The Presidential Planner: Obama Launches $500 Million Manufacturing Partnership In Pittsburgh
ABC News' Mary Bruce reports:
Today the president will visit Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa. to announce a new $500 million manufacturing initiative to encourage investments in technology and boost job creation.
In a speech this morning, Obama will announce the "“Advanced Manufacturing Partnership,” an effort to bring together industry, universities and the government to determine the best investments to boost America's competitiveness.
“Today, I’m calling for all of us to come together… to spark a renaissance in American manufacturing and help our manufacturers develop the cutting-edge tools they need to compete with anyone in the world,” Obama said in a written statement. “With these key investments, we can ensure that the United States remains a nation that ‘invents it here and manufactures it here’ and creates high-quality, good paying jobs for American workers.”
The president is expected to highlight several specific initiatives this morning, including a $70 million project to award grants to companies that are making major advances in robotics and a plan to invest $100 million in “material genomes.”
Before making his announcement this morning, the president will the tour the university’s National Robotics Engineering Center and see a range of cutting-edge technologies that could have the potential to transform and assist the manufacturing sector.
The AMP, which is being developed based on the recommendation of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, will be led by Andrew Liveris, the CEO of Dow Chemical Corp., on the company side, and MIT president Susan Hockfield on the university side.
“Investing in manufacturing technologies like nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology are critical enablers, critical tools that manufacturers, in a wide variety of applications, can use to become more cost-competitive, to improve quality, and to accelerate product development,” Assistant to the President for Manufacturing Policy Ron Bloom told reporters today.
Bloom did not offer an exact breakdown of the $500 million, but said some of it is funding in the president’s budget while other portions are taken from existing resources.
The president will return to the White House this afternoon.
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And the oversight to make sure they are spending money on areas that will create lots of jobs will be….?
I believe we saw this movie already when he announced that he was going to help people in danger of being foreclosed on keep their homes (that went well, NOT, since the banks simply pocketed the money, appointed a commissioner to distribute BP money to New Orleans people who had lost their livelihood (they’re still waiting and the clock is running out of time before the remaining money is returned to BP), Wall Street executives appreciated the windfall since apparently they got major raises or bonuses as usual.
Posted by: whatever | June 24, 2011, 8:23 am 8:23 am
Will Bob (where’s Waldo) Casey be there? Because a picture with Bob and our Greece wannabe President is appropriate. Yes Bob, I’ll be calling your office and asking you to support a balanced budget amendment. Because after the House votes to approve, Senators like ours , Mr Robert Casey, who have been hiding under a rock since his Health Care and Stimulus votes, will be asking for our vote. Yes Bob, even though you didn’t have to run in 2010, and you have covered yourself with invisible ink, we know you are out here somewhere
Posted by: pauldia | June 24, 2011, 8:36 am 8:36 am
“an effort to bring together industry, universities and the government to determine the best investments to boost America’s competitiveness.” – ABC News
R E D – F L A G !
This is way beyond what the federal government is supposed to do.
The government is not capable of figuring out this type of thing.
Governments are the worst business men in the world.
This is guaranteed to be another Waste-o-Money.
What NoBo is supposed to be doing is figuring where to cut the budget not finding new Waste-o-Times to increase our deficit even further.
Someone in the Democrat Party needs to have a sit down with Barry and explain how our government works and what his responsibilities are.
These Pie-in-the-Sky socialist dreams have to end.
Posted by: Noz | June 24, 2011, 8:37 am 8:37 am
No fundraiser in Pittsburgh while he’s in town?
Why is it that every initiative Obama comes up with to boost the private sector has to begin with government laying ground-rules and throwing around money?
Can’t he just get government out of the way of the private sector like businesses (Starrett and Boeing for example) have been telling him?
He convenes meetings with business to give the impression that he’s listening, and then goes right back to his roots.
Posted by: Larry | June 24, 2011, 9:03 am 9:03 am
Obama at Fort Drum:::::
First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn’t receiving it posthumously.”
The problem is, Jared Monti was killed in action in Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, September 17, 2009. President Obama handed the framed medal to his parents, Paul and Janet Monti. He and the First Lady comforted them in the Oval Office following the ceremony.
