1/12/2006 4:23:00 PM
To: National and Business Desks
Contact: Chris Chichester (Snowe), 202-228-5843, or Catherine Ribeiro,
(Lieberman), 202-224-0957
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine)
and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), co-chairs of the Senate Task Force on
Manufacturing, today urged the Bush Administration to include $106 million
in the upcoming Federal budget proposal to fund the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership Program (MEP). The MEP is a nationwide network of
not-for-profit centers in over 400 locations across the country, whose
sole purpose is to help small and medium-sized manufacturers implement the
most advanced manufacturing technologies in order to compete with low wage
countries such as China. The centers, which serve all 50 states and Puerto
Rico, are linked together through the Department of Commerce's National
Institute of Standards and Technology. This program has proven successful
in helping small manufacturers create jobs, increase sales and make new
investments.
In a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua B.
Bolten, Sen. Snowe and Sen. Lieberman wrote:
"As the Co-Chairs of the Senate Taskforce on Manufacturing, we would
like to express our strong and continued support for the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. We urge you to support a funding
level of $106 million in the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 budget
request, the same level appropriated by Congress for FY 2006. Each year,
MEP Centers located around the country help thousands of small
manufacturers solve problems, increase productivity and create or retain
high-skilled American jobs.
"For FY 2006, Congress provided $106 million for the MEP. Continuing
this funding level is critical to ensuring the delivery of MEP services,
which help sustain and strengthen our nation's manufacturing industry.
Remaining competitive in the manufacturing sector is vital to our
continued economic growth. Small and mid-sized manufacturers are the
engines that increase productivity and spur job growth. These
manufacturers employ more than 11 million Americans and account for
approximately 55 percent of the value of all manufactured goods in the
American economy. The MEP program helps these manufacturers modernize
their facilities and production processes, thus enabling them to compete
in the demanding global marketplace, maintain jobs in America, and
continue driving a higher standard of living in the U.S.
"The MEP is an extremely successful program. MEP clients experience
productivity gains more than four times greater than comparable firms that
did not receive MEP assistance. This is significant because productivity
growth is closely correlated with earnings and standard of living. Wages,
profits, and ultimately our standard of living all raise as these
businesses become more efficient. MEP clients are increasing sales, hiring
more workers in the U.S., and investing in domestic plant modernization.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) FY
2004 MEP Client-Reported Impacts, MEP clients experienced increased or
retained sales of over $4.1 billion, nearly 50,315 new or retained jobs,
$686 million in cost savings, and $912 million invested in new private
sector investment as a result of MEP projects.
"Higher productivity also contributes to our competitive advantage with
respect to lower wage countries such as China. Our nation has lost too
many jobs as domestic production has moved offshore, often to manufacture
products for sale in the United States. Our substantial trade imbalance
with countries like China reflects this trend. Half of the products we now
import from China are from high-tech, high-skilled industries. MEP
services help our small manufacturers maintain good jobs and advanced
production capacity in our country.
"MEP started as a bipartisan Congressional initiative in 1988 and over
the last decade has received strong support from each Congress as well as
from Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. We respectfully ask that you
include $106 million for the MEP program in the President's FY 2007
Budget."
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