National Manufacturing Advisory Council for the 21st Century Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3917 To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the National Manufac- turing Advisory Council within the Department of Commerce, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 7, 2023 Mr. NEGUSE (for himself and Mr. MANN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Na- tional Manufacturing Advisory Council within the De- partment of Commerce, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Manufac- 4 turing Advisory Council for the 21st Century Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL MANUFACTURING ADVISORY COUNCIL. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3917 IH (1) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 1 Council’’ means the National Manufacturing Advi- 2 sory Council established under subsection (b). 3 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 4 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 5 gress’’ means— 6 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 7 and Transportation of the Senate; 8 (B) the Committee on Health, Education, 9 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 10 (C) the Committee on Energy and Natural 11 Resources of the Senate; 12 (D) the Committee on Armed Services of 13 the Senate; 14 (E) the Committee on Appropriations of 15 the Senate; 16 (F) the Committee on Small Business and 17 Entrepreneurship of the Senate; 18 (G) the Committee on Energy and Com- 19 merce of the House of Representatives; 20 (H) the Committee on Education and the 21 Workforce of the House of Representatives; 22 (I) the Committee on Science, Space, and 23 Technology of the House of Representatives; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3917 IH (J) the Committee on Armed Services of 1 the House of Representatives; 2 (K) the Committee on Appropriations of 3 the House of Representatives; and 4 (L) the Committee on Small Business of 5 the House of Representatives. 6 (3) ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREA.—The 7 term ‘‘economically distressed area’’ means an area 8 that meets 1 or more of the requirements described 9 in section 301(a) of the Public Works and Economic 10 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3161(a)). 11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of Commerce. 13 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con- 15 sultation with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of De- 16 fense, the Secretary of Energy, the United States Trade 17 Representative, and the Secretary of Education, shall es- 18 tablish within the Department of Commerce the National 19 Manufacturing Advisory Council. 20 (c) MISSION.—The mission of the Advisory Council 21 shall be to— 22 (1) provide a forum for— 23 (A) regular communication between the 24 Federal Government and the manufacturing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3917 IH sector, including manufacturing workers, in the 1 United States; and 2 (B) discussing and proposing solutions to 3 problems relating to the manufacturing sector 4 in the United States, including the manufac- 5 turing workforce, supply chain interruptions, 6 and other logistical challenges; 7 (2) advise the Secretary regarding policies and 8 programs of the Federal Government that affect 9 manufacturing, including the manufacturing work- 10 force, in the United States; and 11 (3) annually produce a national strategic plan, 12 as described in subsection (g), that provides rec- 13 ommendations to the Secretary and the appropriate 14 committees of Congress regarding how to help the 15 United States remain the preeminent destination 16 throughout the world for investment in manufac- 17 turing, which shall be based on the execution of the 18 duties of the Advisory Council. 19 (d) DUTIES.—The duties of the Advisory Council 20 shall include the following: 21 (1) Meeting not less frequently than once every 22 180 days, in a manner to be determined by the Sec- 23 retary, in order to provide independent advice and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3917 IH recommendations to the Secretary regarding issues 1 involving manufacturing in the United States. 2 (2) Identifying and assessing the impact that 3 technological developments, critical production ca- 4 pacity, skill availability, investment patterns, and 5 emerging defense needs have on the manufacturing 6 competitiveness of the United States and providing 7 advice and recommendations to the Secretary re- 8 garding that impact. 9 (3) Soliciting input from the public and private 10 sectors and academia relating to emerging trends in 11 manufacturing, and the responsiveness of Federal 12 programming with respect to manufacturing, and 13 providing advice and recommendations to the Sec- 14 retary for areas of increased Federal attention with 15 respect to manufacturing. 16 (4) Identifying, and providing advice and rec- 17 ommendations to the Secretary regarding, global 18 and domestic manufacturing trends and threats to 19 the manufacturing sector in the United States, in- 20 cluding on matters such as supply chain interrup- 21 tions, logistical challenges, and technological changes 22 affecting the manufacturing base in the United 23 States. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3917 IH (5) Providing advice and recommendations to 1 the Secretary on matters relating to investment in, 2 and support of, the manufacturing workforce in the 3 United States, including on matters such as— 4 (A) worker participation, including through 5 labor organizations and through other methods 6 determined by the Advisory Council, in plan- 7 ning for the deployment of new technologies 8 across the manufacturing sector in the United 9 States and within workplaces in that sector; 10 (B) training and education priorities for 11 the Federal Government and employers to as- 12 sist workers in adapting the skills and experi- 13 ences of those workers to fit the demands of the 14 manufacturing sector in the United States in 15 the 21st century; 16 (C) how the development of new tech- 17 nologies and processes have impacted, and will 18 impact, the manufacturing workforce of the 19 United States and the economy of the United 20 States, which shall be based on input from 21 manufacturing workers; 22 (D) management practices in the manufac- 23 turing sector in the United States that lead to 24 worker employment, job quality, worker protec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3917 IH tion, worker participation and power in decision 1 making, and investment in worker career suc- 2 cess; 3 (E) policies and procedures that expand 4 access to jobs, career advancement opportuni- 5 ties, and management opportunities for under- 6 represented populations; and 7 (F) how to improve access to demand-driv- 8 en manufacturing-related education, training, 9 and re-training for workers, including at com- 10 munity and technical colleges, through other in- 11 stitutions of higher education, and through ap- 12 prenticeships and work-based learning opportu- 13 nities. 