[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 22, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S5276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. Lieberman):
  S. 3519. A bill to stabilize the matching requirement for 
participants in the Hollings Manufacturing Partnership Program; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation, along 
with Senators Kohl and Lieberman, to reduce the cost share amount that 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership, or MEP, centers face in obtaining 
their annual funding. The MEP is a nationwide public-private network of 
counseling and assistance centers that offer our nation's nearly 
350,000 small and medium manufacturers services and access to resources 
that enhance growth, improve productivity, and expand capacity. In 
Fiscal Year 2009 alone, MEP clients created or retained roughly 53,000 
jobs; provided cost savings in excess of $1.41 billion; and generated 
over $9.1 billion in sales. Similarly, clients of the Maine MEP 
reported saving or retaining 550 jobs, experiencing $8.3 million in 
cost savings, and generating over $78.3 million in sales in 2009. As 
such, the MEP's contribution to the health of American manufacturing is 
indisputable.
  At present, individual MEP centers must raise a full 2/3 of their 
funding after their fourth year of operation, placing a heavy burden on 
these centers. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
NIST, at the Department of Commerce, in turn, provides one-third of the 
centers' funding. MEP centers can meet their portion of the cost share 
requirement through funds from universities, State and local 
governments, and other institutions.
  In today's tumultuous economy, these centers are experiencing 
increased difficulties finding adequate funding from both private and 
public sources. As economic concerns weigh down on all of us, states, 
organizations, and groups that traditionally assist MEP centers in 
meeting this cost share are reluctant to expend the money--or do not 
have the resources to do so.
  Our bill, which is a modified version of S. 695 that I and several of 
my colleagues introduced last March, is simple and straightforward. It 
would reduce the statutory cost share that MEP centers face to 50 
percent for fiscal years 2011 through 2013 as a temporary stimulative 
measure. Frankly, the Nation's MEP centers are subject to an 
unnecessarily restrictive cost share requirement. And it is 
inequitable, as the MEP is the only initiative out of the 80 programs 
funded by the Department of Commerce that is subject to a statutory 
cost share of greater than 50 percent. There is no reason for this to 
persist, particularly not during this trying economy when so many 
manufacturers are trying to remain afloat.
  Clearly, Congress must act swiftly to bolster our country's 
manufacturing industry rather than sitting on the sidelines as other 
countries surpass our nation's economic leadership in a variety of 
areas. Indeed, last Sunday's Financial Times included an article titled 
``US manufacturing crown slips'' highlighting that, ``The U.S. remained 
the world's biggest manufacturing nation by output last year, but is 
poised to relinquish this slot in 2011 to China--thus ending a 110-year 
run as the number one country in factory production.'' This news should 
be a clarion call that investing in the manufacturing sector is 
critical given the detrimental ramifications that losing our leadership 
would have to our overall economy.
  The MEP is an essential resource for the small and medium 
manufacturers that will help reinvigorate our Nation's economy. With 
centers in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, its reach is 
unmatched and its experience in counseling manufacturers is unrivaled. 
It is my hope that my colleagues will support this legislation as a 
direct way to bolster an industry that is indispensible to our nation's 
economy health.
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