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPress Contact\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIan Koski at 202-224-5042\u00a0 \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n        \n        \n\t\t\n                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags:\n                            \n                                \n                                Floor Speech,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                NDAA,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Defense,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Research,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Technology,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                skills,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Competitiveness,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                National Security,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                investment,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Science,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Businesses,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Innovation,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Jobs,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Small Business,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Manufacturing", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221014358/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/statements_and_speeches/floor-speech-offering-amendments-to-support-job-creation-national-security"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7960449438542128, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}