1. LATEST POLICY
==================================
Senator Coons’ R&D Provisions Included in Year-End Tax Extenders Bill
The year-end tax extenders bill includes three important provisions previously introduced by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) that will allow businesses to grow and create jobs, especially in the manufacturing industry. The bill will permanently extend the R&D tax credit, help startup companies access the credit, and allow small and medium-sized businesses to use the credit against Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) liability.
More: Coons Release
Obama Signs 5-year, $305 Billion Bill to Boost Highway Spending, Assure States of Aid
A 5-year, $305-billion bill to address the nation’s aging and congested transportation systems was signed into law by President Barack Obama, who said it will put Americans to work and provide states with the federal help they need to commit to long-term projects. The bill, which was overwhelmingly approved by Congress a day earlier, provides a modest increase to highway and transit spending but falls short of the $400 billion over six years administration officials said is necessary to keep traffic congestion from worsening. Nor does it resolve how to pay for transportation programs in the long term.
More: U.S.News & World Report
Export-Import Bank Is Revived
Legislation signed by President Barack Obama resurrected the U.S. Export-Import Bank and ended a five-month lapse that revealed far stronger bipartisan backing for the agency than the pitched battle to shut it down suggested. The outcome now gives the bank a firm footing until September 2019, but the brawl over its existence this year left both economic and political scars.
More: Wall Street Journal
Missouri and U.S. Chambers of Commerce Join McCaskill to Tout Her Bipartisan Plan Recently Signed Into Law to Boost Job Opportunities, Streamline Permitting
Representatives from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today joined U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill to discuss bipartisan legislation by McCaskill—recently signed into law—that will boost job and business opportunities by reforming federal permitting.
More: McCaskill Release
Murphy Announces New Report Showing His ‘Buy American Act’ Will Create 100,000 U.S. Jobs
During a visit to Turbine Technologies, Inc., one of Connecticut’s high-growth manufacturers, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) celebrated new findings by the Economic Policy Institute that passage of his 21st Century Buy American Act would create up to 100,000 U.S. jobs. Specifically, the report found that by closing loopholes in the Buy American Act, including the overseas usage loophole, and boosting the percentage of American-made content of all purchases covered by the Buy American Act, Murphy’s bill would increase GDP by $13.6 billion and create between 60,000 and 100,000 new U.S. jobs.
More: Murphy Release
Calif. Congressman Cardenas Introduces Manufacturing Jobs Bill, inspired by ‘Race to the Top’
U.S. Reps. Tony Cárdenas (D-San Fernando Valley, Calif.) and Brad Ashford (D-Omaha, Neb.) introduced legislation creating a $100 million in competitive grants that will promote reforms in workforce education and skills training for manufacturing jobs. The Manufacturing Skills Act was also introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this year by U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.).
More: California Newswire
Sen. Al Franken, Rep. Tammy Duckworth Introduce Bill to Train Workers for Open, High-Skill Jobs Legislation Will Promote Partnerships between Businesses and Community Colleges to Address Skills Gap
U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) announced the introduction of their legislation to close the “skills gap”—where jobs go unfilled because businesses can’t find workers with the right skills—by supporting partnerships between community colleges, technical colleges, and businesses to train students to fill high-demand jobs. The Community College to Career Fund Act, which Sen. Franken first introduced last Congress, will help create partnerships between two-year colleges and businesses with the goal to train millions of Americans for jobs in high-skill industries, such as health care, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and information technology.
More: Franken Release
Stabenow, Peters, Miller Urge Obama Administration to Support Funding for Blue Water Bridge
U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shaun Donovan urging the Administration to make the expansion of a customs plaza for the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron a high priority for funding in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget. Despite land being cleared and property demolished in Port Huron for the expansion, funding for the customs plaza construction has yet to be allocated.
More: Stabenow release
Klobuchar, Franken Introduce Legislation to Crack Down on Illegal Steel Dumping, Protect U.S. Steelworkers
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced legislation to crack down on illegal steel dumping and protect U.S. steelworkers. The illegal dumping of steel products by foreign countries is harming the steel industry in Minnesota and across the country, resulting in plant closures and job losses. The senators’ bill would crack down on illegal steel dumping by strengthening trade enforcement.
More: Franken Release
Senator Gillibrand Announces New Legislation to Help Expand Small Businesses, Boost Manufacturing
Standing at Incodema3D, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced legislation to help small businesses expand their advanced manufacturing operations and create and keep high-paying, high skilled manufacturing jobs in the United States. The Scale-Up Manufacturing Investment Company Act of 2015 would increase capital for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to scale-up and commercialize their advanced manufacturing and innovation operations.
More: Gillibrand Release
TechHire Initiative: Creating Pathways to Better, Well-Paying Tech Jobs and Meeting Urgent Employer Demand Across the U.S.
