releases: 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
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| 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 | legacy | Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Floor Speech: Offering amendments to support job creation, national security As delivered on November 20, 2013 Mr. President, if I might, I’d like to speak about three bills that I’m offering as amendments to the NDAA that all relate to a topic that I’ve spoken to many times here on the floor – to manufacturing and manufacturing jobs. The 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. It 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’ve grown more than half a million manufacturing jobs in the last three years – 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. Our 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. Our 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. This 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. Second, I’d like to speak on the amendment I’m 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’t actually fronts for much larger companies. And last year we passed similar, but distinctly different rules for the Department of Defense. Most 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. This 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. Last, I’d like to speak on an amendment I’m 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’s best talent and pave the way to new innovations. Recently, the Commission on R&D in the U.S. Intelligence Committee reviewed our current and future R&D capacity to support our intelligence community’s vital work. Their unclassified report shows that in fact, we have insufficient funding and a critical deficiency of human capital – 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. Now, there’s currently a program run by the Department of Defense designed to address one element of this problem. It’s 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’s report, and recommendations on how those promises can become concretely improved. This 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’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on these important issues. Press Contact Ian Koski at 202-224-5042 Tags: Floor Speech, NDAA, Defense, Research, Technology, skills, Competitiveness, National Security, investment, Science, Businesses, Innovation, Jobs, Small Business, Manufacturing | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |