[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 701 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 298
115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 701

                          [Report No. 115-204]

   To improve the competitiveness of United States manufacturing by 
         designating and supporting manufacturing communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 22, 2017

 Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Moran, Mrs. Capito, 
Mr. King, Ms. Collins, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mrs. Feinstein) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

                            February 5, 2018

                Reported by Mr. Thune, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To improve the competitiveness of United States manufacturing by 
         designating and supporting manufacturing communities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Made in America 
Manufacturing Communities Act of 2017''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Manufacturing community support program.--The 
        term ``Manufacturing Community Support Program'' means the 
        program established under section 3(a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Participating agency.--The term 
        ``participating agency'' means a Federal agency that elects to 
        participate in the Manufacturing Community Support 
        Program.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Participating program.--The term 
        ``participating program'' means a program identified by a 
        participating agency under section 3(c)(1)(C).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of Commerce.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO DESIGNATE AND SUPPORT MANUFACTURING 
              COMMUNITIES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary shall establish a 
program to improve the competitiveness of United States manufacturing--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by designating consortiums as manufacturing 
        communities under subsection (b); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by supporting manufacturing communities, as so 
        designated, under subsection (c).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Designation of Manufacturing Communities.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (7), for purposes of the Manufacturing Community Support 
        Program, the Secretary shall designate eligible consortiums as 
        manufacturing communities through a competitive 
        process.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Eligible consortiums.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--An eligible consortium is 
                a consortium that--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) represents a region defined by 
                        the consortium in accordance with subparagraph 
                        (B);</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) includes at least one--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) institution of higher 
                                education;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) a private sector 
                                entity; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) a government 
                                entity;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) may include one or more--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) private sector 
                                partners;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) institutions of 
                                higher education;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) government 
                                entities;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (IV) economic development 
                                and other community and labor 
                                groups;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (V) financial 
                                institutions; or</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (VI) utilities;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) has, as a lead applicant--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) a district 
                                organization (as defined in section 
                                300.3 of title 13, Code of Federal 
                                Regulations, or successor 
                                regulation);</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) an Indian tribe (as 
                                defined in section 4 of the Indian 
                                Self-Determination and Education 
                                Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) or a 
                                consortium of Indian tribes;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) a State or a 
                                political subdivision of a State, 
                                including a special purpose unit of a 
                                State or local government engaged in 
                                economic or infrastructure development 
                                activities, or a consortium of 
                                political subdivisions;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (IV) an institution of 
                                higher education or a consortium of 
                                institutions of higher education; 
                                or</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (V) a public or private 
                                nonprofit organization or association 
                                that has an application that is 
                                supported by a State, a political 
                                subdivision of a State, or a native 
                                community.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Regions.--Subject to approval by the 
                Secretary, a consortium may define the region that it 
                represents if the region--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) is large enough to contain 
                        critical elements of the key technologies or 
                        supply chain prioritized by the consortium; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) is small enough to enable 
                        close collaboration among members of the 
                        consortium.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Duration.--Each designation under paragraph 
        (1) shall be for a period of two years.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Renewal.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--Upon receipt of an 
                application submitted under subparagraph (B), the 
                Secretary may renew a designation made under paragraph 
                (1) for up to two additional two-year periods. Any 
                designation as a manufacturing community or renewal of 
                such designation that is in effect before the date of 
                the enactment of this Act shall count toward the limit 
                set forth in this subparagraph.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Application for renewal.--An eligible 
                consortium seeking a renewal under subparagraph (A) 
                shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
                time, in such manner, and containing such information 