14 (6) Providing recommendations to the Secretary 15 on ways to— 16 (A) provide— 17 (i) manufacturing-related worker edu- 18 cation, training, and development; and 19 (ii) entrepreneurship training relating 20 to manufacturing; 21 (B) connect individuals and businesses 22 with services described in subparagraph (A) 23 that are offered in the communities of those in- 24 dividuals or businesses; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3917 IH (C) coordinate services relating to manu- 1 facturing employee engagement, including em- 2 ployee ownership and workforce training; 3 (D) connect manufacturers with commu- 4 nity and technical colleges, other institutions of 5 higher education, State or local workforce devel- 6 opment boards established under section 101 or 7 107 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 8 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111, 3122), labor orga- 9 nizations, and nonprofit job training providers 10 to develop and support training and job place- 11 ment services, and apprenticeship and online 12 learning platforms, for new and incumbent 13 manufacturing workers; 14 (E) develop programming to prevent man- 15 ufacturing job losses in the United States as 16 entities adopt new technologies and processes; 17 and 18 (F) develop best practices for manufactur- 19 ers to incorporate, or transition to, employee 20 ownership structures. 21 (7) With respect to the matters described in 22 paragraphs (1) through (6), soliciting input from— 23 (A) economically distressed areas; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3917 IH (B) areas of the United States in which 1 foreign competition has resulted in mass layoffs 2 in the manufacturing sector. 3 (8) Completing other specific tasks requested by 4 the Secretary. 5 (e) MEMBERSHIP.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council 7 shall— 8 (A) consist of individuals appointed by the 9 Secretary with a balance of backgrounds, expe- 10 riences, and viewpoints; and 11 (B) include individuals with manufacturing 12 experience who represent— 13 (i) private industry, including small 14 and medium-sized manufacturers and any 15 relevant standards development organiza- 16 tions or relevant trade associations; 17 (ii) academia; and 18 (iii) labor. 19 (2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 20 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, accept rec- 21 ommendations from the public regarding the ap- 22 pointment of individuals under paragraph (1). 23 (3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3917 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 1 Advisory Council shall be appointed by the Sec- 2 retary for a term of 3 years. 3 (B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew 4 an appointment made under subparagraph (A) 5 for not more than 2 additional terms. 6 (C) STAGGER TERMS.—The Secretary may 7 stagger the terms of the members of the Advi- 8 sory Council to ensure that the terms of those 9 members expire during different years. 10 (D) VACANCIES.— 11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 12 (ii), a member appointed to fill a vacancy 13 on the Advisory Council occurring before 14 the expiration of the term for which the 15 predecessor of the newly appointed member 16 was appointed shall be appointed only for 17 the remainder of that term of the prede- 18 cessor. 19 (ii) FURTHER SERVICE.—A member 20 of the Advisory Council who is appointed 21 for the remainder of a term of a prede- 22 cessor under clause (i) may serve after the 23 expiration of that term of the predecessor 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3917 IH and until the date on which the Secretary 1 has appointed a successor. 2 (f) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—All functions of the United 4 States Manufacturing Council of the International 5 Trade Administration of the Department of Com- 6 merce, including the personnel, assets, and obliga- 7 tions of the United States Manufacturing Council of 8 the International Trade Administration of the De- 9 partment of Commerce, as in existence on the day 10 before the date of enactment of this Act, shall be 11 transferred to the Advisory Council. 12 (2) DEEMING OF NAME.—Any reference in any 13 law, regulation, document, paper, or other record of 14 the United States to the United States Manufac- 15 turing Council of the International Trade Adminis- 16 tration of the Department of Commerce shall be 17 deemed a reference to the Advisory Council. 18 (3) UNEXPENDED BALANCES.—Unexpended 19 balances of appropriations, authorization, alloca- 20 tions, or other funds related to the United States 21 Manufacturing Council of the International Trade 22 Administration of the Department of Commerce 23 shall be available for use by the Advisory Council for 24 the purpose for which the appropriations, authoriza- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3917 IH tions, allocations, or other funds were originally 1 made available. 2 (4) EXISTING ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Any 3 Federal advisory committee of the Department of 4 Commerce that is operating on the day before the 5 date of enactment of this Act under a charter filed 6 in accordance with section 1008(c) of title 5, United 7 States Code, for the purpose of addressing the pur- 8 poses and duties described in this section shall sat- 9 isfy the requirement under subsection (b) to estab- 10 lish the Advisory Council if, not later than 90 days 11 after that date of enactment, the Federal advisory 12 committee is modified, as necessary, to comply with 13 the requirements of this section. 14 (g) NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than 15 180 days after the date on which the Advisory Council 16 holds the initial meeting of the Advisory Council, and an- 17 nually thereafter, the Advisory Council shall submit to the 18 Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress— 19 (1) a national strategic plan for manufacturing 20 in the United States that is based on the execution 21 of the duties of the Advisory Council under sub- 22 section (d); and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3917.IH H3917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 3917 IH (2) a detailed statement of the activities that 1 the Advisory Council conducted to carry out the du- 2 ties of the Advisory Council under subsection (d). 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