Like many students, I thought of Texas Instruments as a student’s best friend when trying to navigate the complexities of high level math and science courses – enabling us to take on rigorous work that likely would have gone over our heads without the technology they provided.

But as a student, I was unaware of TI’s depth of commitment to STEM education and developing new technologies. It’s a commitment with long tradition that remains unwavering to this day.

Yesterday, TI Chairman, President and CEO Rich Templeton delivered the keynote address at a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) event to discuss how critical university research is to America’s future.

The next generation of American innovation is intrinsically tied to the next generation of our workforce – and Mr. Templeton hit the nail on the head when saying, “”The leading companies were founded in the U.S. because many of the best minds in the world were attracted to our research universities and wanted to come here to work with the best and work on the best.”

The NAM is in total agreement with Mr. Templeton’s focus on the recent NAS study titled, “Research Universities and the Future of America.” He highlighted the importance of strengthening government support for science funding at the federal and state levels, strengthening university partnerships with business and building talent especially in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, through improved kindergarten through 12th-grade (K-12) education, stable funding for graduate research, and high-skilled immigration reform.

America innovation is only as good as the men and women working to develop a future we have yet to imagine – and leading companies like Texas Instruments are helping pave the way for a brighter tomorrow by pushing for STEM education today.

President Obama took his “Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour” to Texas today and toured NAM member Applied Materials in Austin to see one of its semiconductor manufacturing lines and deliver remarks on making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing. Applied Materials is the world’s largest maker of chip manufacturing equipment — building the advanced machines that create computer chips for the products that power our lives.

Applied Materials has some of the most cutting edge, high tech facilities in the world – a perfect location for the President to talk about making the United States the best place in the world for advanced manufacturing. perform the precise steps that turn silicon wafers into advanced integrated circuits.

The President is in Texas today and it is being reported that he plans to announce that he is issuing an Executive Order focused on manufacturing innovation. This is good news. It continues to recognize what the NAM already knows: Manufacturers in the U.S. are the world’s foremost innovators and therefore are driving our economy. It also endorses the NAM’s position that this White House initiative can be accomplished with existing funding and not increase the deficit.

Today’s announcement follows through on the President’s commitment, made in his State of the Union address earlier this year, to launch three new manufacturing hubs around emerging manufacturing technologies. The existing hub launched as a pilot in Youngstown, OH is centered on additive manufacturing and is being led by many NAM member companies. The competition for the next three institutes are said to focus on digital manufacturing, lightweight and modern metals manufacturing, and manufacturing for next generation power electronics. It is hard to imagine given these areas that NAM’s members will not once again be the innovative brainpower behind these centers as well.

The NAM has been an advocate of this concept. Public-private partnerships bringing together the best minds from industry, academia, the research community, and the government have a proven track record of delivering game-changing innovations in manufacturing products and processes. The NAM has also been clear that now more than ever before these partnerships must be strategic and not lead to wasteful spending. In a recent letter to the U.S Senate we in fact supported an amendment to the Budget resolution that would accelerate the development of advanced manufacturing technologies as long the effort did not add to the deficit.

While it is encouraging that the President continues to bring attention to the power that manufacturing has in job growth and creation the NAM will remain vigilant that any new proposals are fiscally responsible and are in sync with the NAM’s Growth Agenda.

During the recent debate in the Senate on the Marketplace Fairness Act, S. 743, another 21^st century tax issue popped up, albeit briefly.  We think it’s worth going back to consider an amendment submitted by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) that clarifies the taxation of digital goods and services. This amendment is based on bipartisan legislation the Senator introduced last Congress with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Simply put, digital goods are electronic files sold online. This includes software, manuals in digital form, and images among other products. Digital services include products ranging from cloud computing to alarm monitoring. These are all products and services that may be leveraged by manufacturers to increase the efficiency of their shopfloor, enhance their ability to connect with customers, and help them better manage their supply chain.

When these goods and services are “shipped” online it is not always as simple as traveling from point A to point B. These digital products can actually bounce around to many “locations” in cyberspace all in the blink of an eye. Today’s current tax regime allows multiple states to tax a manufacturer or other taxpayer on just one transaction.

Manufacturers are already under intense economic pressure ranging from global competition and other adverse and unnecessary regulations in the United States. Fixing this statute with Senators Thune and Wyden’s proposal that would eliminate duplicative and discriminatory taxes would increase manufacturers’ ability to compete.

