WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined Appropriations Committee members Thursday to approve the FY15 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which supports key programs for Delaware’s advanced manufacturers, researchers, and entrepreneurs. The bill will now move to the Senate floor for consideration.

“One of the reasons I’m fortunate to serve Delaware on the Senate Appropriations Committee is because of days like today, when we can move forward, in a bipartisan way, with a funding bill for the next year that makes some real progress in the right direction. This bill provides strong support for valuable Manufacturing Extension Partnerships as well as promising bio-manufacturing research, both of which have important impacts in Delaware. It also requires the U.S. government to begin planning for a broader national manufacturing strategy to ensure our nation is more competitive in the global market, and that we’re doing everything we can to help our local manufacturers grow and create jobs through exports. I was proud to advocate for these priorities on the Appropriations Committee and I’ll continue to fight for them on the Senate floor.” 

Throughout the appropriations process, including during Subcommittee negotiations, Senator Coons has fought for a number of Delaware priorities that were included in the bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday. They are highlighted below:

Manufacturing Extension Partnerships

Senator Coons fought for $141 million – a $13 million increase over FY14 appropriations – for Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, the only public-private partnership dedicated to providing technical support and services to small and medium-sized manufacturers. According to data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, every dollar invested in MEP facilitates $19 in new sales growth and $21 in new client investment. Demand for MEP services is greater than ever, and full funding will allow the existing MEP center network to facilitate job creation and new opportunities in the manufacturing sector. In April, Senator Coons co-led a letter to the Committee, signed by 24 senators, urging full funding of the program. Delaware’s MEP operates through Delaware Technical Community College in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Delaware Office of Economic Development, and the Delaware State and local Chambers of Commerce.

National Manufacturing Strategy

The bill includes language directing the Office of Science & Technology Policy to report to Congress with a comprehensive plan to develop a national manufacturing strategy. This language compliments the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, legislation introduced by Senators Coons and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), to require the President to submit to Congress an updated National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing every four years. That legislation passed the Senate Commerce Committee in April.

Bio-Manufacturing

The bill includes language proposed by Senator Coons recognizing the importance of U.S. bio-manufacturing and directing the National Science Foundation (NSF) to increase support for it in its advanced manufacturing portfolio by dedicating at least $15 million to new bio-manufacturing initiatives. Bio-manufacturing is not only important to the U.S., but competitor countries, including the UK and China, are also ramping up their investment in bio-manufacturing R&D. The NSF’s $150 million FY15 budget request for advanced manufacturing included only $2 million dedicated to life sciences overall. Senator Coons fought successfully for increased investment to advance U.S. global competitiveness in this field and to support groundbreaking bio-manufacturing research at the University of Delaware.

Foreign Commercial Service

With persistent encouragement from Senator Coons, the Department of Commerce announced the expansion of the Foreign Commercial Service a few weeks ago – including four new offices in African countries (Angola, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Mozambique) and four office expansions in Africa (Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, and Libya). The expansion will create nearly 70 new positions and post 17 additional officers globally to help U.S. companies get started in exporting or increase sales to new global markets. To ensure adequate staffing and improve staff retention, particularly in critical African posts, the FY15 Appropriations bill requests a report on methods to improve retention and professional development of Foreign Commercial Service Officers, Department of Commerce staff, and local staff. Employing more local staff is a cost effective way to expand the International Trade Administration’s capacity and build the capacity of individuals in target countries to support trade.

Innovation

Senator Coons requested, and the Committee provided, $139 million for the National Science Foundation’s Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) program, a multi-year effort to coordinate and grow research dedicated to solving our nation’s most pressing sustainability challenges. At the request of Senator Coons, the bill also includes language supporting SEES’ Sustainable Chemistry, Engineering and Materials (SusChEM) program, which funds research on topics in the national interest, including chemical recycling and replacement of rare, expensive, and/or toxic chemicals with earth-abundant, inexpensive, and benign chemicals.

Senator Coons advocated successfully for additional funding for the NSF’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) – a federal-state partnership that awards competitive funding to states to increase energy-related research investments. Delaware currently has an active EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program grant that funds a partnership between the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical & Community College, and Wesley College. The Committee boosted funding for EPSCoR by $1.7 million, allowing the program to further assist higher education entities in Delaware and other EPSCoR-eligible states.