Monroe Community College: Gillibrand Announces Made In America Manufacturing Communities Act In Rochester

Press release from Monroe Community College:

February 25, 2022

Bill Would Utilize Current Federal Resources to Support Domestic Manufacturing, Create Jobs, and Strengthen Domestic Supply Chains

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand yesterday visited Monroe Community College’s Downtown Campus to announce her Made in America Manufacturing Communities Act of 2022.

This new program incentivizes private-public partnerships by empowering the Secretary of Commerce to designate consortiums as “Manufacturing Communities,” which would be eligible for federal financial and technical assistance designed to expand and support domestic manufacturing. Gillibrand’s bill would help strengthen the U.S. manufacturing base, encourage domestic public-private partnerships, and help local businesses cut through bureaucratic red tape to address ongoing pandemic-related supply chain disruptions that continue plaguing local economies.

She was joined on campus by Acting Provost & Vice President of MCC’s Student and Academic Services Kimberly McKinsey-Mabry; Mayor Malik Evans; Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Bob Duffy; New York State Assemblymembers Sarah Clark, Jen Lunsford, and Demond Meeks; New York State Sen. Samra Brouk; and Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council President Grant Malone.

“It’s going to take hard work and smart federal investments to get supply chains back on track after two years of pandemic-related disruptions,” said Sen. Gillibrand. “That’s why I’m introducing the Made in America Manufacturing Communities Act of 2022 – legislation that uses current federal resources to invest in public-private partnerships building the next generation of leaders in manufacturing. By taking a community-based approach, we can invest in innovative groups, schools, and businesses, just like Monroe Community College, and recruit American workers to help rebuild our national supply chain. New York is already a leader in this space, and this long-term investment will empower businesses to create good-paying manufacturing jobs that fit the needs of individual communities right at home in America.”

“Thank you to Senator Gillibrand for sponsoring this critical legislation. This bill provides the kind of economic on-ramp communities like ours need to reclaim our position as a manufacturing leader. The Public-Private partnerships this bill forges will help leverage the resources of institutions like MCC, with their incredible new advanced manufacturing program, to train our existing workforce for the jobs we need here in Monroe County. We have been building America for over two hundred years and this bill will help us keep building for two hundred more,” said New York State Assemblymember Jen Lunsford.

Gillibrand’s Made in America program is a successor to the experimental, Obama-era “Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership” (IMCP). The Economic Development Administration operated the IMCP between 2014 and 2015 and successfully enrolled 24 locally-organized public-private consortiums, including in the Rochester/Finger Lakes region.

In addition to Commerce assistance, approved Made in America Manufacturing Communities in Gillibrand’s new proposal would have access to technical assistance from other federal agencies, giving them a leg up in accessing a wide array of federal grants.

This press release was produced by Monroe Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.