[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6760 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6760

 To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Manufacturing 
          Communities Support Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 18, 2022

Mr. Cicilline (for himself, Mr. Meijer, and Mr. Morelle) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Manufacturing 
          Communities Support Program, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Made in America Manufacturing 
Communities Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. MANUFACTURING COMMUNITIES.

    (a) Definitions.--
            (1) Eligible consortium.--The term ``eligible consortium'' 
        means a consortium that meets the eligibility criteria 
        established by the Secretary under subsection (c)(2)(A).
            (2) Investing in manufacturing communities partnership; 
        imcp.--The term ``Investing in Manufacturing Communities 
        Partnership'' or ``IMCP'' means the initiative of the United 
        States Economic Development Association for the purpose of 
        helping communities cultivate an environment for businesses to 
        create well-paying manufacturing jobs in regions across the 
        United States.
            (3) Manufacturing community.--The term ``manufacturing 
        community'' means an eligible consortium designated by the 
        Secretary under subsection (c)(1).
            (4) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
        organization'' means an organization exempt from taxation as 
        defined in paragraph (3), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code.
            (5) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Manufacturing 
        Communities Support Program authorized under subsection (b)(1).
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.
            (7) Small business concern.--The term ``small business 
        concern'' means the term as defined under section 3 of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
    (b) Program Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, the Secretary shall establish a program to be 
        known as the ``Manufacturing Communities Support Program'', 
        under which the Secretary may designate and support eligible 
        consortiums as manufacturing communities.
            (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Program shall be to 
        strengthen the manufacturing base of the United States by 
        making long-term investments in manufacturing communities by 
        supporting--
                    (A) critical skills;
                    (B) facilities;
                    (C) research and development; and
                    (D) small business concerns.
    (c) Designation of Manufacturing Communities.--
            (1) In general.--Under the Manufacturing Communities 
        Support Program, the Secretary shall designate an eligible 
        consortium as a manufacturing community through a competitive 
        process.
            (2) Eligible consortiums.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish 
                criteria for a consortium to be eligible for a 
                designation as a manufacturing community under 
                paragraph (1).
                    (B) Considerations.--In developing eligibility 
                criteria under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
                consider the merits of--
                            (i) including members from academia, 
                        commercial industry, nonprofit organizations, 
                        and State and local governmental organizations;
                            (ii) supporting efforts in geographical 
                        regions that have capabilities in key 
                        technologies or manufacturing base supply 
                        chains that the Secretary determines to be 
                        critical to codifying the supply chains of the 
                        United States; and
                            (iii) the optimal composition and size of a 
                        consortium to promote effectiveness, 
                        collaboration, and efficiency.
            (3) Duration.--Each designation under paragraph (1) shall 
        be for a 5-year period.
            (4) Renewal.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary may renew a 
                designation made under paragraph (1) for not more than 
                2 additional 2-year periods.
                    (B) Criteria for renewal.--
                            (i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        establish criteria for the renewal of a 
                        designation under subparagraph (A).
                            (ii) Considerations.--In establishing 
                        criteria for a renewal under clause (i) the 
                        Secretary shall consider, with respect to the 
                        manufacturing community seeking a renewal--
                                    (I) the performance of the 
                                manufacturing community in meeting the 
                                established goals of the Program;
                                    (II) the progress the manufacturing 
                                community has made with respect to 
                                project-specific metrics, particularly 
                                with respect to metrics designed to 
                                help manufacturing communities track 
                                their own progress;
                                    (III) whether any changes to the 
                                composition of the manufacturing 
                                community or revisions of the plan of 
                                the manufacturing community would 
                                improve the capabilities of the 
                                manufacturing base of the United 
                                States; and
                                    (IV) any other criteria the 
                                Secretary determines 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) Considerations.--In developing application 
                procedures under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
                consider the inclusion of, with respect to an eligible 
                consortium--
                            (i) a description of the regional 
                        boundaries of the eligible consortium and the 
                        manufacturing capacity of the region;
                            (ii) an evidence-based plan for enhancing 
                        the manufacturing base in the United States 
                        through the efforts of the eligible consortium;
                            (iii) the investments the eligible 
                        consortium proposes and the strategy of the 
                        eligible consortium to address gaps in the 
                        manufacturing base of the United States;
                            (iv) a description of the outcome-based 
                        metrics, benchmarks, and milestones that will 
                        track and the evaluation methods that will be 
                        used to gauge performance of the eligible 
                        consortium;
                            (v) a plan to ensure that members of the 
                        eligible consortium are representative of the 
                        proposed location of the manufacturing 
                        community;
                            (vi) a community that had previously 
                        received a designation by the IMCP; and
                            (vii) any other matters the Secretary 
                        determines appropriate.
                    (C) Strategic planning assistance.--The Secretary 
                shall provide strategic planning assistance for 
                eligible consortiums that lack experience applying for 
                Federal assistance to ensure such eligible consortiums 
                may submit an application that meets the procedures 
                established by the Secretary under this paragraph.
    (d) Financial and Technical Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--As appropriate and for purposes of the 
        Program, the Secretary may award financial or technical 
        assistance to a member of an eligible consortium that has been 
        designated as a manufacturing community.
            (2) Use of funds.--A recipient of financial or technical 
        assistance under paragraph (1) shall use the financial or 
        technical assistance to support an investment that will improve 
        the manufacturing base of the United States.
            (3) Investments supported.--Investments supported under 
        this subsection may include activities relating to--
                    (A) equipment or facility upgrades;
                    (B) workforce training, retraining, or recruitment 
                and retention, including for women, underrepresented 
                minorities, and veterans (as such term is defined in 
                section 101 of title 38, United States Code);
                    (C) business incubators;
                    (D) advanced research and commercialization, 
                including with Federal laboratories and depots;
                    (E) supply chain development; and
                    (F) assistance for small business concerns.
    (e) Other Federal Assistance.--The Secretary may make a Federal 
point of contact available to each eligible consortium designated as a 
manufacturing community to help such consortium and the members of such 
consortium access Federal financial and technical assistance.
    (f) Receipt of Transferred Funds.--The Secretary may accept amounts 
transferred to the Secretary from the head of an agency or a State or 
local governmental organization to carry out this section.
    (g) Report.--Not later than 6 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress, and make 
publicly available, a report that identifies the best practices for an 
eligible consortium--
            (1) to be designated as a manufacturing community; and
            (2) to renew the manufacturing community designation.
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