,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #gja ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bb1 #bjag,mrs4 ,gillibrand 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mrs4 ,capito1 ,mr4 ,king1 and ,ms4 ,collins7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to improve the competitiveness of ,united ,states manufacturing by designating and supporting manufacturing communities4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,made in ,america ,manufacturing ,communities ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,manufacturing community support program ,the term ,manufacturing ,community ,support ,program means the program established under section #c7;a74 7#b7 ,participating agency ,the term participating agency means a ,federal agency that elects to participate in the ,manufacturing ,community ,support ,program4 7#c7 ,participating program ,the term participating program means a program identified by a participating agency under section #c7;c77#a77;,c74 7#d7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,commerce4 #c4 ,program to designate and support manufacturing communities 7a7 ,program authorized ,the ,secretary shall establish a program to improve the competitiveness of ,united ,states manufacturing-- 7#a7 by designating consortiums as manufacturing communities under subsection 7b72 and 7#b7 by supporting manufacturing communities1 as so designated1 under subsection 7c74 7b7 ,designation of manufacturing communities 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#g71 for purposes of the ,manufacturing ,community ,support ,program1 the ,secretary shall designate eligible consortiums as manufacturing communities through a competitive process4 7#b7 ,eligible consortiums 7,a7 ,in general ,an eligible consortium is a consortium that-- 7i7 represents a region defined by the consortium in accordance with subparagraph 7,b72 7ii7 includes at least one-- 7,i7 institution of higher education2 7,,ii7 a private sector entity2 and 7,,iii7 a government entity2 7iii7 may include one or more-- 7,i7 private sector partners2 7,,ii7 institutions of higher education2 7,,iii7 government entities2 7,,iv7 economic development and other community and labor groups2 7,v7 financial institutions2 or 7,,vi7 utilities2 7iv7 has1 as a lead applicant-- 7,i7 a district organization 7as defined in section #cjj4c of title #ac1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or successor regulation72 7,,ii7 an ,indian tribe 7as defined in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #dej;b77 or a consortium of ,indian tribes2 7,,iii7 a ,state or a political subdivision of a ,state1 including a special purpose unit of a ,state or local government engaged in economic or infrastructure development activities1 or a consortium of political subdivisions2 7,,iv7 an institution of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher education2 or 7,v7 a public or private nonprofit organization or association that has an application that is supported by a ,state1 a political subdivision of a ,state1 or a native community4 7,b7 ,regions ,subject to approval by the ,secretary1 a consortium may define the region that it represents if the region-- 7i7 is large enough to contain critical elements of the key technologies or supply chain prioritized by the consortium2 and 7ii7 is small enough to enable close collaboration among members of the consortium4 7#c7 ,duration ,each designation under paragraph 7#a7 shall be for a period of two years4 7#d7 ,renewal 7,a7 ,in general ,upon receipt of an application submitted under subparagraph 7,b71 the ,secretary may renew a designation made under paragraph 7#a7 for up to two additional two-year periods4 ,any designation as a manufacturing community or renewal of such designation that is in effect before the date of the enactment of this ,act shall count toward the limit set forth in this subparagraph4 7,b7 ,application for renewal ,an eligible consortium seeking a renewal under subparagraph 7,a7 shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 7,c7 ,modifications authorized ,the ,secretary may renew a designation under subparagraph 7,a7 for an eligible consortium that-- 7i7 has changed its composition1 either by adding or removing members2 or 7ii7 as part of its application under subparagraph 7,b71 submits a revision to the plan submitted under paragraph 7#e77;,b77iv7 or the strategy submitted under paragraph 7#e77;,b77v74 7,d7 ,evaluation for renewal ,in determining whether to renew a designation of an eligible consortium under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall assess the eligible consortium based upon-- 7i7 the performance of the consortium against the terms of the consortium's most recent designation under paragraph 7#a7 and any post-designation awards the consortium may have received2 7ii7 the progress the consortium has made with respect to project-specific metrics the consortium proposed in the consortium's application for the most recent designation under paragraph 7#a71 particularly with respect to those metrics that were designed to help communities track their own progress2 7iii7 whether any changes to the composition of the eligible consortium or revisions to the plan or strategy described in subparagraph 7,c77ii7 would improve the competitiveness of ,united ,states manufacturing2 and 7iv7 such other criteria as the ,secretary considers appropriate4 7#e7 ,application for designation 7,a7 ,in general ,an eligible consortium seeking a designation under paragraph 7#a7 shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time and in such manner as the ,secretary may require4 7,b7 ,contents ,each application submitted to the ,secretary under subparagraph 7,a7 include-- 7i7 a description of the regional boundaries of the consortium2 7ii7 a description of the manufacturing concentration of the consortium1 including an assessment of how the manufacturing concentration of the consortium competitively ranks nationally according to measures relating to employment1 sales1 location quotients for an industry's level of concentration1 or such other measures as the ,secretary considers appropriate2 7iii7 an integrated assessment of the local industrial