Nancy L. Johnson: “I rise to congratulate the subcommittee for increasing the funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program…”

“I rise to congratulate the subcommittee for increasing the funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It is a very cost-effective Federal-State, public-private partnership that helps small and midsized American manufacturers modernize to compete in the global marketplace. As one of my small manufacturers said to me, it is fine if you vote for China trade. Please, just keep these critical dollars in place so we can keep up with the pace of change in technology and manufacturing organizations, stay competitive, and win. Another of my manufacturers said to me, CONN/STEP, which is this MEP program in Connecticut, is the only program helping us assure the survivability, the viability, and the profitability of our small shops. He and others have stressed how they rely on CONN/STEP for its remarkable, broad network of top professionals. No individual small manufacturer could develop such a network.”