[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5073-S5074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS MANUFACTURING

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I commemorate National Small Business 
Week, which President Bush designated for April 22-28, 2007. As ranking 
Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 
I have made it one of my top priorities to champion our Nation's small 
businesses and manufacturers and promote their needs and concerns. Our 
top job creators deserve nothing less. The fact is, small businesses 
are the driving force behind our Nation's economic growth, creating 
nearly three-quarters of all net new jobs and employing nearly 51 
percent of the private sector workforce. It is essential that we in 
Congress continue to support small businesses ability to grow and 
expand so our economy can accelerate forward and create more jobs.
  I can tell you, there is no higher priority for me than bolstering 
the state of our Nation's small manufacturers. In Maine, more than 
20,700 manufacturing jobs disappeared between August 2000 and August 
2006. We here in

[[Page S5074]]

Congress cannot accept any more losses as a foregone conclusion. This 
vital sector continues to face tremendous challenges--taking on a 
significant level of domestic costs that foreign competitors do not, 
including labor costs, fuel costs, and the regulatory and tax burden. 
Sadly, as a result, many manufacturers are forced to close their doors 
or outsource abroad.
  The reality is, the manufacturing sector, more than any other sector, 
drives our Nation's economy--with manufacturers responsible for more 
than 70 percent of private sector research and manufacturing goods 
making up over 60 percent of U.S. exports. There is no coincidence that 
this is a value added industry.
  I believe that we can and must fight for our Nation's manufacturers 
especially when you consider the manufacturing industries pay wages 
that are about one-third higher than average wages. And that is all the 
more true for small business when they have resources available that 
have proven their value, including the SBA which has helped to create 
or retain over 5.3 million jobs since 1999. And just last year, the 
manufacturing extension partnership's, MEP's, services helped to create 
and retain over 35,000 jobs and increase revenue by $6.25 billion. We 
must work hand-in-glove with Small Business Administration, SBA, and 
MEP to bolster our manufacturing base to ensure not only that resources 
are available to those who wanted to either maintain, grow, or start 
small businesses.
  That is why I introduced an amendment today to the America COMPETES 
Act that clarifies the MEP non-Federal cost share language to enable 
the MEP centers to draw down all of their available funding and further 
enhance their capability and capacity to work with manufacturers.
  This amendment clarifies the intent of Congress when it first enacted 
the statute authorizing the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
Program, now known as the Hollings Manufacturing Partnership Program, 
to provide Federal assistance to manufacturers in the United States.
  A key concept in the program is the requirement that each center 
obtain 50 percent of its capital and annual operating and maintenance 
costs from sources other than the Federal Government. The National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, officials have, in the 
past, properly considered cost share requirements to have been met when 
centers partnered or entered into other agreements with other 
organizations meeting the needs of American manufacturers.
  This amendment clarifies and reemphasizes that such agreements and 
partnerships, and the money spent by those organizations assisting 
American manufacturers, clearly are to be considered proper cost share 
as long as the partnering organization is meeting the programmatic 
objectives for assistance to be provided to American manufacturers as 
set forth for the Hollings Manufacturing Partnership Program. By 
teaming with such organizations, as encouraged by the original statute, 
the centers can and do leverage their Federal resources and avoid 
duplicating services necessary for the successful operation of American 
manufacturers. With the right resources, many more small manufacturers 
will be eligible to use this program to help grow their business.
  We cannot ignore the effect that countries like China are having on 
our Nation's manufacturers. In order to compete fairly in this 
increasingly competitive global market we must ensure that currencies 
are not strategically manipulated. That is why I will continue to work 
with the President and those in Congress to ensure that our Nation gets 
tough with China on those important issues. I continue to pressure the 
Treasury Department and the U.S. Trade Representative to also work 
toward that goal China to move toward a market-based exchange rate.
  The bottom line is, our country's future will be determined by 
today's small businesses. The faster we strengthen and sustain our 
Nation's small manufacturers, the more quickly America's economy will 
grow.

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