Jane Harman: “Mr. Chairman, I am extremely disappointed that a procedural maneuver may prevent a clean vote on the Tanner amendment…”

“Mr. Chairman, I am extremely disappointed that a procedural maneuver may prevent a clean vote on the Tanner amendment, now called the Brown amendment, which I have enthusiastically cosponsored. Instead we will vote on a watered-down compromise, much less than we need. NIST technology programs never used to be political hot potatoes. Both the MEP and ATP were established, as we just heard, during the Reagan and Bush administrations. Both programs are embraced by Members on both sides of the aisle because they make our Nation's businesses more competitive worldwide. Both programs are visionary and prove that government can be an effective partner with industry on technology development. Mr. Chairman, let me just spend a few moments discussing the MEP and, in particular, California's Manufacturing Technology Center in Southern California's South Bay. Last year, 51 small manufacturers hired 442 additional employees after implementing improvements recommended by the CMTC. These same manufacturers saw their sales increase by a total of $5.8 million. Those are private-sector dollars, not taxpayer dollars. It is all the more intriguing to me why the Committee on Science majority has decided to turn the Federal Government's back on small manufacturers, which have accounted for the majority of manufacturing-sector job growth in the Nation during the last 25 years.”