Gordon Wants More Help For Nation’s Manufacturers
February 26, 2004, WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, the House Science Committee’s ranking Democrat, said that the latest administration proposal to help the nation’s manufacturers is inadequate.
"The administration’s proposal is basically a bait and switch ploy," Gordon said Thursday (February 26) after administration officials asked Congress to allow them to re-allocate up to $10 million in grants this year for a nationwide network of business assistance programs, including the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
"It guarantees no new funds to America’s manufacturers this year and commits no new funds to them next year. It’s a shell game masquerading as a commitment to job creation. Programs that have helped thousands of small manufacturers with technical assistance and business-support services have been cut to the bone over the last couple of years.
"Funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, for example, has been reduced by $72 million. That’s a 65 percent cut to a program that helped small manufacturers in my home state of Tennessee generate more than $65 million in sales last year and create or retain nearly 600 jobs," he said.
Prior to Thursday’s House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, the administration had proposed to eliminate the Advanced Technology Program and leave funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership at current levels.
The abrupt turnabout comes on the heels of criticism that the administration is doing little to help massive job losses in the manufacturing sector.
"America has lost 2.7 million jobs in the last three years while Tennessee has lost more than 60,000 manufacturing jobs," said Gordon, who as a Science Committee member helps oversee MEP and other federal science and technology programs.
"If we hope to grow new industries, provide new skills to unemployed workers and foster the economic conditions that will allow us to eliminate our federal deficit, we have to invest in research and development programs. We shouldn’t slash federal technology programs that help our small- and medium-sized firms stay competitive."
In FY 2002, companies using MEP assistance reported $2.79 billion in new and retained sales, $681 million in cost savings and $940 million of investment in modernization. Harvard University’s Institute for Government Administration selected MEP as one of the nation’s "most creative, forward thinking, results-driven government programs."
"Too many shops around the country have shuttered their doors, sending workers away with little hope of finding good, high-paying jobs," Gordon said. "We need to do what we can to reverse this trend and move the country forward.
"This is one of the few federal programs where every federal dollar leverages two additional dollars in state and private-sector funding. This is a unique partnership with local governments and the private sector that works, and it keeps Americans working, as well," the congressman added.
