Let’s build it in America.

That’s what we’ve done for generations.  And today, the private sector members of the Manufacturing Council had the opportunity to meet with Acting Secretary Blank, Under Secretary Sánchez, Assistant Secretary Lamb-Hale and others from the federal government to continue the discussion on how to enhance our global competitiveness and make the important investments necessary to ensure American manufacturers and communities across the country can continue to innovate here, manufacture here and have the skilled workforce they need to do it.

The Council and the team at Commerce and within the Obama administration are committed to helping businesses invest, grow and create jobs in America. We are tackling head-on the issues that the manufacturing industry, through the Council, have identified as most important. Some of these issues are a comprehensive energy strategy, passage of the trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama,  workforce development initiatives and tax and regulatory matters.

And, we’re making progress. Today, Secretary Blank discussed the American Jobs Act with the Council, highlighting, in particular, the pieces on infrastructure investment, the extension of 100% business expensing and payroll tax holidays that the Council has addressed.

And, we’re also making strides toward connecting the key players in these areas so they join forces. The Council is working with Skills for America’s Future, Change the Equation, the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and the Departments of Labor and Education to look at concrete next steps to address the workforce issues. The Commerce Department, along with partner agencies, announced the winners of our i6 Green Challenge. These winners will have the ability to leverage resources from five federal agencies to take their clean technology innovations and bring them to market.Council members came from across the country to join the conversation and hear from key partners across the federal government about the work they’re doing on issues the Council has been addressing and they are focused on building the relationships and building the initiatives and programs to make America the most competitive place in the world for business.

The collaboration with this Council is just one example of how the Obama administration is collaborating to ensure a smarter use of federal resources to foster regional innovation in support of sustainable economic prosperity.

The Manufacturing Council serves as the principal private sector advisory committee to the Secretary of Commerce on the United States manufacturing sector. The Council is charged with ensuring regular communication between the federal government and the manufacturing sector, advising the Secretary of Commerce on government policies and programs that affect United States manufacturing and provide a forum for discussing and proposing solutions to industry-related problems and to ensure that the United States remains the preeminent destination for investment in manufacturing through the world.