News

U.S. manufacturing needs federal financing to protect national security, spur innovation boom
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA)
December 20, 2022
CNBC

…Unless we rebuild America’s productive capacity and invest in key industries, we will put our nation’s economic prosperity and very sovereignty at risk. The federal government has the financing tools to chart a new and better course, but they are scattered across several agencies with little coordination or strategic direction. That’s why we’ve joined forces to jumpstart a national project to restore American manufacturing leadership….
 
What would our proposal entail? First, it would establish a new committee of cabinet-level agency heads…. This committee would be charged with developing a National Development Strategy, recommending investments to improve national security, strengthen domestic manufacturing, create good-paying jobs and develop new technologies.
 
Second, our proposal — the National Development Strategy and Coordination Act — would give this committee the authority to direct the Department of Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank to achieve its goals. Under our legislation, the bank would receive $20 billion to identify, supplement, and “supercharge” loans made by other by other federal financing facilities….
 
This model isn’t new…. During all of the most productive periods of our past, Americans used private-public partnerships to strengthen and bolster our economy. Why can’t we do it again?
 
…The American people — and the people of the world — need the U.S. to get back in the saddle and regain economic leadership. That won’t happen without the hard work and ingenuity of private companies. But it also won’t happen without targeted investments from the federal government. Strategic public financing is an American tradition that’s behind many of our greatest national achievements. It’s time we restored it.
 
Read the rest here.