WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled AI in Manufacturing: Securing American Leadership in Manufacturing and the Next Generation of Technologies.

Subcommittee Chairman Griffith's opening statement as prepared for delivery:

“Good morning everyone and welcome to the first Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee hearing of the 119th Congress. I’d like to express my sincere congratulations to my good friend, the Chair, Mr. Guthrie, on his appointment to the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee – the oldest standing legislative committee in the House, and the best Committee in Congress.

“I also want to thank the Chair for putting his faith in me to lead this important subcommittee, which has broad jurisdiction over a great many important matters. This will be a busy Congress and I’m excited to lay the groundwork to accomplish a robust legislative agenda.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t identify and welcome to this wonderful panel the new members of the Energy and Commerce Committee:

“Mr. Bentz from Oregon; Ms. Houchin from Indiana; Mr. Fry from South Carolina; Ms. Lee from Florida – and I’ll add a Go Gators to you my friend; Mr. Kean from New Jersey; Mr. Evans from Colorado; and Mr. Goldman from Texas.

“I also want to thank my friend Russ Fulcher from the great State of Idaho for serving as the Vice Chair of this Subcommittee.

“And finally, it is good to be sitting next to my friend, Ms. Schakowsky from Illinois. I’m greatly looking forward to working with you again, and all of the Members of this Subcommittee.”

Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing

“Now onto the business at hand. I’m excited to kick this Congress off with an educational hearing examining the state of American manufacturing, and how it can be revolutionized with the use of artificial intelligence.

“We know generative AI is currently dominating the headlines for its specific use case of AI, such as how DeepSeek is capturing warranted attention with their collection of American’s personal data and subsequently sharing it with the Chinese Communist Party.

“But I think we must remember that generative AI is only a specific use case of this technology, and AI’s applications are much broader than what has claimed the spotlight recently. We have seen how AI applied to vehicles is paving the way for the next generation of vehicles that will drive themselves. These autonomous vehicles promise to greatly improve auto safety and provide vast mobility benefits to every American – including those with disabilities.

“We have also seen how the technology holds the power to completely revolutionize American manufacturing and bolster our supply chains. 

By integrating AI and machine learning into supply chain systems, we can better predict constraints and find potential weak points which can be used to prevent shocks that disrupt entire industries.

“Our committee has led on supply chain mapping and monitoring legislation before, and empowering companies to deploy emerging technologies like AI to better understand our supply chains could help us protect against the next pandemic or the next major labor shortage. We need to send that legislation to the President’s desk to begin the important work of making America more resilient.

“Industries can also utilize the power of AI in our manufacturing ecosystems to find where redundancies exist and reduce waste in the developmental pipeline. To bring this country back to the forefront of what made it great, we need to reduce unnecessary waste and optimize our building capabilities. We know the American people are the most innovative in the world. Our job here in Congress will be to provide a pathway for these innovators to succeed.

“America’s global leadership in the 21st century will be contingent on our ability to promote emerging technologies and establishing a pathway to unleash them throughout American manufacturing. We have a great panel of witnesses today to share examples of how AI is actively being used in manufacturing and supply chains.

“I want to thank them for being here today amidst the bad weather to give us much needed testimony on such an important topic. I yield back.”

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