I recently wondered what Ron Bloom, the White House Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy, was working on -- since his post was announced on Labor Day, there has been radio silence from the White House and Treasury Department on the specific content of his portfolio. However, in mid-December the National Economic Council released a report, "A Framework for Revitalizing American Manufacturing," [PDF] that sources tell me was largely drafted by Bloom and describes his mandate. The report encapsulates a strong commitment to the future of manufacturing in the United States, union organizing and smart industrial policy intended to spur innovation."This is the most serious embrace of the idea that manufacturing matters since the Carter or Johnson administration," says one source outside the administration who speaks with Bloom. "It is an official administration product of some significance."
Because he is housed at the Treasury but works for the National Economic Council on manufacturing matters, Bloom occupies a productive space between Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, NEC Director Larry Summers and Vice President Joe Biden, who heads up the Middle Class Task Force. His role puts Bloom in a position to push through policies like those discussed in this paper, including support for union organizing, enforcement of trade agreements and labor regulations, and creating an innovation agenda to fund and coordinate research into next-generation technology instead of relying on the private sector. Bloom has unique credentials to argue these points as both a succesful investment banker and a long-time adviser to the Steelworkers union.
While supporters of this agenda are pleased to see these positions officially articulated by the administration, they are looking for concrete implementation of these ideas, including more programmatic action -- like the clean energy manufacturing tax credits the president announced earlier this month, which were pushed through by Bloom -- and attention in the as-yet-unscheduled State of the Union Address.
"We are hoping to work with the administration to follow-up on the very good work done by the Middle Class Task Force and its manufacturing blueprint as part of the administration's central priority for economic recovery in the months ahead," Damon Silvers, the AFL-CIO's Director of Policy and Special Counsel, said when asked about the report.
-- Tim Fernholz
