Herb Kohl: “I rise today to introduce legislation to reauthorize the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. I want to thank my…”

“I rise today to introduce legislation to reauthorize the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. I want to thank my cosponsors, Senators Snowe and Lieberman for their support of this legislation and for their long-time support of this program. For the last few years, there have been too many jobs lost, and the manufacturing sector has been particularly hard-hit. My home State of Wisconsin has been particularly hard hit--in the last 10 years we have lost 168,000 manufacturing jobs, nearly a 30 percent drop in the manufacturing workforce. Despite these struggles, our Nation remains the world's largest manufacturing economy, and still employs a sizable percentage of our workforce. We must continue to do better, and work harder for our manufacturers. To put it simply, a strong manufacturing sector means a strong economy. Retaining and creating manufacturing jobs grows our prosperity. That is why the MEP remains a good investment for our country. The MEP is the only public-private program dedicated to providing technical support and services to small and medium-sized manufacturers, helping them provide quality jobs for American workers. The MEP is a nationwide network of proven resources that enables manufacturers to compete globally, supports greater supply chain integration, and provides access to information, training, and technologies that improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability. MEP's results are undeniable.”