TechHire is a bold multi-sector initiative and call to action to empower Americans with the skills they need, through universities and community colleges but also nontraditional approaches like “coding boot camps,” and high-quality online courses that can rapidly train workers for a well-paying job, often in just a few months. Employers across the United States are in critical need of talent with these skills. Many of these roles do not require a four-year computer science degree. To give Americans the opportunity they deserve, and the skills they need to be competitive in a global economy, we are highlighting TechHire partnerships.
More: White House Release
Klobuchar OP ED: We Need a Nationwide Commitment to Broadband
Technology is reshaping the ways we live, work, play and communicate. The Internet is connecting communities and creating opportunities we couldn’t have imagined even a few decades ago. Today, you don’t need to live off an interstate highway or in a major city to find a good job, launch a new business or take college classes. But without a reliable high-speed internet connection, your options can be limited. In the 1930s, our country brought electricity and telephone service to communities from coast to coast. In order to compete in today’s global economy, we need to make that same commitment to connecting all Minnesotans with high-speed broadband Internet.
More: Klobuchar Release
Senator Gillibrand Announces New Legislation to Address Skills Gap, Enhance Job Training with Apprenticeship Programs
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced legislation to address the skills gap employers face and enhance job training to help workers develop the skills they need for good-paying, high-demand jobs. The bipartisan Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2015 would create a $5,000 tax credit for employers that use apprenticeship programs to train workers in high-demand professions such as health care, manufacturing and technology. The bill also would allow veterans in apprenticeships to get credit for previous military training and experience, as well as incentivize mentoring of apprentices by senior employees.
More: Gillibrand Release
2. OTHER NEWS
==================================
VIDEO: Senator Coons Highlights Delaware Apprenticeship Programs, ‘The Other Four-Year Degree’
U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) spoke on the Senate floor to recognize National Apprenticeship Week, which was created to help business leaders, educators, community based organizations, students, and workers learn about the real-world advantages of apprenticeships. 1,100 Delawareans are actively working through apprenticeship programs.
More: Coons Release
Senator Stabenow Applauds $3 Million USDA Investment in Michigan Biofuels
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, announced that Michigan has been chosen as a partner in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Biofuels Infrastructure Program, which supports projects that increase the production and delivery of renewable fuels like ethanol. The state will receive $3 million to add approximately 130 ethanol and gasoline/ethanol blender pumps at Michigan fueling stations. This grant will be matched by state and local support, more than doubling the funding available to install these pumps.
More: Stabenow Release
Brown Applauds $82 Million Investment in Moraine DMAX Plant
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) applauded news that DMAX, Ltd. – a partnership between General Motors and Isuzu – will invest $82 million in the DMAX engine plant in Moraine. The project is expected to create approximately 150 new jobs over the next three years.
More: Brown Release
Blumenthal, Murphy, DeLauro Announce $2.5 Million for Wallingford’s Proton Energy to Develop Ultra Efficient Battery
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-3) announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Wallingford’s Proton Energy $2.5 million to develop a highly-efficiency hydrogen-iron flow battery capable of generating hydrogen to power fuel cells while also storing energy on the electric grid. The battery can be recharged either using grid electricity or through exposure to sunlight.
More: Blumenthal Release
Senator Coons Speaks at Aviation Jobs Rally, Notes That Jobs are Available, Need to be Filled
Sen. Coons joined Sen. Carper, Rep. Carney and Gov. Jack Markell at Dassualt Falcon Jet to help recognize the contributions of the general aviation manufacturing industry to the Delaware economy. The event, hosted by General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) welcomed leaders from Aloft AeroArchitects (previously PATS Aircraft Systems), Dassault Falcon Jet, FlightSafety International, and Summit Aviation to reflect on the role aviation plays in the local economy.
More: Coons Release
Klobuchar, Franken, Dayton, Peterson Announce $10 Million to Alleviate Freight Bottleneck in Willmar
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, Governor Mark Dayton, and Representative Collin Peterson announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a $10,000,000 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant for Willmar’s Rail Connector and Industrial Access project.
More: Franken Release
Murphy Marks “National Apprenticeship Week”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) marked the Obama administration’s first-ever National Apprenticeship Week, and called on Connecticut businesses to expand apprenticeship opportunities throughout the state. National Apprenticeship Week spans from November 1, 2015 to November 7, 2015.
More: Murphy Release
Workforce Training Partnerships Look to Fill Open Jobs Now
Governor Gina M. Raimondo, along with the Rhode Island Congressional delegation, announced the recipients of the Real Jobs RI implementation grants available through the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT). Real Jobs RI is a demand-driven initiative that puts employers at the center of the state’s workforce development efforts to train people for jobs that actually exist now.
More: Reed Release