Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/340751
July 2014 • The PCB Magazine 69 and in American manufacturing, again. He de- livered an impassioned and patriotic keynote that touched upon the inner workings of the legislative body, the importance of electron- ics manufacturing to the United States, and the importance of both smart regulation and national security as it pertains to our industry. Congressman Johnson had us all ready to high five each other and run through brick walls. Thank you, sir. Second was our closing meeting, held just off the West Wing of the White House in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) with Jason Miller, Special Assistant to the Presi - dent for Manufacturing Policy. This meeting was special because of both the importance of the message we delivered and for the venue. Steeped in history, our meeting was held in the War Secretaries Suite of the EEOB. The IPC messaging detailing our support for the NNMI was delivered by IPC President John Mitchell and Steve Betza of Lockheed Martin. To date, four regional innovation hubs known as In - stitutes for Manufacturing Innovations (IMIs) have been launched, with Lockheed Martin as a tier one participant in all four. As Lockheed's corporate director of advanced manufacturing and development, Betza is extraordinarily well- versed on the topic and there was an excellent exchange of thoughts and ideas with Mr. Miller. There is an active request for information (RFI) to industry by the DoD. The purpose of the RFI is to solicit input from industry and academia that the DoD will consider as part of an effort to select and scope the technology focus area for future IMIs hubs. The DoD is requesting responses that will assist in the selection of a technology focus area from those currently un - der construction, based upon evidence of na- tional security requirement, economic benefit, technical opportunity, relevance to industry, business case for sustainability and workforce challenge. The technical focus areas currently under consideration are: flexible hybrid electronics, photonics, engineered nanomaterials, fiber tex- tiles, electronic packaging and reliability, and aerospace composites. To ensure the messaging that IPC delivered on Capitol Hill resounds in the future, IPC is also forming a political action committee (PAC). As outlined by John Hasselman, IPC's VP for government relations, "PACs have become an important tool for any group that wants to be heard when laws and regulations are writ- ten. Given the growing number of government regulations that influence the electronics sup- ply chain, having a stronger voice in Washing- ton, D.C. is something that can no longer be ignored." IPC's PAC will support federal candidates for office that advocate for policies that support the growth of electronics manufacturing, and will help raise IPC's visibility with policy makers and other key influencers in Washington. As IPC continues to raise its profile, key members of Congress and administration officials are learn - ing about the needs of our industry and the work IPC is doing. We need to continue to engage at a political and policy level and educate them on issues important to the success of our members. In a call to action, I would highly encourage IPC member company executives to consider partic- ipating in the PAC. For more detailed informa- tion about the PAC and other IPC's government relations activities, please contact Hasselmann at johnhasselmann@ipc.org. In closing, IPC IMPACT 2014 was an out- standing event that provided each attendee with an insider view of the issues that impact our in- dustry, our nation's political process, and IPC's extraordinary advocacy of our industries' posi- tion on these issues. IMPACT 2014 exceeded all of my expectations. The hope from here is that additional IPC member companies' executives will plan to attend next year's event and make a continued impact in Washington, DC on behalf of IPC members in the United States. PCB john Vaughan is president of circuit Solutions llc, based in the Washington d.c. Metro Military market and providing integrated supply chain and program management solu- tions to the military c4iSr, unmanned Sys- tems and ied detect and defeat communities. to reach Vaughan, or to read past columns, click here. IMPACT 2014: IPC ON CAPITOL HILL continues