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In Troy visit, Sen. Gillibrand promotes Made In America Manufacturing Communities Act

Troy Mayor Patrick Madden and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at HVCC
Dave Lucas
/
WAMC
Troy Mayor Patrick Madden and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at HVCC

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was in Troy Friday promoting the Made In America Manufacturing Communities Act of 2022.

Gillibrand stopped by the Gene F. Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills at Hudson Valley Community College. The Democrat cites changing purchasing patterns among consumers, supply chain issues and the two-year long pandemic as reasons to rebuild the U.S. economy by creating manufacturing jobs.

“This bill would call on the Secretary of Commerce to establish manufacturing community support program, which would strengthen the manufacturing base of the United States by making long term investments in manufacturing communities," said Gillibrand . "Those investments would come in the form of support for public private partnerships between academic and workforce training programs, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments and commercial industry helping centers like the Gene Haas Center, train and place more workers in manufacturing jobs, and 95% job placement rate before graduation speaks for itself. I've been proud to support HVCC and was just here with Secretary Granholm not too long ago to show off how the program grams here at HVCC are training local workers to fill the new offshore wind manufacturing jobs that will be coming online at the Port of Albany. That's exactly the kind of partnership this bill would support. “

Gillibrand says the measure would encourage local groups to partner with eligible consortiums to develop and design their own programs.

“This bill is modeled on the successful defense manufacturing community support program, which I helped to establish in the NDAA several years ago," Gillibrand said. "Thanks to that program, we have made critical investments in developing defense manufacturing communities all across New York, and all across the country, that are gaining the skills, facilities and research capabilities necessary to support and innovate our national security operations.”

Fellow Democrat Troy Mayor Patrick Madden says Gillibrand has been a strong advocate for upstate New York and working people.

“The global pandemic and recent events in Eastern Europe have put in stark relief the dangers of an insufficient domestic manufacturing capability," said Madden. "In times of crisis and turmoil we are vulnerable to the shortages of critical goods and materials, and at times, even limiting our ability to exert effective leverage on the world stage. Building a strong base of domestic production can ensure the health and well-being of our country in difficult times. Simultaneously, manufacturing creates jobs, jobs that provide living wages, jobs that provide people with an opportunity to raise families, to set down roots to buy homes, in short, to realize the American dream.”

For the full bill text, click here.

For more information on the bill, click here.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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