                as the Secretary may require.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Modifications authorized.--The 
                Secretary may renew a designation under subparagraph 
                (A) for an eligible consortium that--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) has changed its composition, 
                        either by adding or removing members; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) as part of its application 
                        under subparagraph (B), submits a revision to 
                        the plan submitted under paragraph (5)(B)(iv) 
                        or the strategy submitted under paragraph 
                        (5)(B)(v).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) Evaluation for renewal.--In 
                determining whether to renew a designation of an 
                eligible consortium under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
                shall assess the eligible consortium based upon--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the performance of the 
                        consortium against the terms of the 
                        consortium's most recent designation under 
                        paragraph (1) and any post-designation awards 
                        the consortium may have received;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the progress the consortium 
                        has made with respect to project-specific 
                        metrics the consortium proposed in the 
                        consortium's application for the most recent 
                        designation under paragraph (1), particularly 
                        with respect to those metrics that were 
                        designed to help communities track their own 
                        progress;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) whether any changes to the 
                        composition of the eligible consortium or 
                        revisions to the plan or strategy described in 
                        subparagraph (C)(ii) would improve the 
                        competitiveness of United States manufacturing; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) such other criteria as the 
                        Secretary considers appropriate.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Application for designation.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--An eligible consortium 
                seeking a designation under paragraph (1) shall submit 
                an application to the Secretary at such time and in 
                such manner as the Secretary may require.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Contents.--Each application submitted 
                to the Secretary under subparagraph (A) include--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) a description of the regional 
                        boundaries of the consortium;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) a description of the 
                        manufacturing concentration of the consortium, 
                        including an assessment of how the 
                        manufacturing concentration of the consortium 
                        competitively ranks nationally according to 
                        measures relating to employment, sales, 
                        location quotients for an industry's level of 
                        concentration, or such other measures as the 
                        Secretary considers appropriate;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) an integrated assessment of 
                        the local industrial ecosystem of the region of 
                        the consortium, which may include assessment of 
                        workforce and training, supplier network, 
                        research and innovation, infrastructure or site 
                        development, trade and international 
                        investment, operational improvements, and 
                        capital access components needed for 
                        manufacturing activities in such 
                        region;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) an evidence-based plan for 
                        developing components of such ecosystem 
                        (selected by the consortium)--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) by making specific 
                                investments to address gaps in such 
                                ecosystem; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) by making the 
                                manufacturing of the region of the 
                                consortium uniquely 
                                competitive;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) a description of the 
                        investments the consortium proposes and the 
                        implementation strategy the consortium intends 
                        to use to address gaps in such 
                        ecosystem;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vi) a description of the outcome-
                        based metrics, benchmarks, and milestones that 
                        the consortium will track and the evaluation 
                        methods the consortium will use while 
                        designated as a manufacturing community to 
                        gauge performance of the strategy of the 
                        consortium to improve the manufacturing in the 
                        region of the consortium; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vii) such other matters as the 
                        Secretary considers appropriate.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Evaluation of applications.--The Secretary 
        shall evaluate each application received under paragraph (5) to 
        determine--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) whether the applicant demonstrates a 
                significant level of regional cooperation in their 
                proposal; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) how the manufacturing concentration of 
                the applicant competitively ranks nationally according 
                to measures described in paragraph 
                (5)(B)(ii).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) Certain communities previously recognized.--
        Each consortium that was designated as a manufacturing 
        community by the Secretary in carrying out the Investing in 
        Manufacturing Communities Partnership initiative of the 
        Department of Commerce before the date of the enactment of this 
        Act shall be deemed a manufacturing community designated under 
        this subsection if such consortium is still designated as a 
        manufacturing community by the Secretary as part of such 
        initiative.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Support for Designated Manufacturing Communities.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Preferential consideration.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (D), if a member of a consortium 
                designated as a manufacturing community under 
                subsection (b) seeks financial or technical assistance 
                under a participating program of a participating 
                agency, the head of such agency may give preferential 
                consideration to such member with respect to the 