We look forward to working with both chambers on this very targeted issue so that manufacturers have one less obstacle in their way as they continue to lead America’s most innovative industry.

If all the news we shared with you last week on the legislative activity on cybersecurity has you looking for more this week, we call your attention to the release of Verizon’s sixth annual Data Breach Investigation Report just made public. The report commonly referred to as the DBIR analyzed more than 47,000 security incidents and studied more than 600 data breaches. What they found is alarming but should not be surprising to all the manufacturers on the front lines working hard to protect their data every day from theft and intrusion.

Manufacturers know their intellectual property, including patents, product designs, and trade secrets are the envy of their competitors around the world. They are therefore the constant target of cyberthieves attempting to access this critical data. The DBIR in fact found that manufacturing is the highest targeted industry (33%) by those motivated by industrial espionage. The report also provides a wealth of data on where the threats originate, what the motivating factors are, and provides some recommended best practices to help prevent them.

This type of research performed by Verizon and other industry segment leaders is extremely useful to their manufacturing peers and policymakers around the world. In the United States, our government made a good step forward to address the threats outlined in the DBIR when the House of Representatives passed H.R. 624, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) on April 18. The NAM now looks forward to working with the U.S. Senate to ensure similar legislation is passed in that chamber and sent to the President for his signature.

Today was a big win for manufacturers in the House of Representatives. In recent years, cybersecurity has become more and more of a focus for manufacturers who operate networks featuring comprehensive and collaborative networks between customers, vendors, suppliers and governments. As the threat of online attacks grows, manufacturers have implemented the most complete security possible to protect those networks – but current law doesn’t offer the full protection manufacturers need. But with today’s passage of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) of 2013 (H.R. 624) we’re a lot closer.

“Manufacturers take any intrusion seriously, but the problem is that we can’t get any information from the government about what those threats are,” said NAM Director of Technology and Domestic Economic Policy Brian Raymond. “CISPA fixes the problem by creating a stronger partnership among the Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community and manufacturers, allowing them to collaborate when credible threats arise.”

Marlin Steel, led by President Drew Greenblatt, an NAM executive committee member, takes a strong stance against cyber crime, noting, “if greater information-sharing can help find and prosecute someone using the Internet to commit a crime, it is a line worth shifting.”

The House voted 288-127 to pass the bill – with significant and widespread bipartisan support. Support for CISPA is strong and growing. Which makes the President’s threat of a veto perplexing at best. This is a solution that delivers the necessary protections and information sharing without adding duplicative regulations that fail to improve security. CISPA will allow manufacturers to take an increasingly proactive, rather than a reactive, approach to threats.

As the NAM Technology Subcommittee Chair, Eric Fitzgerald Reed, said, “Cybersecurity will play a significant role in defining the future of the Internet and business in the 21st century, so it is natural that the manufacturing and high-tech communities strongly support the CISPA legislation.”

It’s time for the Senate and the President to take the baton and put into law the protections that manufacturers need to counter the growing cyber threats in an online world.

The NAM’s Growth Agenda lays out policies that will make manufacturers in the United States the world’s leading innovators. This can be accomplished partly through federal government support of Federal research agencies and encouraging strong collaborations between the public and private sector. These innovations and the resulting intellectual property coming out of the private and public sector also need to be protected. A robust Federal cybersecurity infrastructure therefore needs improvement. The budget released today by President Obama gives considerable attention to these issues important to manufacturers.

The President’s budget provides for $143B investment in Federal research and development spending across multiple agencies. Much of the research spending is geared specifically toward advances in manufacturing innovation and technology. Of the overall R&D spending, $2.9B is set aside for supporting advanced manufacturing efforts at the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce. The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program which is highly utilized by many small manufacturers also receives a $25M increase in the FY14 budget request.

Cybersecurity investment appears to be a priority for the Administration by just looking at the numbers. Almost across the board increases are seen in agencies such as the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to support cybersecurity research and development inside the government and cyberworkforce training. It also supports the NAM-supported multi-agency Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program.

Another focus of the President’s budget is the mandatory $1B in new spending for a new program called the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). This money will fund fifteen regional centers to develop and commercialize emerging technologies. The NAM is in support of this concept but still remains concerned about where the money is found to fund it.

