Obama Taking Executive Action to Pump $300 Million Into U.S. Manufacturing

Uncle Sam is shelling out $300 million to see "Made in the USA" on high-tech goods.

Reuters reported Monday that President Barack Obama is planning to launch a series of executive actions to invest in U.S. manufacturing, with a focus on three areas of emerging technology: composites and bio-based materials, advanced sensors for manufacturing and digital manufacturing.

President Barack Obama speaks at Millennium Steel Service in Princeton, Indiana, Oct. 3, 2014. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

The investments, estimated to surpass $300 million, will be driven by NASA and the departments of Defense, Energy and Agriculture and will be matched by private sector resources, the White House said.

Among the hoped-for payoffs: "new steel alloys that are twice as strong and lighter than today" and manufacturing processes that cut out foreign supplies.

The White House also announced that the National Science Foundation would establish manufacturing "centers of excellence" to promote university research into advanced manufacturing while the departments of Labor and Commerce will pilot $100 million and $130 million grant competitions, respectively, to support small manufacturers nationwide.

Hopefully, for the sake of the American taxpayer, the government investments in manufacturing return better results than the long history of "green" energy failures.

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