You would think a president would have his facts straight.. what a disgusting display of ignorance
OBAMA____VS_____AMERICA
Posted by: Yep I said that | June 24, 2011, 9:13 am 9:13 am
Posted by Yep I said that:
You would think a president would have his facts straight.
=================================
You’d think he would remember EVERY M.O.H. he presented, as they’re extremely rare.
It really makes you wonder.
Posted by: Larry | June 24, 2011, 9:20 am 9:20 am
Glad the President is returning to CMU,This is great for CMU and the State…
People stop complaining, He can’t do everything, Obama is not God, he can do so much in such short time and Obama has done plenty. Read before you think..Again, No one asked those in foreclosed to sign those half a million dollar homes or more
you watch on HGTV these people go way over their heads with loans and have no idea how they are going to pay it…That’s NOT Obama fault….
Posted by: Candice | June 24, 2011, 9:25 am 9:25 am
Noz, I’m happy the healthcare bill passed, my son now have health insurance, He was dropped in the middle of his last year in college. He became sick, we had no healthcare, This new law came at the right time. I will always be grateful for our Prez for pushing for healthcare, He will always have my vote….
Posted by: Candice | June 24, 2011, 9:30 am 9:30 am
“R E D – F L A G !
This is way beyond what the federal government is supposed to do.
The government is not capable of figuring out this type of thing.”
The government has ALWAYS worked with industry (and more recently universities) to accomplish objectives in military (and other “national security” e.g. energy) technologies, which is almost certainly Constitutional. The Bayh-Dole Act (basically where the government funds university research to reach a stated objective, but then allows private industry to piggyback commercialization onto the research) has been extremely successful in promoting both the government interest and private enterprise (small business product-to-market) interest in research and development.
An example would be “star wars” laser technology, or image deciphering/cloaking technologies….
I dare say since we closed or sold off a slew of our research labs to maximize the bottom lines (e.g. all of Bell Labs and many/most of the IBM labs), most of our national research is done at Universities, in conjunction with government and industry. (This is the same model most Asian nations use; the Japanese were previously so envious of our private research labs, saying, “We have nothing like [Bell Labs or] IBM.”
Posted by: dave | June 24, 2011, 9:35 am 9:35 am
Where does the President get all of the money and authority for his personal initiatives? We have no budget, they aren’t approved by Congress; as a nation we are broke and yet he continues to spend money.
Posted by: Betty | June 24, 2011, 10:02 am 10:02 am
Only a fool would believe anything that came from Obama’s mouth while he is campaign mode. And we all know that Obama is in full-blown campaign mode. Releasing a days worth of oil to claim he lowered gas prices kind of proves how pathetic of a worthless man he is.
Posted by: juice | June 24, 2011, 11:26 am 11:26 am
The Rasmussen Investor Index, which measures the economic confidence of investors on a daily basis, slipped seven points on Friday to its lowest level in nearly two years. At 75.0, investor confidence is down seven points from a week ago, 19 points from a month ago and 17 points from three months ago.
This is the lowest level of investor confidence measured since July 22, 2009.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | June 24, 2011, 11:40 am 11:40 am
Politico tells us what happens after two-plus years of a job-lilling agenda:
“President Barack Obama isn’t just grasping for ways to jolt the flailing economy.
“He’s struggling simply to find the right words to talk about it.
“A growing number of Democratic strategists — including Obama senior campaign adviser David Axelrod — said the party needs to let go of George W. Bush and the past once and for all. Democrats now ‘own’ the economy, says party chief Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
“With the past out of bounds, the present gloomy and the White House’s ‘winning the future’ mantra judged by some as a bit too distant, Obama risks running out of time — and tenses — to craft a strategy that will woo back disaffected voters. It all adds up to a messaging minefield for Obama as it becomes increasingly likely that he could be the first president in more than six decades to seek reelection with an unemployment rate above 8 percent.”
With Obama, it’s always words. There’s nothing else there.
I told you so.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | June 24, 2011, 11:52 am 11:52 am
“This is the lowest level of investor confidence measured since July 22, 2009.”
Who was the POTUS back then?
