The House Science Committee this week passed out an updated version (Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to , America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. The vote was bipartisan, 29 to 8.

Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) issued a statement and commented:

If we are to reverse the trend of the last twenty years, where our country’s technology edge in the world has diminished, we must make the investments necessary today. The statistics speak for them themselves. More than half of our economic growth since World War II can be directly attributed to development and adoption of new technologies. The path is simple. Research and education lead to innovation. Innovation leads to economic development and good paying jobs.

The bill has six major sections, including provisions to encourage R&D in areas such as energy research. There are also programs to strengthen STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The bill continues the trend of increasing funding authorization for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, as well.

Last week, the National Association of Manufacturers sent a letter to the committee expressing manufacturers’ support for the legislation.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) issued a statement noting committee passage, saying he planned to schedule the bill for floor action before the Memorial Day recess.

The House Science Committee considers an exciting area of policy — many exciting areas — on Wednesday when it convenes a hearing, “The Future of Manufacturing: What is the Role of the Federal Government in Supporting Innovation by U.S. Manufacturers?” The issue at hand, the comittee says, is the need “for U.S. manufacturers to adopt innovative technologies and processes in order to remain globally competitive, and to determine the appropriate role for the Federal Government in supporting efforts by U.S. manufacturers to innovate.”

Witnesses are:

• Susan Smyth, Director of Manufacturing, GM R & D, and Chief Scientist for Manufacturing, General Motors Company
• Len Sauers, Vice President, Global Sustainability, Procter & Gamble
• Debtosh Chakrabarti, President and Chief Operating Officer, PMC Group Inc.
• Mark Tuominen, Director, National Nanomanufacturing Network
• Wayne Crews, Vice President for Policy and Director of Technology Studies, Competitive Enterprise Institute

The hearing charter includes a good discussion of manufacturing’s role in the U.S. economy, the importance of innovation, and federal policies intended to support that innovation.