Coons calls for report on manufacturing

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate how federal manufacturing policies could be improved.

Coons led a bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday in writing a letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro asking whether federal manufacturing programs and tax incentives are effective.

{mosads}“Given the importance of manufacturing in the United States, it is critical that federal manufacturing policy be effective,” the senators wrote. “However, because the sector is diverse, no one federal department or agency deals exclusively with manufacturing.”

The senators requested a list of federal programs and incentives for manufacturers, along with the cost and effectiveness of the initiatives.

Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also signed the letter.