The American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative Statement on FY 2020 Budget
The American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative applauds the inclusion of $25 million for Defense Manufacturing Communities in the FY 2020 Budget that has passed both the House and Senate this week and is expected to be signed into law by President Trump. This high impact federal investment will help communities deliver two things both parties can agree on: good-paying manufacturing jobs and military readiness.
The new funds will allow the Department of Defense (DOD) to implement Section 846 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act which authorized the Defense Manufacturing Communities Support Program (DMCSP) to “make long-term investments in critical skills, facilities, research and development, and small business support in order to strengthen the national security innovation base by designing and supporting consortiums as defense manufacturing communities.”
The DMCSP will build from a successful competitive 2014-2016 pilot program that challenged communities to develop a regional coalition of leaders to create and execute a regional manufacturing economic development plan (The Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership). “We appreciate that Congress has recognized what we have learned: by bringing industry and community together to develop and execute a common plan, sustainable manufacturing can and will thrive in America,” said Matt Bogoshian, Executive Director of AMCC.
The 24 communities designated by the IMCP – a network in which The Northeast-Midwest Institute serves as an organizational admin – have shown how well-organized communities can effectively develop new programs to fill talent gaps, increase the number of suppliers in defense procurement and incubate small businesses. “AMCC is grateful for the unwavering support of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative David Cicilline and all the leaders of the Appropriations committees,” continued Bogoshian.
“The DMCSP adds a missing component in federal investments: the availability of robust regional manufacturing capabilities able to take new technologies to market, meet the needs of our military and provide good jobs in communities,” said Andrew Stettner, Senior Fellow of the Century Foundation and a board member of the AMCC.
This new program will help address problems American manufacturing has seen for decades to include those DOD identified in the industrial base review ordered by the President in 2017: a declining base of suppliers, increased foreign dependence for critical components and an erosion of the talent base. “The manufacturing communities program is allowing Washington State to accelerate our maritime economy and bring the same ingenuity that created companies like Amazon and Microsoft to utilize new technologies that our military and our manufacturers need,” said Sarah Lee of the Washington State Department of Commerce and a board member of the AMCC.
“The manufacturing communities program does more than help Utah provide advanced materials critical to our future national security. It connects us to resources and ideas from other advanced manufacturing communities in the US that are working on similar issues like workforce development that we would never have been able to access on our own,” said Jeff Edwards, Director of the Utah Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Initiative and a board member of the AMCC.
The Defense Manufacturing Communities Support Program will be operated out of the DOD Office of Economic Adjustment. The American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC) is a coalition of Federal designated communities and national organizations, coordinated by the Northeast Midwest Institute (NEMWI), visit www.americanmancc.org.
For background on the Defense Manufacturing Communities Support program click here https://tcf.org/content/facts/future-new-defense-manufacturing-communities-support-program/.