{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-miller-meeks-bill-to-strengthen-us-manufacturing-heads-to-presidents-desk", "Ernst, Miller-Meeks Bill to Strengthen U.S. Manufacturing Heads to President\u2019s Desk", "2026-09-23", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "IA", "Joni Ernst", "E000295", "www.ernst.senate.gov", "ernst", "https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed U.S. Senator Joni Ernst\u2019s (R-Iowa) bipartisan Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act to decrease our reliance on foreign adversaries for key materials and boost manufacturing in rural America.\n\nThe bill instructs the Secretary of Commerce to identify critical goods that are currently being imported and find ways to help domestic producers manufacture them in rural areas and industrial parks, boosting manufacturing here at home.\n\nThe bill now heads to the president\u2019s desk to be signed into law.\n\nErnst spoke on the Senate floor ahead of its passage.\n\n\u201cMy bipartisan bill will identify vulnerabilities in our supply chains and help bring manufacturing back to rural America, where Iowans are ready to roll up their sleeves, get to work, and once again make \u2018Made in America\u2019 the norm instead of the exception,\u201d said Sen. Ernst. \u201cI look forward to President Trump signing it into law.\u201d\n\n\u201cIowa has the skilled workforce, manufacturing expertise, and strong communities America needs to lead the next generation of domestic manufacturing. For too long, critical production has moved overseas, leaving American workers behind and making our country dependent on foreign supply chains,\u201d said Rep. Miller-Meeks. \u201cThis bipartisan bill gives us a roadmap to bring that production home, create more opportunities for Iowa workers, and strengthen our nation\u2019s economic and national security. I\u2019m proud to have led this effort with Senator Ernst and grateful for her partnership in getting it across the finish line.\u201d\n\n\u201cSupply chains are critical to global competitiveness and our national security,\u201d said Sen. Blunt Rochester. \u201cI\u2019m proud to see this bipartisan legislation pass into law to help identify where we are over-reliant on foreign imports for critical infrastructure and explore how we can bring that manufacturing back to the United States. These investments will strengthen domestic production, secure our supply chains, and support good-paying jobs right here at home.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have become heavily dependent upon overseas supply chains, leaving us vulnerable to increased cybersecurity risks and price fluctuations,\u201d said Sen. Ossoff. \u201cThis bipartisan bill will take steps to mitigate those risks, while helping open the door to new manufacturing jobs in Georgia and across the nation.\u201d\n\nErnst\u2019s full remarks as delivered below:\n\n\u201cMr. President, I\u2019m here today to talk a little more about our national and economic security of the United States. This has really been the focus of my career, protecting that national and economic security.\n\n\u201cIn 1940, the United States became the \u2018Arsenal of Democracy,\u2019 and our country came together to quickly accelerate production of the weapons, vehicles, food, and supplies that enabled the Allies to defeat the Axis powers.\n\n\u201cAmericans in factories, farms, small businesses, and across the country did what was necessary to make what was needed.\n\n\u201cInstead of internalizing the lesson that our ability to make these critical items in the United States led to great success\u2026we spent much of the last 50 years offshoring our jobs and manufacturing capabilities.\n\n\u201cThis is something China, Russia, and other nefarious actors around the world have all been too happy to accommodate and take on themselves.\n\n\u201cToday, we have only ONE active facility producing cannon barrels.\n\n\u201cToday, we rely 100 percent on foreign sources for 12 critical minerals essential to our military and our economy.\n\n\u201cDuring COVID, we saw what happens when supply chains are strained.\n\n\u201cThere was a global shortage of microchips, which upended manufacturers\u2019 ability to make everything from cars to computers. At the same time, moms in the Midwest had to worry about finding baby formula due to supply chain issues at both the production and shipping levels.\n\n\u201cPut simply: we\u2019ve lost the ability to make what we need right here at home.\n\n\u201cIn the event of a conflict with one of our near-peer adversaries, supply chains will be challenged, and the United States will have to make what it needs.\n\n\u201cThank goodness President Trump, his administration, and Congress have been taking steps to put us on the right track and bring back the manufacturing capabilities we need right here at home.\n\n\u201cMy bipartisan Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act builds on these efforts.\n\n\u201cMy bill, which has already passed the Senate unanimously, directs the Secretary of Commerce to identify critical goods that are currently being imported and find ways to help domestic producers manufacture them in rural areas and shovel-ready industrial sites.\n\n\u201cRural Iowans are ready to roll up their sleeves and build the factories and processing facilities we need to secure our supply chains.\n\n\u201cWe can and need to make things here.\n\n\u201cBut you can\u2019t fix vulnerabilities you can\u2019t see.\n\n\u201cWhich is why my bill gives Congress and the Executive Branch the visibility necessary to identify gaps and close them.\n\n\u201cI am grateful to Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks for introducing the House version of this bill, and for the House of Representatives passing the bill unanimously.\n\n\u201cNow it is time for the Senate to act and send this bill to the President\u2019s desk. Thank you.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-24T09:44:48Z", "2026-09-24T09:45:52Z"]], "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://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-miller-meeks-bill-to-strengthen-us-manufacturing-heads-to-presidents-desk"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.6296719443053007, "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"}