The U.S. Senate has approved of H.R. 2862, allowing the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership to receive $106 million in federal funding for fiscal year 2006.
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership is a network of 59 centers with nearly 400 locations across the country and in Puerto Rico, providing technical assistance and business support services to America’s smaller manufacturers. The public/private program, which serves roughly 14,000 businesses annually, has helped manufacturers create or retain more than 50,000 jobs, create or retain more than $4.1 billion in sales, generate more than $686 million in cost savings, and invest more than $912 million in modernization in fiscal year 2003 alone.