                awarding of such financial or technical assistance if--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) such head considers the award 
                        of the financial or technical assistance 
                        consistent with the economic development 
                        strategy of the consortium; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the member otherwise meets 
                        all applicable requirements for the financial 
                        or technical assistance.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Participating agencies.--The Secretary 
                shall invite other Federal agencies to become 
                participating agencies of the Manufacturing Community 
                Support Program.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Participating programs.--The head of 
                each participating agency shall identify all programs 
                administered by such participating agency that are 
                applicable to the Manufacturing Community Support 
                Program.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) Multiple members of the same 
                consortium seeking the same financial or technical 
                assistance.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) In general.--If a 
                        participating agency receives applications for 
                        the same financial or technical assistance from 
                        more than one member of the same consortium 
                        designated as a manufacturing community under 
                        subsection (b), the head of such agency may 
                        determine how preference will be given under 
                        subparagraph (A), including by requiring the 
                        consortium to select which of the members 
                        should be given preference.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) Coordination.--If the head of 
                        a participating agency determines that more 
                        than one member of a consortium should be given 
                        preference for financial or technical 
                        assistance under subparagraph (A), he or she 
                        may require such members to demonstrate 
                        coordination with each other in developing 
                        their applications for the financial or 
                        technical assistance.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) Report.--Not later than 90 days after 
                the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each 
                participating agency shall submit a report to the 
                Secretary that specifies how the head will give 
                preferential consideration under subparagraph 
                (A).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Technical assistance.--The Secretary may make 
        a Federal point of contact available to each consortium 
        designated as a manufacturing community under subsection (b) to 
        help the members of the consortium access Federal funds and 
        technical assistance.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Financial and technical assistance.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--Under the Manufacturing 
                Community Support Program, the head of a participating 
                agency may award financial or technical assistance to a 
                member of a consortium designated as a manufacturing 
                community under subsection (b) as he or she considers 
                appropriate for purposes of such program and consistent 
                with the economic development strategy of the 
                consortium.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Use of funds.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) In general.--A recipient of 
                        financial or technical assistance under 
                        subparagraph (A) may use such financial or 
                        technical assistance to support an investment 
                        in an ecosystem that will improve the 
                        competitiveness of United States 
                        manufacturing.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) Investments supported.--
                        Investments supported under this subparagraph 
                        may include--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) 
                                infrastructure;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) access to 
                                capital;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) promotion of exports 
                                and foreign direct 
                                investment;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (IV) equipment or facility 
                                upgrades;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (V) workforce training or 
                                retraining;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (VI) energy or process 
                                efficiency;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (VII) business 
                                incubators;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (VIII) site 
                                preparation;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (IX) advanced 
                                research;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (X) supply chain 
                                development; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (XI) small business 
                                assistance.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Coordination.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Coordination by secretary of 
                commerce.--The Secretary shall coordinate with the 
                heads of the participating agencies to identify 
                programs under paragraph (1)(C).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Inter-agency coordination.--The heads 
                of the participating agencies shall coordinate with 
                each other--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) to leverage complementary 
                        activities, including from non-Federal sources, 
                        such as philanthropies; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) to avoid duplication of 
                        efforts.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Receipt of Transferred Funds.--The Secretary may 
accept amounts transferred to the Secretary from the head of another 
participating agency to carry out this section.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Made in America Manufacturing 
Communities Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Manufacturing community support program.--The term 
        ``Manufacturing Community Support Program'' means the program 
        established under section 3(a).
            (2) Participating agency.--The term ``participating 
        agency'' means a Federal agency that elects to participate in 
        the Manufacturing Community Support Program.
            (3) Participating program.--The term ``participating 
        program'' means a program identified by a participating agency 
        under section 3(c)(1)(C).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO DESIGNATE AND SUPPORT MANUFACTURING COMMUNITIES.

