Made in America Manufacturing Communities Act of 2016

Made in America Manufacturing Communities Act of 2016

This bill establishes a program to improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing by designating consortiums as manufacturing communities and authorizing federal agencies to provide them with financial and technical assistance.

The Department of Commerce must designate consortiums as manufacturing communities using a competitive process and specified criteria. An eligible consortium must:

• represent a region that is large enough to contain critical elements of the key technologies or supply chain prioritized by the consortium and small enough to enable close collaboration among the consortium's members;
• include at least one institution of higher education, a private sector entity, and a government entity; and
• have a lead applicant that is a district organization, an Indian tribe, a state or political subdivision of a state, an institution of higher education, or a nonprofit organization or association cooperating with a political subdivision of a state.

Specified federal agencies may support the manufacturing communities by awarding them financial or technical assistance, providing preferential consideration when members of the consortium apply for assistance, or providing a federal point of contact to help members access assistance.

Recipients of the financial or technical assistance may use the funds to improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing with investments that may include infrastructure, access to capital, promotion of exports and foreign direct investment, equipment upgrades, workforce training, energy or process efficiency, and other specified purposes.