Contact: Phyllis Levine at 845.896.6934 X3001 or by Email

New York's Manufacturing Jobs At Risk,
U.S. Administration's Budget Exposes Weak Support
for Small Manufacturers

While indicating support for the U.S. Department of Commerce's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) in its recently released manufacturing strategy, the U.S. Administration proposes to fund the program at a third of its traditional funding level in FY 2005. The President's budget proposes $39.19 million for MEP in its FY 2005 budget request that was sent to Congress. The amount represents a 63 percent cut from the FY 2003 funding level. MEP has been funded at roughly $106 million for six years.  

A majority of Congress has indicated support for full funding of the MEP citing its success in bolstering the competitiveness of America 's small manufacturers. Both the FY 2004 budget and the FY 2005 request will severely curtail the activities of MEP – a highly acclaimed public-private partnership that provides technical assistance and business support services to America 's small manufacturers. New York 's MEP system, made up of ten Regional Technology Development Centers, has shown outstanding success in providing specialized services to New York 's emerging and established manufacturing and high-technology companies. Over the past two years, companies assisted by the RTDC's reported creating and retaining over 2400 jobs in New York State. The RTDC's also helped New York companies grow and expand as demonstrated by increased revenues, cost savings and capital investments equaling $391.5 million total over the same period.  

The Hudson Valley Technology Development Center (HVTDC) works directly with small and mid-sized manufacturers in the Hudson Valley to help them adopt new technologies and modern business practices in order to grow their business and remain competitive. The MEP program has been an extremely effective federal, state, and private partnership. A study by the U.S. Census Bureau found that MEP clients experience productivity gains more than four times greater than comparable firms.  

“The proposed funding cut will dramatically affect New York manufacturers and the state's economy,” says Thomas G. Phillips, Sr., Executive Director of HVTDC. “This threat, coupled with rising energy, health care, legal and regulatory costs and intense global competition, creates a bleak scenario for one of our country's most important and vital industries. New York manufacturers need services that will help increase productivity, decrease costs, and increase profits – all which will allow them to compete nationally and globally. We hope the Administration takes another hard look at this much needed program and what it does for the state and national economy.”  

A September 2003 review by the National Academy of Public Administration determined: “the MEP Program... is the only federal program designed specifically to help small manufacturers, and positioned to help create an infrastructure for providing support to these firms as the U.S. economy moves through enormous economic transition.” The National Research Council, the General Accounting Office, and the U.S. Census Bureau have all done reviews of MEP and documented the effective contributions of the program. Most recently, MEP was selected by Harvard University 's Kennedy School of Government as a semifinalist for its prestigious Innovations in American Government Award.

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