Posted by: Curiosity | June 24, 2011, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm
SHOCKING FACTS: The total debt was $8.2 trillion when Obama took office, it now stands at 14.2 trillion and counting which means Obama is responsible for about 6 trillion. A 73% total increase in just 2 short years. UNBELIEVABLE !!! It took 235 years to rack up the first $8.2 trillion and that includes George Bush’s contribution to the deficit while serving 8 years in office. Yet Obama continues to spend and spend his way out of oblivion even if the country is flat broke. As a disenchanted liberal like most democratic voters are, I’m absolutely SITTING OUT THE 2012 ELECTION !!!
Posted by: Cindy | June 24, 2011, 12:40 pm 12:40 pm
For all those who want a return to isolationism and protectionism, you should read “The Extreme Future” by James Canton, Ph.D. Specifically, pages 84-85 that describes three scenarios for America’s future by 2015.
The first scenario has us working hand-in-hand with industry to create new technologies to lead the world. We have an overhauled education system and a valued immigration system.
The second scenario has us behind the eight ball, lagging in research & development, education and immigration overhaul, and business acumen. In this scenario, we still have a chance to make a charge toward the top of the leadership chain but it will take much longer.
The third scenario features America way behind, so far that, even with a quick restart, we’d be like the Golden State Warriors, defining success by grabbing the final playoff spot. We’d be behind China, Europe, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil, etc. The defining characteristics of this scenario are divisive and extremist politics; a failed education system; fragmented industry support; weak government-technology support, severe anti-union feelings, and a strong desire for protectionism and isolationism.
Right now, we sound like that third scenario where we get left behind by the rest of the world.
Obama’s initiative is a good start but it still might not be enough to do the job. Still, it’s better than the rest of the country that wants to cut spending and not invest in the future.
Posted by: Gmarshall | June 24, 2011, 1:20 pm 1:20 pm
Reply to G Marshall.
Everything you said sounds good but we don’t have enough money to spend for now and the future. Best solution, replace Barack Obama. Read my blog below, it’s reality check time.
Posted by: Cindy | June 24, 2011, 1:35 pm 1:35 pm
Not a bad idea, not sure government should be funding it, but R&D is important.
Of course this will just create more ATM style machines that replace people and increase unemployment won’t it?
Lat week ATM’s and machines are evil and driving people out of work, now we need more investment in robotics… any idea what side of his own argument Obama will be on next week?
Posted by: ertdfg | June 24, 2011, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
Cindy, it is laughable that a ‘disenchanted liberal’ like yourself would sit out the upcoming election but spend so much time railing against Obama. At least be honest and admit you are a trolling conservative.
No self-respecting liberal would ever condone giving the reins back to the Republicans after the mess they got us into economically, the Iraq War and their current promises to do away with Medicare. No way, no how.
Posted by: Lydia | June 24, 2011, 2:16 pm 2:16 pm
“He (Obama) can’t do everything,” – Candice
You are correct Candice.
More importantly when it comes to doing what’s right and needed the appropriate statement would be
Obama can hardly do anything.
Posted by: Candice | Jun 24, 2011 9:30:53 AM
Hey, I have no problem with the extension of coverage for kids as they go through their first 4 to 5 years of college but we sure didn’t need YesWeCan Care™ for that. The “always will have more vote” is over the top. What you are saying is no matter how badly the guy screws up you will vote for him.
(sad)
Posted by: Noz | June 24, 2011, 6:51 pm 6:51 pm
Someone here posted that Obama can not be expected to remember every single person that he has presented the Medal of Honor to. He has to date presented TWO……just two…when he presented to Jared, he told his story, met his parents, hugged his mother…..for Sal, he met Sal himself, told his story, told everyne how very much he truly liked Sal, he met the families of Sal’s fallen brothers…..now tell me that any of you could meet only two, look into the eyes of their parents, tell their stories…..and forget?
Posted by: D Griego | June 25, 2011, 10:41 am 10:41 am
Lordy…Lordy, another meeting with some group to show how interested the POTUS is in some subject causing the rest of us grief. So, Mr. Constant Campaigner, will this latest effort..if you can call it that…create jobs that people can do next Monday….or are you leaving the workers to your “robotics” push…..just do your job, please, or are you as lost as I believe you are?
Posted by: justj joey | June 27, 2011, 2:09 pm 2:09 pm