Make It In America

In 2022, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Democrats unveiled the new Make It In America plan to create jobs and expand economic opportunity. With too many Americans only getting by instead of getting ahead, the plan focuses on four key areas where Congress can be a partner in creating the best conditions for the growth of jobs and opportunities. They are: education, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, and supply chain resilience. Twenty-two bipartisan Make It In America bills have now been enacted into law, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 and the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022.
To read Leader Hoyer’s remarks on the updated Make It In America plan, click here. For more information on the goals and policy recommendations included in the Make It In America plan, click here.
First launched by Leader Hoyer in 2010 when our economic recovery from the 2008 global financial crisis was just beginning, the Make It In America plan has been focused on gathering the best ideas and transforming them into policies that Congress can enact to help workers and businesses succeed. The plan has brought together bipartisan policies and legislation aimed at promoting economic growth, the creation of jobs that won’t be outsourced, and building a competitive workforce that can access opportunities in today’s changing global economy.
Recognizing the many changes that took place during our recovery, House Democrats held a series of hearings in 2015 called “Make It In America: What’s Next?” to explore new challenges and new opportunities in our economy. During the hearing series, seventy-seven House Democrats heard testimony from innovators, entrepreneurs, economists, Members of Congress, and others about how the Make It In America plan should be updated to address new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities. Click here for a look at testimony from the hearings. It was in these hearings that House Democrats identified the three original areas on which Congress ought to focus: education, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure.
Understanding that the best ideas would come from outside of Washington, Leader Hoyer and House Democrats embarked on the Make It In America Listening Tour starting in 2017, visiting nine cities across the country to hear directly from Americans about the challenges they face and identifying best practices in meeting them. The ideas shared on this tour informed the 2018 update to the Make It In America plan.
As we continue our financial recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Make It In America agenda is responding to the challenges of today’s economy with the inclusion of a fourth pillar, supply chain resilience, which joins MIIA’s existing pillars of education, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure to serve as an effective playbook to expand American families’ and businesses’ access to the tools they need to succeed in our twenty-first century global economy
The Senate’s passage today of the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act is a strong statement that we will hold other countries accountable for engaging in currency manipulation. I urge Speaker Boehner and Republican Leader Cantor to allow a vote on this bill in the House, where it received strong, bipartisan support last Congress and, I believe, will pass with wide support this year. Our businesses have what it takes to succeed on a level playing field, and this bill will help them do so. Democrats’ Make It In America plan for job creation, of which this legislation is a part, will get more Americans back to work by helping our businesses innovate and export new products. Sending this bill to the President would be a victory for American businesses and American workers.
The American people are demanding action on jobs now. The President has sent a bill to Congress that economists say would help boost our economy and create as many as 1.9 million jobs. House Democrats have proposed our own plan, Make It In America, which overlaps with the President’s bill and makes similar investments in innovation, education, and infrastructure to create jobs and increase competitiveness. These plans draw on the best ideas from both parties. While Democrats have two good plans, Republicans have yet to introduce one of their own. Today’s vote in the Senate further demonstrates that Republicans are pursuing an agenda that is inconsistent with the best interests of our country. Instead of working with Democrats to create jobs, they refuse to even consider a jobs plan. Instead of allowing the bill to come to the floor so they could debate and amend the parts of it with which they disagree, Republicans have once again simply said ‘no.’ It is long past time that Republicans get serious about unemployment and adopt the type of jobs plan the American people have been asking for.
Today’s report is a further reminder that Congress needs to act now on jobs. While the number of private sector jobs rose by 137,000 in September, and we have had 19 straight months of growth in the private sector, this is not nearly enough for the millions of American still without work and worried about making ends meet for their families. We still have much work left to do.
Today I was pleased that the Senate voted in a bipartisan manner to move forward and consider legislation that will hold countries accountable for manipulating their currency. I strongly believe that American workers and businesses can win when they compete on a fair and level playing field, and that is what this bill would help achieve. As part of House Democrats’ Make It In America jobs plan, this legislation would have a significant impact on lowering our trade deficit and getting more Americans back to work in our manufacturing sector. This bill received bipartisan support in the House last year, and I urge House Republicans to bring this bill to the Floor immediately.
Make It In America does mean success but Make It In America also means make it in America – manufacture it in America, grow it in America, sell it here and around the world. So that we can build our manufacturing sector, grow jobs in the manufacturing sector, and make sure our inventors, innovators, and developers don't migrate, as some fear, overseas where products are being taken to scale. So we believe that focusing it making it America so that the label will read ‘Made in America’ is very important as we grow our economy, sustain that growth over time and provide the kind of good paying jobs with good benefits that Americans need and want.
Last week, Members of Congress were back in our districts listening to constituents and exchanging ideas about how to fix our economy. They heard the same message again and again. Right now, this country is in real trouble, and our greatest challenge is creating jobs. Not just any jobs but good jobs, high-paying jobs that will help more of our people 'make it' in America. To do so, we will have to invest in education, innovation, and creating the conditions for businesses to launch and expand. The best way to do it is to reinvigorate the sector of our economy that 'makes things,' because strong manufacturing can yield benefits across our economy. That is what Make It In America is all about.
With no comprehensive jobs plan and little action taken to help put more Americans back to work, Republicans signaled willingness in September to find common ground on job creation after hearing from their constituents over August that they wanted to see bipartisan cooperation.
America is still recovering from the worst economic crisis many of us have seen in our lifetimes. For many African-Americans, recovery is not coming nearly fast enough. We have made some progress since the worst days of the crisis -- President Obama inherited an economy that was losing nearly three-quarters of a million jobs each month, and we now have had eighteen straight months of private sector job growth -- but more needs to be done.
Our students represent a generation of abundant promise. We can help them reach their full potential by making critical investments today, and this includes providing greater resources to teachers, engaging more parents, and turning around failing schools.
What Democrats Were Doing To Support Job Creation Last Year:
A year ago today, President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act into law, expanding much needed lending to millions of small businesses and offering tax incentives to help small businesses grow, hire, and fuel our economy, without adding a dime to the deficit.
What Republicans Are Doing To Support Job Creation This Year: