YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Barb Ewing, chief operating officer of the Youngstown Business Incubator, will be among participants in today’s Capitol Hill briefing on the proposed National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.

Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will host a panel discussion with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and U.S. Reps. Joe Kennedy and Rom Reed for members of Congress and their staffs on the importance of the Revitalize American Manufacturing Innovation Act. The legislation, co-sponsored by Brown, D-Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., would establish the network. Companion legislation by Reed, R-23 N.Y., and Kennedy, D-4 Mass., cleared the House of Representatives Monday.

YBI, which just days ago was named the top university-affiliated incubator in the world by University Business Incubator Index, houses the pilot program for the proposed network, America Makes, which focuses on additive manufacturing technologies. 

“This legislation is an opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are finally serious about reestablishing the United States as a global powerhouse for manufacturing and innovation,” Ewing said in remarks released ahead of the event. “Changing the way we do business doesn’t just happen; it requires forethought, investment and commitment by both our political and industry leaders.”  

Pritzker will deliver the keynote address at the briefing. Other speakers will include Ed Morris, director of America Makes, and Rebecca Bagley, president and CEO of NorTech in Cleveland. 

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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