The President’s Commerce Secretary was in the hot seat this week, talking American manufacturing with a Senate subcommittee.
Kansas Senator Jerry Moran questioned Lutnick over a program that helps smaller U.S. manufacturers. The department is not requesting money for that program next year. Lutnick says it is not forgotten, but rather being reworked.
“Programs that were set up by the Department of Commerce decades ago, to assist in technology for manufacturing, tend to be outdated. The new technology is AI-driven, automated, and I think we need to reexamine and retool a whole variety of these programs so that we are able to provide the best technological assistance rather than just continuing our program that’s decades and decades old.”
The Hollins Manufacturing Extension Partnership was started back in 1988. It is a public-private partnership that was designed as a cost-share program. Leaders say the program helped manufacturers get $15 billion in sales last year.
Lori Stevermer with the National Pork Producers Council reacts to the USDA’s speedline proposal, the new Farm Bill’s fix for California’s Prop-12, and other policy developments impacting the pork industry.
February 18, 2026 12:18 PM
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South Texas farmers say water shortages continue despite Mexico’s renewed payments under the 1944 Water Treaty.
February 18, 2026 11:39 AM
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Red Flag Warning in effect as high winds fuel fast-moving blaze across Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas
February 18, 2026 11:23 AM
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Investigations are now ongoing following a massive explosion and fire at the Koch Foods poultry plant in Fairfield, Ohio, which claimed one life and injured at least three other workers at the plant.
February 17, 2026 03:52 PM
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Roger McEowen with the Washburn School of Law reviews key highlights from the House Agriculture Committee’s latest farm bill proposal.
February 17, 2026 12:16 PM
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The Action Aims to Lower Food Costs for Consumers and Strengthen the Supply Chain
February 17, 2026 11:09 AM
