Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
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Inslee and Local Businesses Strategize on Funding
13 February 2004
U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee met today with several local small business owners to learn more about how the inadequate federal funding to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is hurting the businesses. The MEP is a program run through the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology. It works directly with local manufacturers to provide expertise on information technology applications, worker training, and process improvements, and helps the local companies improve productivity and increase profits. MEP served 135 businesses in Washington State last year. Regretfully, the Presidents 2005 budget proposal cuts MEP funding by nearly two-thirds from FY2003. Inslee supports restoring full funding to the MEP in Congress.
View a letter Inslee cosigned to the Office of Management and Budget requesting a funding level of $110 million in the Presidents FY2005 budget request.
* You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view and print the legislation; download the free software here.
What is the MEP and How Does It Help?
MEP is a national network of manufacturing extension Centers and field offices located throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Centers are funded by federal, state, local, and private resources to serve small manufacturers. Each Center works directly with local manufacturers to provide expertise and services tailored to their most critical needs, which range from process improvements and worker training to business practices and information technology applications. Last year, the MEP served more than 18,000 small manufacturers across the country. In 2002, MEP assistance resulted in:
- $2.79 billion in increased/retained sales
- $681 million in cost savings
- $940 million investment in modernization
- 32,000 jobs created/retained
This is a federal/state/private-sector partnership where every federal dollar leverages two dollars in state and private-sector funding. A small federal investment ($106 million in recent years) leverages billions of dollars in benefits for the economy in terms of jobs created/retained, investment, and sales.