John Barrow: “I've spent a lot of time visiting businesses in my district, many of which are large manufacturers. I've been struck…”

“I've spent a lot of time visiting businesses in my district, many of which are large manufacturers. I've been struck that even as our economy becomes more sophisticated, we still rely a great deal on our manufacturing base. That base is threatened by competition from abroad and by financial crisis at home. What has sustained us through the hard times lately has always been American innovation. The America COMPETES Act fosters that tradition and I'm proud to support it. I'm pleased to offer an amendment that I think makes this good bill a little bit better. In the 12th District of Georgia, we make everything from lawnmower blades to jet airplanes. But the fundamentals of both industries are very similar. It all starts with education in science, math, and engineering. My amendment simply requires that we include manufacturing education in our long-term strategic plan for manufacturing research and development. I think that makes good common sense, and good business sense, and I thank the chairman for his support.”