WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), who leads the Manufacturing Jobs for America campaign in the Senate, praised President Obama’s launch Tuesday of two new manufacturing innovation institutes led by the Department of Defense. The institutes, headquartered in Detroit and Chicago, will serve as regional hubs, bringing together companies, universities, and federal agencies to bridge the gap between education and training, applied research, and product development. Senator Coons was invited to the White House today for the President’s announcement.
“American ingenuity and innovation are the keys to our nation’s manufacturing revival,” Senator Coons said. “To bridge the gap between innovative ideas and dynamic new industries, we need to get our most important stakeholders – our academic, commercial, and governmental institutions – working together toward a common goal. Manufacturing innovation institutes are a creative and cost-effective way to do just that, leveraging resources to accelerate innovation and grow our manufacturing sector. I look forward to following the progress of these exciting new hubs and hope the Senate will soon act on bipartisan legislation I cosponsored with Senators Brown and Blunt to further expand this initiative.”
The new manufacturing innovation institutes will be supported by a $140 million federal investment combined with more than $140 million in non-federal resources. Harnessing shared assets, the institutes grant consortium members, including small manufacturers, access to cutting-edge capabilities and equipment to design, test, and pilot new products and manufacturing processes. The Detroit hub will concentrate on lightweight and modern metals manufacturing while the Chicago hub will focus on digital manufacturing and design technologies.
Building off the success of a pilot institute headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio, the administration has launched three new institutes in 2014. Today, the President also announced a competition to select the next institute, one of four more he has pledged to establish this year, for a total of eight across the country. The Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2013, a bipartisan bill cosponsored by Senator Coons, would support the creation of more institutes as part of a national network for manufacturing innovation.
Since its debut in October, Manufacturing Jobs for America has grown to include 46 bills from 26 senators. Thirty-two of the bills have already been introduced — 14 with bipartisan support — around four principles: strengthening America’s 21st century workforce; opening markets abroad; creating the conditions necessary for growth; and expanding access to capital.
More on Manufacturing Jobs for America can be found here: http://coons.senate.gov/manufacturing