Cicilline Introduces Make It In America Block Grant Legislation

PAWTUCKET, RI – In recognition of National Small Business Week, U.S. Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI), supported by Rhode Island and New England manufacturing representatives, unveiled his Six Point Manufacturing Plan for Rhode Island, including the official introduction of his Make it in America Block Grant Act of 2011 at a press conference today in Pawtucket at the former Paramount Cards Company.

The Make it in America Block Grant Act of 2011 is one critical part of Congressman Cicilline’s Six-Point Manufacturing Plan for Rhode Island. This legislation provides small-to medium-sized manufacturers with the resources they need to retool and retrofit their operations, and train their workforce in order to transition to the manufacturing of clean energy, high-technology, and advanced products.

“If we’re really going to re-build our economy, we must focus on making things again in this country, and we will, when we give our manufacturers the incentives and tools they need to do it,” said Congressman Cicilline. “What we need now are the strategies, programs, and the will to support that resurgence and set in place the policies that will bring stability and growth to this sector of our economy. The Make it in America Block Grant will help retool our area manufacturers who need help adapting to compete in the new economy– a high-tech, alternative energy economy.”

Congressman Cicilline unveiled his Six-Point Manufacturing Plan for Rhode Island at the former Paramount Cards Company, a Pawtucket-based greeting cards manufacturer that recently closed its production and distribution facility, which resulted in the loss of 250 jobs.

In order to compete with the inexpensive foreign production used by Paramount’s competitors, many production jobs were moved to a newer high-tech facility in Canada with an even greater amount of them moved to the Far East. The backdrop of Paramount Cards provides a stark picture of why an investment in manufacturing is necessary to keep Rhode Islanders on the job and our economy moving so that our workforce can continue to compete in the global market.

“We must make things in this country because making and selling value added products is part of America’s DNA,” said Leslie Taito, representing the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Service, and who spoke today about how the Make it in America Block Grant Act of 2011 can move our manufacturers into the 21st Century economy. “Manufacturing lead the way to America’s dominance in the world and it is what will lead us to our economic recovery. Congressman Cicilline’s Make it in America legislation will provide desperately needed assistance to small manufacturers looking to create the next generation of clean energy products and new technologies.”

“The United States is the world’s largest manufacturing economy, producing 21 percent of global manufactured products, and manufacturing already supports over 18 million jobs in the U.S.  That’s one in six private sector jobs,” said Jim Brett of the New England Council who discussed the need for a national manufacturing strategy to help continue rebuilding the American economy. “What we really need is exactly what Congressman Cicilline and his colleagues in the House are proposing—a national strategy to support manufacturing and create good jobs for the American people. We need to tie together all of these good ideas and successful initiatives—not just within our region but across the country.”

Janet Raymond, the Chair of the Providence/Cranston Workforce Training Board, and who spoke at today’s press conference regarding the ability of the Make it in America Block Grant legislation to enhance workforce training programs said, “Rhode Island has already created a strong foundation of training programs utilizing Network Rhode Island and our One Stop Centers throughout the state. This legislation provides an opportunity to enhance that system by targeting more federal money for specialized training and key workforce development initiatives.”

In addition to the Make it in America Block Grant, Congressman Cicilline has co-sponsored several bills that help form the basis of his Six-Point Manufacturing Plan for Rhode Island which includes the following:

• Make It in America Block Grant (Rep. Cicilline H.R. 1912): Establishes a grant program at the Commerce Department to provide small to medium-sized businesses in communities hardest hit by unemployment with the resources and strategies they need to retool and retrofit their operations and train their workforce in order to transition to the manufacturing of clean energy, high-technology, and advanced products.
• National Manufacturing Strategy Act (Rep. Lipinski, H.R. 1366):  Directs the president to work with industry, labor leaders, and other stakeholders to develop a national strategy to increase manufacturing.
• Build American Jobs Act (Rep. Levin, H.R. 922) & Build America Bonds to Create Jobs Now Act (Rep. Connolly, H.R. 11): Extends the Build America Bonds program, provides additional funding for the Recovery Zone bonds program, and makes improvements to existing bond and credit programs to help states and local governments leverage private capital to create jobs today and build the infrastructure that is the backbone of future economic growth.
• National Infrastructure Development Bank Act (Rep. DeLauro, H.R. 402): Establishes a wholly-owned government corporation to facilitate efficient investments in and financing of infrastructure projects—from leading-edge broadband networks and energy delivery systems to modern ports—that foster economic development and keep America competitive.
• Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (Reps. Levin and Tim Ryan, H.R. 639):  Levels the trade playing field by holding accountable countries that create an unfair trade advantage by manipulating their currency.
• Tax Policies that Strengthen Manufacturing: Cicilline has co-sponsored measures (H.R. 871 – Rep. Heath Shuler and H.R. 689 – Rep. Donna Edwards) that expand and make permanent the Research and Development Tax Credit and provide enhanced tax incentives for domestic manufacturing. In addition, Cicilline is a co-sponsor of legislation (H.R. 110 – Rep. Rosa DeLauro) that allows manufacturing firms to establish and make pre-tax contributions to manufacturing reinvestment accounts (MRA), similar to individual retirement accounts (IRA). The amounts distributed from the MRA can be used to purchase equipment or provide job training.