ecosystem of the region of the consortium1 which may include assessment of workforce and training1 supplier network1 research and innovation1 infrastructure or site development1 trade and international investment1 operational improvements1 and capital access components needed for manufacturing activities in such region2 7iv7 an evidence-based plan for developing components of such ecosystem 7selected by the consortium7-- 7,i7 by making specific investments to address gaps in such ecosystem2 and 7,,ii7 by making the manufacturing of the region of the consortium uniquely competitive2 7v7 a description of the investments the consortium proposes and the implementation strategy the consortium intends to use to address gaps in such ecosystem2 7vi7 a description of the outcome-based metrics1 benchmarks1 and milestones that the consortium will track and the evaluation methods the consortium will use while designated as a manufacturing community to gauge performance of the strategy of the consortium to improve the manufacturing in the region of the consortium2 and 7vii7 such other matters as the ,secretary considers appropriate4 7#f7 ,evaluation of applications ,the ,secretary shall evaluate each application received under paragraph 7#e7 to determine-- 7,a7 whether the applicant demonstrates a significant level of regional cooperation in their proposal2 and 7,b7 how the manufacturing concentration of the applicant competitively ranks nationally according to measures described in paragraph 7#e77;,b77ii74 7#g7 ,certain communities previously recognized ,each consortium that was designated as a manufacturing community by the ,secretary in carrying out the ,investing in ,manufacturing ,communities ,partnership initiative of the ,department of ,commerce before the date of the enactment of this ,act shall be deemed a manufacturing community designated under this subsection if such consortium is still designated as a manufacturing community by the ,secretary as part of such initiative4 7c7 ,support for designated manufacturing communities 7#a7 ,preferential consideration 7,a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,d71 if a member of a consortium designated as a manufacturing community under subsection 7b7 seeks financial or technical assistance under a participating program of a participating agency1 the head of such agency may give preferential consideration to such member with respect to the awarding of such financial or technical assistance if-- 7i7 such head considers the award of the financial or technical assistance consistent with the economic development strategy of the consortium2 and 7ii7 the member otherwise meets all applicable requirements for the financial or technical assistance4 7,b7 ,participating agencies ,the ,secretary shall invite other ,federal agencies to become participating agencies of the ,manufacturing ,community ,support ,program4 7,c7 ,participating programs ,the head of each participating agency shall identify all programs administered by such participating agency that are applicable to the ,manufacturing ,community ,support ,program4 7,d7 ,multiple members of the same consortium seeking the same financial or technical assistance 7i7 ,in general ,if a participating agency receives applications for the same financial or technical assistance from more than one member of the same consortium designated as a manufacturing community under subsection 7b71 the head of such agency may determine how preference will be given under subparagraph 7,a71 including by requiring the consortium to select which of the members should be given preference4 7ii7 ,coordination ,if the head of a participating agency determines that more than one member of a consortium should be given preference for financial or technical assistance under subparagraph 7,a71 he or she may require such members to demonstrate coordination with each other in developing their applications for the financial or technical assistance4 7,e7 ,report ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the head of each participating agency shall submit a report to the ,secretary that specifies how the head will give preferential consideration under subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,technical assistance ,the ,secretary may make a ,federal point of contact available to each consortium designated as a manufacturing community under subsection 7b7 to help the members of the consortium access ,federal funds and technical assistance4 7#c7 ,financial and technical assistance 7,a7 ,in general ,under the ,manufacturing ,community ,support ,program1 the head of a participating agency may award financial or technical assistance to a member of a consortium designated as a manufacturing community under subsection 7b7 as he or she considers appropriate for purposes of such program and consistent with the economic development strategy of the consortium4 7,b7 ,use of funds 7i7 ,in general ,a recipient of financial or technical assistance under subparagraph 7,a7 may use such financial or technical assistance to support an investment in an ecosystem that will improve the competitiveness of ,united ,states manufacturing4 7ii7 ,investments supported ,investments supported under this subparagraph may include-- 7,i7 infrastructure2 7,,ii7 access to capital2 7,,iii7 promotion of exports and foreign direct investment2 7,,iv7 equipment or facility upgrades2 7,v7 workforce training or retraining2 7,,vi7 energy or process efficiency2 7,,vii7 business incubators2 7,,viii7 site preparation2 7,,ix7 advanced research2 7,x7 supply chain development2 and 7,,xi7 small business assistance4 7#d7 ,coordination 7,a7 ,coordination by ,secretary of ,commerce ,the ,secretary shall coordinate with the heads of the participating agencies to identify programs under paragraph 7#a77;,c74 7,b7 ,inter-agency coordination ,the heads of the participating agencies shall coordinate with each other-- 7i7 to leverage complementary activities1 including from non-,federal sources1 such as philanthropies2 and 7ii7 to avoid duplication of efforts4 7d7 ,receipt of transferred funds ,the ,secretary may accept amounts transferred to the ,secretary from the head of another participating agency to carry out this section4