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U.S.
Senator Sherrod Brown
Helping
Ohio Workers Compete in a
Global Economy
At
the President’s State of the
Union address, I was joined by Cookie Hall, a second-generation
Cleveland
steelworker who knows from experience that American workers are the
most
productive in the world. Cookie works at Cleveland Works, a steel plant
owned
by ArcelorMittal North America. Workers at this plant produce one ton
of steel
per each man hour of work – making it the most efficient steel plant in
the world.
There is no disputing that our workers are the most productive in the
world,
but there are steps we must take to make them the most innovative.
In
his speech, President Obama
echoed my call for the creation of a National Network of Manufacturing
Innovation
(NNMI). Using Youngstown’s first-of-its-kind manufacturing innovation
institute
as a model, the President announced the launch of three more
manufacturing hubs
and called on Congress to help him create a network of 15 additional
centers.
Every region and every state has a role to play in helping maintain our
innovative edge and these new hubs will help.
I’ve
been working with small
businesses, industry leaders, universities, and research institutions
on
legislation to create these important NNMI institutes. This network
will retain
U.S. leadership in a range of next-generation technologies, capitalize
on our
investment in basic research, and create thousands of high pay, high
tech
manufacturing jobs. By leveraging existing infrastructure and pockets
of
innovation across the country, NNMI provides small businesses with
access to
the tools and expertise needed to compete in the global economy. This
will
create regional magnets for cutting-edge research, talented students,
and
additional investments.
And
we’ve already started to bring
people and organizations together to spur 21st century innovation. Last
year,
we were able to bring the first-of-its-kind National Additive
Manufacturing
Innovation Institute (NAMII) to the Mahoning Valley – to the “Tech
Belt” that
extends from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. NAMII is a $70 million
public-private
partnership that can make Youngstown a world leader in new
manufacturing
technology – like 3-D printing. As the President mentioned in his
address, “A
once shuttered warehouse [in Youngstown] is now a state of the art lab
where
new workers are mastering the 3-D printing that has the potential to
revolutionize the way we make almost everything.”
Collaboration
is critical for our
success – and an NNMI would provide small businesses and research
institutions
access to the tools and expertise needed to compete in the global
economy. And
it can also spur the creation of regional hubs of advanced
manufacturing
throughout the U.S.
American
workers have the drive,
the creative thinking, and the determination to out-innovate the rest
of the
world. We just need to make certain that they have the opportunity to
do so.
Sincerely,
Sherrod
Brown
U.S.
Senator
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