These numbers by themselves are all good news for today’s manufacturers that must continue to out-innovate their competitors around the world. We are pleased by this commitment by the Federal government to take the necessary steps to put manufacturers on the front of the cutting edge of innovative developments.

The investments are real commitments to manufacturers and in support of the NAM Growth Agenda. But many other steps need to be made before new dollars can be spent and manufacturers can have the ability to participate in these projects. Manufacturers will continue to push all policymakers to give us a comprehensive innovation agenda which will include delivering on the entire NAM Growth Agenda, not just this one piece of it.

Recently the National Alliance for Jobs and Innovation (NAJI) has launched a new line of defense in the battle to protect the intellectual property and information technology developed here in the U.S. The NAM is a leading member of this 100-plus member coalition developed to fight IP and IT theft around the world.

According to the NAJI, IP and IT innovation directly accounts for more than 27 million jobs in the U.S. Theft of IP and IT is hurting manufacturers in the U.S., costing billions to both large and small manufacturers. Innovation is the lifeblood of manufacturing. The advances in technology and production that allow manufacturers in the U.S. to succeed both on a domestic and global scale are built on a foundation of behind the scenes work and creativity.

A manufacturing.net article features NAM Executive Committee member and President of Marlin Steel, Drew Greenblatt, who puts a human face on the rampant IP and IT theft that is hurting his business and countless others just like it.

“Greenblatt has been working on building up Marlin Steel since 1998, when he bought the company and moved its operations to Baltimore, Maryland. He currently employs 32, including a handful of degree-holding mechanical engineers, and he wants to expand the business to create more well-paying American jobs. But he’s working in an environment where foreign competitors ‘literally copy-and-paste [the Marlin Steel] website,’ including both his name and the company’s name, and then blatantly copy any new designs that his mechanical engineers come up with.

Greenblatt says, ‘We have these amazing designs that my engineers are coming up with. They’re innovative and different. We’re whopping China, we’re hiring people, we’re growing, we’re reinvesting back into the plant — these are all good things. This is what makes America great. I pay my guys really well, and we want this train to continue. It makes it hard if the American government is not protecting me and my company’s IP. It hurts the stellar abilities of my engineers.’”

The NAM is a leader in the fight against IP theft – and our resolve to protect manufacturer’s sweat equity is unyielding. We’re looking forward to working with the NAJI to ensure that manufacturer’s innovation is protected the world over.

It’s hard to avoid the issue of cybersecurity these days. Everywhere you turn there seems to be another story about hacking, theft of intellectual property, and other activity ranging from disruptive to sinister. As a result, the number of proposed solutions now seem to equal the number of press articles. At the NAM we think it is time to stop talking and take action.

The NAM has lent its support once again to a bill recently introduced in the House of Representatives that would allow companies to share cyberthreat information with the government, and vice versa, as well as with other companies. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (H.R. 624) is a bipartisan bill championed by the leaders of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). The NAM has repeatedly said to the Hill and the White House that if manufacturers are allowed to share information – and have liability protection when they do – the cybersecurity of our critical infrastructure can be significantly enhanced.

The White House has also weighed in on this issue. President Obama raised the importance of cybersecurity and protecting our nation’s intellectual property in his State of the Union address. The day after that speech he issued an Executive Order on cybersecurity. While we are encouraged that the issue of cybersecurity is a priority for this Administration the Executive Order lacks the incentives and liability protection for manufacturers that legislation like The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act would provide.

The economic and national security of our nation is the NAM’s highest priority. Manufacturers need timely, reliable, and actionable cyber information so their businesses can address the threats quickly and move on to what they do best and what matters most – making America strong. Let’s stop talking about cybersecurity and pass a bipartisan bill that will help manufacturers.

If Congressional staff did not know before this morning how high-tech manufacturing is, they do now after attending a briefing with some of the leading American innovators. The NAM joined forces with the BSA | The Software Alliance on Thursday, February 21, to demonstrate to members of Congress, their staff and the media the important role software solutions have in spurring manufacturing technology advances and creating economic opportunity.

Executives from NAM members The Procter & Gamble Company and Microsoft Corporation were among the companies that participated on a panel discussion on why software and other intellectual property must be protected to help drive innovation. Manufacturers of all sizes leverage information technology to design, produce and deliver their products.

Educating Congress and the public on the strong role that manufacturers play in America’s global technology leadership position is a priority for the NAM. We encourage you to share your innovative story with the NAM and help us drive that message.