NAM president calls for more funding for MEP network

National Association of Manufacturers president John Engler on April 24 praised the contribution of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) system to the U.S. economy and said the NAM “strongly supports adequate funding for the MEP.”

The MEP is a nationwide network of not-for-profit centers in nearly 350 locations nationwide that provide small and medium-sized manufacturers with the services they need to succeed. The centers, serving all 50 states and Puerto Rico, are linked together through the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The centers are funded by federal, state and private sources. Each center works directly with manufacturers to provide them with expertise and services ranging from process improvements and worker training to business practices and applications of advanced technology.

“In fiscal year 2005, you can credit the MEP with helping to create or save more than 53,000 jobs and generating more than $6 billion in sale,” Engler told the National MEP-NIST annual conference. “By some accounts, the MEP stimulated more than $2.2 billion in economic growth – contributing to an innovative, investment-rich manufacturing sector.”

Engler said the Bush Administration’s budget request of $46 million for the MEP in fiscal 2008, which was funded for $104.6 million this year, “falls short – especially in a time of increased global competition. The NAM has gone through these funding battles with you before, and together we’ve won the day. We’ll win it again this year, too. The case is just so strong.”

Enger referred to a bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter signed by Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-West Virginia), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies; and ranking member Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (R-New Jersey), and more than 100 other legislators, calling for MEP funding of $113 million in 2008.  That amount, Engler said, “is far more fitting with the demands placed on the MEP.”

A copy of the letter sent to Mollohan and Frelinghuysen is available at: http://www.nam.org/s_nam/bin.asp?CID=44&DID=238541&DOC=FILE.PDF

The National Association of Manufacturers is the nation’s largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAM has 11 additional offices across the country. Visit www.nam.org for more information about manufacturing and the economy.