Congress maintains a strong interest in the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector due to its central roles in the U.S. economy and national defense. Some see the U.S. manufacturing sector as vibrant and healthy. Administration Proposal

President Obama first proposed the establishment of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation in his FY2013 budget, requesting $1 billion in mandatory funding to support the establishment of up to 15 institutes. In addition, in the absence of congressional action on his FY2013 proposal, President Obama announced that three additional institutes would be competed and awarded in 2013—two by the Department of Defense (DOD) and one by the Department of Energy (DOE)—using existing authorities and FY2013 appropriations. The NNMI is to be managed collaboratively by the Department of Commerce's (DOC's) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), DOD, DOE, National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other agencies through the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO), a multi-agency coordination office. The AMNPO held four regional workshops and published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register inviting public comment on the proposed NNMI program. The input gathered from the workshops and the RFI was used by the AMNPO in the preparation of a National Science and Technology Committee report, National Network for Manufacturing Innovation: A Preliminary Design, hereinafter the Preliminary Design report , published in January 2013 that articulates the Administration's perspective of the principles and characteristics for the NNMI program. Each IMI would have a specific focus area (discussed in detail below) and serve as a regional innovation hub. Legislative Status

In August 2013, bills were introduced in the House ( H.R. 2996 ) and Senate ( S. 1468 ) to establish a Network for Manufacturing Innovation. H.R. 2996 was approved by the House in September 2014. S. 1468 was reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in August 2014. Provisions of H.R. 2996 were incorporated in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 ( H.R. 83 ) as Title VII. H.R. 83 was passed by the House and Senate, and signed into law on December 16, 2014. To carry out the NNMI, NIST is authorized $5 million per year for FY2015-FY2024 from funds appropriated to its Industrial Technology Services account and DOE is authorized to transfer to NIST up to $250 million over the FY2015-FY2024 period from funds appropriated for advanced manufacturing research and development in its Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account. The act also requires the NSTC to produce a quadrennial National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing. Other provisions of the bills included:
authorize the participation of representatives from industrial entities, research universities, community colleges, and such other entities as the Secretary considers appropriate, which may include career and technical education schools, federal laboratories, state, local, and tribal governments, businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations; authorize the Secretary of Commerce to award financial assistance to assist in planning, establishing, or supporting a center for manufacturing innovation; require the use of a competitive, merit review process in the selection of centers; limit financial assistance under the program to no more than seven years; establish a National Office of the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program, led by a Director, to oversee and carry out the program; require each center receiving financial assistance from the program to report annually to the Secretary of Commerce on its expenditures and performance with respect to its goals, plans, financial support, and accomplishments, as well as to how the center has furthered the authorized purposes of the program; require the Secretary of Commerce to prepare an annual report to Congress on the performance of the program; require the Government Accountability Office to perform a triennial assessment of the program reporting on the management, coordination, and industry utility of the program; assessing the extent to which the program has furthered its authorized purposes; and recommending legislative and administrative actions to improve the program; authorize the establishment of a Network for Manufacturing Innovation Fund and authorize appropriations of $600 million for the execution of the program; and designate the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute and manufacturing centers currently under interagency review as centers for manufacturing innovation. The Department of Defense is also playing a key role in the NNMI. As proposed, the NNMI would receive a one-time appropriation to be spent over nine years.
Manufacturing plays an important role in the nation's economy, employment, and national defense. Accordingly, Congress has maintained a strong interest in the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector. Some analysts have expressed concerns about a decades-long decline in manufacturing employment punctuated by a steep drop from 2001 to 2010, as well as about the offshore outsourcing of production and related functions, such as research and development, by U.S. manufacturers. Others see the U.S. manufacturing sector as vibrant and healthy as evidenced by growth in output and productivity.
In his FY2013 budget, President Obama proposed the creation of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) to help accelerate innovation by investing in industrially relevant manufacturing technologies with broad applications, and to support manufacturing technology commercialization by bridging the gap between the laboratory and the market. Congress did not act on the President's proposal for FY2013. Nevertheless, the Administration used the Department of Defense's existing authorities and FY2012 regular appropriations to compete and award a pilot institute, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, referring to it as "a proof-of-concept for the potential subsequent institutes." The Administration sought nationwide input from key stakeholder groups to help guide the design of the NNMI. The AMNPO held four regional workshops and published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register inviting public comment on the proposed NNMI program. The input gathered from the workshops and the RFI was used by the AMNPO to prepare a National Science and Technology Committee (NSTC) report, National Network for Manufacturing Innovation: A Preliminary Design, published in January 2013.
In his 2014 budget request, President Obama again included the NNMI proposal. He also announced his intention to establish three additional manufacturing institutes in FY2013 using existing authorities and appropriations, two by the Department of Defense (DOD) and one by the Department of Energy (DOE). These centers have been awarded, and a competition for a fifth center is under way. As in his FY2013 budget, the President's NNMI proposal calls for the establishment of up to 15 Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI) funded through a one-time infusion of $1 billion in mandatory funding to the Department of Commerce National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to be spent over multiple years. Each IMI would be comprised of stakeholders from industry, academia, federal agencies, and state government entities. Each IMI is to be competitively selected, serve as a regional hub for manufacturing innovation (as well as part of the national network), and have a unique focus area. Under the proposal, the NNMI would be managed collaboratively by NIST, DOD, DOE, the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other agencies.
In August 2013, bills were introduced in the House (H.R. 2996) and Senate (S. 1468) to establish a Network for Manufacturing Innovation. H.R. 2996 was approved by the House in September 2014. S. 1468 was reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in August 2014. Provisions of H.R. 2996 were incorporated in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R. 83) as Title VII. H.R. 83 was passed by the House and Senate, and signed into law on December 16, 2014. To carry out the NNMI, NIST is authorized $5 million per year for FY2015-FY2024 from funds appropriated to its Industrial Technology Services account and DOE is authorized to transfer to NIST up to $250 million over the FY2015-FY2024 period from funds appropriated for advanced manufacturing research and development in its Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account. The act also requires the NSTC to produce a quadrennial National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing.