Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2004
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY COMPETITIVENESS ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - July 09, 2004)
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time.
Mr. Chairman, my colleague on this side of the aisle and my teammate on the Republican congressional baseball team was just in the well, and I think he was speaking against this bill and making an analogy between professional sports teams. I think he mentioned the football team in Arizona and that if we are going to support the manufacturers, we might as well be for supporting professional sports. With all due respect to the gentleman from Arizona, I think the manufacturing sector in this country is a lot more important than any professional sports team.
H.R. 3598 supports small and medium-sized manufacturers by reauthorizing and improving the highly successful Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, MEP. This program helps businesses improve manufacturing processes, reduce waste, and train workers on how to use new equipment. MEP receives one-third of its funding from the Federal Government, one-third from the States, and one-third actually from fees charged to participating small businesses, small manufacturers.
There are 60 MEP centers and 400 satellite institutions throughout the country.
But, Mr. Chairman, let me talk briefly about Georgia. The Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership consists of 19
regional offices, four of which are in my district, the 11th District of Georgia, Carrollton, Cartersville, Newman, and Rome, Georgia. It is lead by the Economic Development Institute at my alma mata, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech.
The MEP program has a proven track record. It works directly with local manufacturers to help them improve manufacturing processes, train workers, improve business practices, and apply information technology to their companies. Solutions are offered through a combination of direct assistance from center staff and outside experts.
The Rome-Floyd Recycling Center, Mr. Chairman, is a perfect example. They were struggling, about to go under. But when the MEP program came and helped them and brought in engineers and showed them how to process that recycling and streamline that operation, they began making money and employing people right in my district.
In Georgia, during 2002, MEP assistance helped companies retain or create more than 1,300 jobs, invest more than $33 million, and cut $13 million in unnecessary costs and increase or retain $61 million in sales.
Mr. Chairman, H.R. 3598 and its authorization of returning funding levels for MEPs back to an effective level will greatly influence the retention and creation of manufacturing jobs throughout Georgia and the Nation. Let us support this good legislation on behalf of the distressed manufacturing sector.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT