Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1721) to direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study on the feasibility of manufacturing in the United States products for critical infrastructure sectors, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1721

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act''. SEC. 2. STUDY ON CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE MANUFACTURING IN THE UNITED STATES.

(a) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a study to--

(1) identify, within each critical infrastructure sector, any product that is in high demand and is being imported due to a manufacturing, material, or supply chain constraint in the United States;

(2) analyze the costs and benefits of manufacturing in the United States any product identified under paragraph (1), including any effects on--

(A) jobs, employment rates, and labor conditions in the United States; and

(B) the cost of the product;

(3) identify any product identified under paragraph (1) that feasibly may be manufactured in the United States; and

(4) analyze the feasibility of, and any impediments to, manufacturing any product identified under paragraph (3) in--

(A) a rural area;

(B) an industrial park; or

(C) an industrial park in a rural area.

(b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--

(1) submit to Congress a report containing the results of the study required by subsection (a), with recommendations relating to manufacturing in the United States products identified under subsection (a)(3); and

(2) make the report available to the public on the website of the Department of Commerce.

(c) Limitation on Authority.--This section may not be construed to provide the Secretary of Commerce with authority to compel a person to provide information described in this section.

(d) Definition of Critical Infrastructure Sector.--In this section, the term ``critical infrastructure sector'' means each of the 16 designated critical infrastructure sectors identified in Presidential Policy Directive 21 of February 12, 2013 (Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1721, the Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act, led by Representative Miller-Meeks, my good friend. She is an outstanding Representative. We are very fortunate to have her on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, manufacturing is vital to the United States, not only for economic stability and job creation but for maintaining our global leadership in emerging technologies.

To sustain this leadership, it is crucial that we identify and address barriers to making critical products here at home. Otherwise, we risk becoming reliant on countries like China.

This legislation will advance domestic manufacturing while safeguarding our economy and national security. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this particular bill, a very important bill, very critical, H.R.
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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank, again, Representative Miller- Meeks and Representative Schrier for this great piece of legislation. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this particular bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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