Stepping On It Will new measures really rev up U.S. manufacturers' engines?
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
President Bush has put an entrepreneur in the driver's seatto rev up U.S. manufacturing, giving the appointee a route thatpasses through small factories around the country.
Bush nominated Al Frink, co-founder and executive vice presidentof Fabrica International to be the new Assistant Secretary ofManufacturing and Services, a position Bush created last Septemberand has had trouble filling. Fabrica International manufacturescarpets and rugs in Santa Ana, California, and employs more than400 people.
Bush's nomination of Frink comes on the heels of hisFebruary Executive Order for federal agencies to emphasizemanufacturing in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) andSmall Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The orderrequires the heads of federal agencies to report annually to theSBA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy onthe extent to which contracts within these two programs are goingfor manufacturing research.
One leading Democratic House member casts a skeptical eye at theorder. "If the Bush administration were really dedicated tosaving manufacturing jobs, it wouldn't cut funding for programsthat actually create them, like SBIR and STTR," says Rep.Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY). "In his Fiscal Year 2005budget proposal, President Bush targets portions of these programsfor termination. The administration has also enabled agencies toopt out of SBIR and STTR, allowing millions of dollars intended for[these programs] to be redirected to other initiatives."
The SBA's Doug Heye answers that the Bush administration isconsolidating the SBIR and STTR programs with the Small BusinessDevelopment Center (SBDC) program. "They will be easier toadminister within the SBDCs," he explains. He also points outthat the SBIR and STTR have received inconsistent funding fromCongress and adds that their funding levels won't necessarilydiminish.
Stephen Barlas is a freelance business reporter who coversthe Washington beat for 15 magazines.
