Stepping On It Will new measures really rev up U.S. manufacturers' engines?

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.