YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The spring thaw could bring a visit by President Obama to America Makes, which he again touted yesterday when he announced the creation of new manufacturing research hubs in Detroit and Chicago.
“Somebody asked him [about a visit to Youngstown] and he joked, ‘When it gets a little warmer.’ That was during the freeze a few weeks back, and I would guess that he will be here sometime in the future,” Ryan, D-13 Howland, tells The Business Journal. “I don’t know exactly when but I know the mayor of Youngstown has invited him. Those of us who have been interacting with the White House have been saying we’ve got to get him here and he’s got to see what he keeps talking about. So I’m sure he’ll come, and I’m sure it will be sooner rather than later.”
The president has cited America Makes in his past two State of the Union addresses and during the recent announcement establishing a manufacturing hub focusing on power electronics in Raleigh, N.C.
Ryan, was among those who attended Obama’s news event Tuesday afternoon during which he announced manufacturing hubs in Detroit and Chicago. The congressman received his own shout out from the president (WATCH VIDEO) as he discussed the creation of the new hubs, modeled on the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute and branded as America Makes.
“Already, my administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing. One is in Youngstown, Ohio and is focused on 3-D printing, an entirely new way by which the manufacturing process can accelerate and supply chains get stitched together, and you integrate design, and all the way through production in ways that can potentially be revolutionary,” Obama said. “My friend Congressman Tim Ryan” helped get the first of the hubs, America Makes, off the ground, he noted.
The manufacturing hubs have the ability to fundamentally change the way things are built in America, Obama continued. But the president warned that other nations, notably Germany, which has 60 such hubs, are far ahead of the United States.
Ryan, who is part of a group working with the White House on issues related to NAMII -- the pilot project for establishing a network of manufacturing hubs -- said he spoke with Obama at a Democratic caucus a few weeks ago about what is going on at America Makes. “He’s very familiar with it and very supportive of it,” the congressman says.
“The strongest part of his presidency is his position on manufacturing and what he’s trying to do with these hubs. This is the spot-on strategy for how to rebuild manufacturing in the United States,” Ryan says.
Among White House officials Ryan is working with is Gene Sperling, director of the president’s National Economic Council, he reports.
Ryan also says the administration is selecting the correct places – Chicago, Detroit and Youngstown -- to locate the hubs. “I’m really glad that we’re getting the level of attention, too, because that helps us build our institute” and “helps sell the area,” he says.
“There’s growing bipartisan momentum now behind these efforts. We’ve got two Republicans and two Democrats, Roy Blunt and Sherrod Brown in the Senate, and Tom Reed and Joe Kennedy in the House, that have written bills that would help us create a true network of these hubs all across the country,” Obama noted.
His administration plans to launch four new hubs this year, the first of which through a Department of Energy competition. “I’m hoping that we can get these outstanding members of Congress to push this through so I can sign a bill,” he said. But if not, the president said he would take executive action.
“This type of investment helps rebuild our nation’s manufacturing sector while creating new jobs and strengthening our middle class,” commented Brown, D-Ohio, in a statement released Tuesday.
Brown said he is “cautiously optimistic” about getting the legislation through the Senate, Ryan said. “The issue is really going to be getting it through” the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, he added.
“This is where it really gets frustrating,” he lamented. “You see this model in Germany that’s helped them really keep their economy and their manufacturing sector especially alive and well.” Many Tea Party members in the House don’t see the value of such public investments, he said.
The hub announced for Detroit will focus on developing advanced lightweight metals, which already have applications ranging from lighter weight cars that use less fuel and lighter armored vehicles for America’s military to wind turbines that can generate more power at less cost, and prosthetic limbs. The second hub Obama announced Tuesday, based in Chicago, will “focus on using digital technology and data management to help manufacturers turn their ideas into real-world projects faster and cheaper than before,” the president said.
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Ryan to Join Obama for Hub Announcements Today
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