    (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary shall establish a program to 
improve the competitiveness of United States manufacturing--
            (1) by designating consortiums as manufacturing communities 
        under subsection (b); and
            (2) by supporting manufacturing communities, as so 
        designated, under subsection (c).
    (b) Designation of Manufacturing Communities.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (7), for 
        purposes of the Manufacturing Community Support Program, the 
        Secretary shall designate eligible consortiums as manufacturing 
        communities through a competitive process.
            (2) Eligible consortiums.--
                    (A) In general.--An eligible consortium is a 
                consortium that--
                            (i) represents a region defined by the 
                        consortium in accordance with subparagraph (B);
                            (ii) includes at least one--
                                    (I) institution of higher 
                                education;
                                    (II) a private sector entity; and
                                    (III) a government entity;
                            (iii) may include one or more--
                                    (I) private sector partners;
                                    (II) institutions of higher 
                                education;
                                    (III) government entities;
                                    (IV) economic development and other 
                                community and labor groups;
                                    (V) financial institutions; or
                                    (VI) utilities;
                            (iv) has, as a lead applicant--
                                    (I) a district organization (as 
                                defined in section 300.3 of title 13, 
                                Code of Federal Regulations, or 
                                successor regulation);
                                    (II) an Indian tribe (as defined in 
                                section 4 of the Indian Self-
                                Determination and Education Assistance 
                                Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) or a consortium 
                                of Indian tribes;
                                    (III) a State or a political 
                                subdivision of a State, including a 
                                special purpose unit of a State or 
                                local government engaged in economic or 
                                infrastructure development activities, 
                                or a consortium of political 
                                subdivisions;
                                    (IV) an institution of higher 
                                education or a consortium of 
                                institutions of higher education; or
                                    (V) a public or private nonprofit 
                                organization or association that has an 
                                application that is supported by a 
                                State, a political subdivision of a 
                                State, or a native community.
                    (B) Regions.--Subject to approval by the Secretary, 
                a consortium may define the region that it represents 
                if the region--
                            (i) is large enough to contain critical 
                        elements of the key technologies or supply 
                        chain prioritized by the consortium; and
                            (ii) is small enough to enable close 
                        collaboration among members of the consortium.
            (3) Duration.--Each designation under paragraph (1) shall 
        be for a period of two years.
            (4) Renewal.--
                    (A) In general.--Upon receipt of an application 
                submitted under subparagraph (B), the Secretary may 
                renew a designation made under paragraph (1) for up to 
                two additional two-year periods. Any designation as a 
                manufacturing community or renewal of such designation 
                that is in effect before the date of the enactment of 
                this Act shall count toward the limit set forth in this 
                subparagraph.
                    (B) Application for renewal.--An eligible 
                consortium seeking a renewal under subparagraph (A) 
                shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
                time, in such manner, and containing such information 
                as the Secretary may require.
                    (C) Modifications authorized.--The Secretary may 
                renew a designation under subparagraph (A) for an 
                eligible consortium that--
                            (i) has changed its composition, either by 
                        adding or removing members; or
                            (ii) as part of its application under 
                        subparagraph (B), submits a revision to the 
                        plan submitted under paragraph (5)(B)(iv) or 
                        the strategy submitted under paragraph 
                        (5)(B)(v).
                    (D) Evaluation for renewal.--In determining whether 
                to renew a designation of an eligible consortium under 
                paragraph (1), the Secretary shall assess the eligible 
                consortium based upon--
                            (i) the performance of the consortium 
                        against the terms of the consortium's most 
                        recent designation under paragraph (1) and any 
                        post-designation awards the consortium may have 
                        received;
                            (ii) the progress the consortium has made 
                        with respect to project-specific metrics the 
                        consortium proposed in the consortium's 
                        application for the most recent designation 
                        under paragraph (1), particularly with respect 
                        to those metrics that were designed to help 
                        communities track their own progress;
                            (iii) whether any changes to the 
                        composition of the eligible consortium or 
                        revisions to the plan or strategy described in 
                        subparagraph (C)(ii) would improve the 
                        competitiveness of United States manufacturing; 
                        and
                            (iv) such other criteria as the Secretary 
                        considers appropriate.
            (5) Application for designation.--
                    (A) In general.--An eligible consortium seeking a 
                designation under paragraph (1) shall submit an 
                application to the Secretary at such time and in such 
                manner as the Secretary may require.
                    (B) Contents.--Each application submitted to the 
                Secretary under subparagraph (A) shall include--
                            (i) a description of the regional 
                        boundaries of the consortium;
                            (ii) a description of the manufacturing 
                        concentration of the consortium, including an 
                        assessment of how the manufacturing 
                        concentration of the consortium competitively 
                        ranks nationally according to measures relating 
                        to employment, sales, location quotients for an 
                        industry's level of concentration, or such 
                        other measures as the Secretary considers 
                        appropriate;
                            (iii) an integrated assessment of the local 
                        industrial ecosystem of the region of the 
                        consortium, which may include assessment of 
                        workforce and training, such as that involving 
                        women and underrepresented minorities, supplier 
                        network, research and innovation, 
                        infrastructure or site development, trade and 
                        international investment, operational 
                        improvements, and capital access components 
                        needed for manufacturing activities in such 
                        region;
                            (iv) an evidence-based plan for developing 
                        components of such ecosystem (selected by the 
                        consortium)--
                                    (I) by making specific investments 
                                to address gaps in such ecosystem; and
