Gillibrand visits DeWitt firm to promote bill to create manufacturing communities

, N.Y. — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) is promoting a bill that she contends would boost manufacturing jobs in upstate New York.

The proposed “Made in America Manufacturing Communities Act” would create a permanent program that designates local regions as “manufacturing communities,” Gillibrand’s office said in a news release.

Such a designation would put them “in the front of the line” to receive federal economic-development funding “specifically for the purpose” of investing in manufacturing.

The senator on Monday promoted the bill during a visit to Feldmeier Equipment, Inc. in the town of DeWitt.

U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus) and local economic-development leaders joined Gillibrand as she talked about the proposed legislation.

In her release, Gillibrand acknowledged that New York has “struggled” with manufacturing-job losses despite manufacturing-job growth in other areas of the country.

To spur more growth in the New York manufacturing industry, Gillibrand’s bill would create a permanent program to competitively award regions with the “manufacturing community” designation.

It would give communities preferred consideration when applying for up to $1.3 billion in currently available federal economic-development funding for manufacturing.

The bill encourages a “regionally-driven approach” to strengthening the manufacturing industry.

To compete for funding through this program and earn the manufacturing communities designation, communities would create regional partnerships with key stakeholders such as local and state economic-development officials, local governments, manufacturers, labor organizations, and higher education or other training providers.

In order to earn the manufacturing communities moniker, communities would need to demonstrate the significance of manufacturing in their region and develop strategies to utilize their designation in making investments in six areas.

Those areas would include workforce training and retraining, advanced research, infrastructure and site development, supply chain support, and promotion of exports and foreign direct investment.

They would also include operational improvement and capital access for manufacturers that supports energy or process efficiency, equipment or facility upgrades, and the development of business incubators, among other activities.

“Upstate New York has one of the greatest manufacturing traditions in the country, and we need to help ensure that our local communities have the chance to become leading national manufacturing hubs in the 21st century,” Gillibrand said in the news release. “This bipartisan legislation will unlock millions of dollars in federal economic development funds for smart investments in high impact projects and leverage public-private partnerships to help create good-paying manufacturing jobs, jumpstart new businesses, and grow our economy for years to come.” 

Gillibrand’s bill is cosponsored by Senators Mark Kirk (R–Ill.) and Jerry Moran (R–Kan.), and a bipartisan House version is led by U.S. Representative David Cicilline (D–R.I.) and cosponsored by U.S. Representatives Katko, Richard Hanna (R–Barneveld), Tom Reed (R–Corning), and Tim Ryan (D–Ohio), according to Gillibrand’s office.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com