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
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House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) delivered remarks this morning at the National Press Club on the need for American leaders to look beyond two-year election cycles to address the challenges facing our country, including job creation, economic growth, and fiscal responsibility. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
U.S. Rep. Mark Critz and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland toured the Bucyrus America plant Tuesday, getting a firsthand glimpse of how the country's largest manufacturer of mining equipment "makes it in America."
As we work to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, both Republicans and Democrats have offered plans for our economy. Republicans' own Congressional campaign chair admitted that they intend to return America to the "exact same agenda" of the Bush years -- the agenda that got our economy into this mess. Democrats, on the other hand, believe that when more products are made in America, more families will be able to Make It In America. That's why Democrats are pursuing the Make It In America agenda, a plan to create middle-class jobs by rebuilding our manufacturing sector.
Rebuilding America's manufacturing industry is essential to creating well-paying, middle-class jobs, and to ensuring that America can be the world's innovation leader for generations to come. That's why Democrats have focused so much energy on the Make It In America agenda, an effort to strengthen American manufacturing. It is a plan that includes incentives for manufacturing investment, workforce training, encouraging innovation, and fighting for a fair playing field for American companies that compete abroad.
Strengthening America's manufacturing is essential to the creation of well-paying, middle class jobs. That's why Democrats have worked hard to pass pieces of our Make It In America agenda. Today, the House continued the Make It In America agenda by passing the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which levels the trade playing field by holding China accountable for its unfair currency policy.
The Republicans unveiled their "Pledge to America" last week and, just as we thought, it contained no new ideas and was a return to the "exact same" failed agenda as President Bush. Their agenda to return to their previous policies makes it clear who they stand with—big corporations and special interests, instead of middle class families.
Today, President Obama signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act, an important step to boost our small businesses and contribute to our economic recovery. The bill creates a small business lending fund to help businesses access the capital they need to grow and hire new workers; it also includes $12 billion in small business tax cuts and funds export-promoting programs that help American companies compete abroad. The Small Business Jobs Act is fully paid for, so it does not add to the deficit—and it is projected to create or save hundreds of thousands of jobs.
I'm pleased the Ways and Means Committee passed WTO-consistent China currency legislation this morning. I will bring this bill to the House Floor for a vote next week. While a multilateral approach to addressing this issue is preferable, we cannot wait any longer to level the playing field for U.S. businesses and protect American manufacturing jobs. We recognize the efforts China is making toward reform, but they need to act faster to allow their currency to appreciate. Taking action on this bill, as part of our Make It In America agenda to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and create jobs, will help American workers and small businesses compete successfully.
Today Republicans unveiled their agenda to go back to the failed economic policies that led to the deepest recession in generations. Just as we expected, the focus is on help for the wealthy over the middle class and big corporations over small businesses.