                                    (II) by making the manufacturing of 
                                the region of the consortium uniquely 
                                competitive;
                            (v) a description of the investments the 
                        consortium proposes and the implementation 
                        strategy the consortium intends to use to 
                        address gaps in such ecosystem;
                            (vi) a description of the outcome-based 
                        metrics, benchmarks, and milestones that the 
                        consortium will track and the evaluation 
                        methods the consortium will use while 
                        designated as a manufacturing community to 
                        gauge performance of the strategy of the 
                        consortium to improve the manufacturing in the 
                        region of the consortium; and
                            (vii) such other matters as the Secretary 
                        considers appropriate.
            (6) Evaluation of applications.--The Secretary shall 
        evaluate each application received under paragraph (5) to 
        determine--
                    (A) whether the applicant demonstrates a 
                significant level of regional cooperation in their 
                proposal; and
                    (B) how the manufacturing concentration of the 
                applicant competitively ranks nationally according to 
                measures described in paragraph (5)(B)(ii).
            (7) Certain communities previously recognized.--Each 
        consortium that was designated as a manufacturing community by 
        the Secretary in carrying out the Investing in Manufacturing 
        Communities Partnership initiative of the Department of 
        Commerce before the date of the enactment of this Act shall be 
        deemed a manufacturing community designated under this 
        subsection if such consortium is still designated as a 
        manufacturing community by the Secretary as part of such 
        initiative.
    (c) Support for Designated Manufacturing Communities.--
            (1) Preferential consideration.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (D), if a member of a consortium designated as a 
                manufacturing community under subsection (b) seeks 
                financial or technical assistance under a participating 
                program of a participating agency, the head of such 
                agency may give preferential consideration to such 
                member with respect to the awarding of such financial 
                or technical assistance if--
                            (i) such head considers the award of the 
                        financial or technical assistance consistent 
                        with the economic development strategy of the 
                        consortium; and
                            (ii) the member otherwise meets all 
                        applicable requirements for the financial or 
                        technical assistance.
                    (B) Participating agencies.--The Secretary shall 
                invite other Federal agencies to become participating 
                agencies of the Manufacturing Community Support 
                Program.
                    (C) Participating programs.--The head of each 
                participating agency shall identify all programs 
                administered by such participating agency that are 
                applicable to the Manufacturing Community Support 
                Program.
                    (D) Multiple members of the same consortium seeking 
                the same financial or technical assistance.--
                            (i) In general.--If a participating agency 
                        receives applications for the same financial or 
                        technical assistance from more than one member 
                        of the same consortium designated as a 
                        manufacturing community under subsection (b), 
                        the head of such agency may determine how 
                        preference will be given under subparagraph 
                        (A), including by requiring the consortium to 
                        select which of the members should be given 
                        preference.
                            (ii) Coordination.--If the head of a 
                        participating agency determines that more than 
                        one member of a consortium should be given 
                        preference for financial or technical 
                        assistance under subparagraph (A), he or she 
                        may require such members to demonstrate 
                        coordination with each other in developing 
                        their applications for the financial or 
                        technical assistance.
                    (E) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
                of the enactment of this Act, the head of each 
                participating agency shall submit a report to the 
                Secretary that specifies how the head will give 
                preferential consideration under subparagraph (A).
            (2) Technical assistance.--The Secretary may make a Federal 
        point of contact available to each consortium designated as a 
        manufacturing community under subsection (b) to help the 
        members of the consortium access Federal funds and technical 
        assistance.
            (3) Financial and technical assistance.--
                    (A) In general.--Under the Manufacturing Community 
                Support Program, the head of a participating agency may 
                award financial or technical assistance to a member of 
                a consortium designated as a manufacturing community 
                under subsection (b) as he or she considers appropriate 
                for purposes of such program and consistent with the 
                economic development strategy of the consortium.
                    (B) Use of funds.--
                            (i) In general.--A recipient of financial 
                        or technical assistance under subparagraph (A) 
                        may use such financial or technical assistance 
                        to support an investment in an ecosystem that 
                        will improve the competitiveness of United 
                        States manufacturing.
                            (ii) Investments supported.--Investments 
                        supported under this subparagraph may include--
                                    (I) infrastructure;
                                    (II) access to capital;
                                    (III) promotion of exports and 
                                foreign direct investment;
                                    (IV) equipment or facility 
                                upgrades;
                                    (V) workforce training, retraining, 
                                or recruitment and retention, including 
                                that of women and underrepresented 
                                minorities;
                                    (VI) energy or process efficiency;
                                    (VII) business incubators;
                                    (VIII) site preparation;
                                    (IX) advanced research;
                                    (X) supply chain development; and
                                    (XI) small business assistance.
            (4) Coordination.--
                    (A) Coordination by secretary of commerce.--The 
                Secretary shall coordinate with the heads of the 
                participating agencies to identify programs under 
                paragraph (1)(C).
                    (B) Inter-agency coordination.--The heads of the 
                participating agencies shall coordinate with each 
                other--
                            (i) to leverage complementary activities, 
                        including from non-Federal sources, such as 
                        philanthropies; and
                            (ii) to avoid duplication of efforts.
    (d) Receipt of Transferred Funds.--The Secretary may accept amounts 
transferred to the Secretary from the head of another participating 
agency to carry out this section.
                                                       Calendar No. 298

115th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                 S. 701

                          [Report No. 115-204]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To improve the competitiveness of United States manufacturing by 
         designating and supporting manufacturing communities.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            February 5, 2018

                       Reported with an amendment