WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) manufacturing jobs legislation that would create the first-ever national network of manufacturing hubs was included in the Omnibus budget legislation that passed the Senate last night. The bill is now headed to the President’s desk.

“I thank Congressmen Reed and Kennedy for advancing this through the House and to Sen. Blunt for his partnership in the Senate,” Brown said. “This bill focuses our nation’s strengths toward a common goal: revitalization of American manufacturing and innovation. When American manufacturing moves to other countries, we don’t just lose production – we lose innovation. A Network for Manufacturing Innovation would foster public-private partnerships that give small businesses, industry leaders, and research institutions the tools they need to compete on a global scale. These regional, industry-led hubs will leverage local expertise and will create thousands of high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs for American workers. We’ve seen it work in Youngstown, now it’s time to advance this effort nationwide.”

Cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act (RAMI) would establish a National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) and create thousands of high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs while enhancing the United States’ role as the world’s leader in advanced manufacturing. The House passed companion legislation, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY-23), in September.

“I’m pleased Congress passed this common-sense, bipartisan bill to boost manufacturing and create jobs in Missouri and nationwide,” Blunt said. “Supporting innovation and manufacturing in America will help us continue to compete in a global economy. I look forward to building on this success in the new Congress and working with my colleagues to pass policies that encourage more economic opportunity and jump-start good-paying jobs for workers in Missouri and nationwide.”

RAMI would bring together industry, universities and community colleges, federal agencies, and all levels of government, to accelerate manufacturing innovation in technologies with commercial applications. These public-private institutes would leverage resources to bridge the gap between basic research and product development.

Using this model, the Administration recently announced two new advanced manufacturing innovation institutes. One, the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII), will establish a unique public-private partnership jointly led by The Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, and the Columbus-based Edison Welding Institute (EWI). The project is projected to create more than 10,000 jobs in the next five years. The other, NNMI’s pilot is Youngstown’s “America Makes,” formerly the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII).

The legislation is supported by more than 150 companies, universities, and industry organizations. A full list is below.

Associations/Organizations

  1. Aerospace Industries Association
  2. Alliance for American Manufacturing
  3. Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
  4. America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA)
  5. American Association of Community Colleges
  6. American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC)
  7. American Chemical Society
  8. American Chemistry Council
  9. American Federation of Labor-Committee for Industrial Organization
  10. American Iron and Steel Institute
  11. American Small Manufacturers Coalition
  12. American Society for Engineering Education
  13. ASME (founded as American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
  14. Association of American Universities (AAU)
  15. Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)
  16. Association of Equipment Manufacturers
  17. Business Roundtable
  18. Cambridge Area Chamber of Commerce
  19. Center for Innovative Food Technology
  20. Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
  21. City of Dayton
  22. Columbus Chamber of Commerce
  23. Columbus Partnership
  24. Dayton Development Coalition
  25. Dayton Region Manufacturers Association
  26. Delaware BioScience Association
  27. Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership
  28. Edison Welding Institute
  29. Forging Industry Association
  30. Global Automakers    
  31. Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
  32. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) 
  33. Jordan Valley Innovation Center
  34. Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership
  35. Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET)
  36. Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, OH
  37. Medical Device Manufacturers Association
  38. Missouri Association of Manufacturers
  39. Missouri Biotechnology Association
  40. Missouri Economic Development Council
  41. Missouri Enterprise
  42. Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA)
  43. National Association of Manufacturers
  44. National Composites Center
  45. National Confectioners Association
  46. National Modeling and Simulation Coalition
  47. The New England Council
  48. Ohio Aerospace Institute
  49. Ohio Association of Community Colleges
  50. Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition
  51. Ohio Manufacturers’ Association
  52. One Voice – the joint effort between the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA)
  53. The Optical Society
  54. PolymerOhio, Inc.
  55. Saint Louis Economic Development Partnership
  56. Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI)
  57. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)
  58. Society for Modeling and Simulation International
  59. Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative
  60. Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce
  61. Tech Columbus

Companies

  1. Alcoa
  2. ANSYS
  3. Applied Materials
  4. Appvion
  5. AT&T
  6. Autodesk
  7. BAE Systems
  8. Ball Corporation
  9. BASF Corporation
  10. Battelle Memorial Institute    
  11. Boeing
  12. Brewer Science
  13. Caterpillar Inc.
  14. Corning
  15. Delphi Automotive
  16. DJW Technology
  17. Dow Chemical
  18. DSP North America
  19. Dupont
  20. Eastman Chemical Company
  21. First Solar
  22. GE
  23. Goodyear
  24. Graftech
  25. Honda
  26. Honeywell
  27. IBM
  28. Intel
  29. Libbey Glass
  30. Lockheed Martin Corporation
  31. Navistar
  32. Nestlé
  33. New Balance
  34. Nucor
  35. Owens Illinois
  36. Procter & Gamble
  37. Raytheon
  38. Rockwell Automation
  39. Siemens
  40. Silfex, Inc. and Lam Research Corporation
  41. Smiths Group
  42. SRC Holdings Corp
  43. SunEdison
  44. TechSolve
  45. Texas Instruments
  46. United Technologies
  47. U.S. Steel Corporation
  48. Volkswagen Group of America
  49. Walmart
  50. Whirlpool
  51. Xerox

Universities

  1. Carnegie Mellon University
  2. Case Western Reserve University
  3. Cincinnati State Technical & Community College
  4. Delaware Technical Community College
  5. Georgia Institute of Technology
  6. Indiana University
  7. Iowa University
  8. Iowa State University
  9. Kent State University
  10. Miami University
  11. Michigan State University
  12. North Central State College
  13. Northwest State Community College
  14. Oberlin College & Conservatory
  15. The Ohio State University
  16. Ohio University
  17. Ohio University Innovation Center
  18. Ozark Technical Community College
  19. Rochester Institute of Technology
  20. Stark State College
  21. University of California – Berkley
  22. University of California – Davis
  23. University of California – Irvine
  24. University of Cincinnati
  25. University of Colorado-Boulder
  26. University of Illinois
  27. University of Michigan
  28. University of Minnesota
  29. University of Missouri
  30. University of New Hampshire
  31. University of North Carolina – Charlotte
  32. University of Northern Iowa
  33. University of Notre Dame
  34. University of Southern California
  35. University of Tennessee Knoxville
  36. University of Toledo
  37. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  38. University of Wisconsin System
  39. Washington State Community College
  40. Youngstown State University
  41. Zane State College

###