Programs to Assist Manufacturers and Manufacturing Employees

The Bush administration FY 2006 budget dramatically reduces funding for manufacturing-specific research and development and technical assistance programs, cutting the Department of Commerce's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (now called the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (HMEP)), the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and the Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program.

Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (HMEP)

MEP is an agency within the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology, created by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act (Public Law 100-418) of 1988. HMEP oversees a nationwide network of not-for-profit centers in nearly 350 locations. The centers, located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, provide small- and medium-sized manufacturers with the help they need to succeed and are funded by federal, state, local and private resources.

Each center works directly with area manufacturers to provide expertise and services tailored to their most critical needs, ranging from process improvements and worker training to business practices and applications of information technology. Centers often help small firms overcome barriers in locating and obtaining private-sector resources.

Since its beginning, the program has assisted more than 149,000 firms. In a nationwide survey of clients served from October 2002 through September 2003, companies reported that, as a result of program services, they created or retained 50,315 jobs; increased sales by nearly $1.5 billion; retained sales of $2.638 billion; realized $686 million in cost savings; and invested $912 million in modernization, including plant and equipment, information systems and workforce and training.

The Bush administration repeatedly has sought to eviscerate, if not eliminate, program funding. Congress has failed to back these cuts, but the president's FY 2006 once again seeks deep cuts for HMEP.

Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership
($ in millions)

In inflation-adjusted dollars, HMEP's budget was relatively stable through FY 2003, then was cut by more than half in FY 2004 and was restored by Congress to its earlier level in FY 2005. The administration's FY 2006 request once again would cut the program to its bare bones.

Advanced Technology Program (ATP)

Like HMEP, ATP is an agency in NIST and was created by the Trade Act of 1988. ATP's purpose is to help bridge the gap between the research lab and marketplace, stimulating economic growth through innovation. In partnerships with the private sector, ATP provides early-stage investment with the goal of accelerating the development of innovative technologies that promise significant commercial payoffs and widespread benefits to the nation.

As with HMEP, the Bush administration has targeted ATP for elimination. Despite these efforts, Congress has maintained ATP at a healthy funding level, between $195 million and $216 million in FY 2006 real dollars. However, ATP lost a quarter of its funding between FY 2004 and FY 2005. The Bush FY 2006 budget once again proposes to eliminate ATP.

Advanced Technology Program
($ in millions)

Industrial Technologies

The Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program has been a popular industry program since the 1980s. The program's primary focus is to fund shared research in critical technology areas in partnership with industry. Its main initiative is the Industries of the Future (IOF) program, which encourages the most energy-intensive industries to develop a strategic vision and a "technology roadmap" to help achieve that vision. The IOF program develops such technologies as sensors and controls, combustion and advanced industrial materials, which contribute to significant energy benefits in multiple industries.

The Bush administration has cut back the Industrial Technologies Programs steadily. In real-dollar terms, the program suffered a 12 percent loss between FY 2004 and FY 2005. In FY 2006, the Bush administration has proposed cutting the program another 36 percent in real terms compared with its FY 2005 level, or 43 percent less than its FY 2004 level.

Industrial Technologies Program
($ in millions)