WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, announced that Dr. Thom Reilly, Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) and Dr. Flora Tydings, Chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, along with college presidents from 34 states have endorsed their bipartisan Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in America Act. The Senators’ bipartisan bill would help to fill the gap between the growth of advanced manufacturing jobs and individuals qualified with the unique skill set to fill those positions.
“As Congress continues to work on a bipartisan basis to respond to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nation’s economy and workforce, we respectfully urge you to support enactment of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in America Act,” wrote the 67 College Presidents, members of the Community and Technical College Consortium. “Unfortunately, the U.S. has lost millions of manufacturing jobs over the last decade, and the industry has suffered badly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary challenge facing businesses involved in advanced manufacturing as the nation prepares to return to the workplace is the growing gap between new jobs in advanced manufacturing and workers qualified with the unique skill sets to fill them. We appreciate your consideration of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in America Act as a measure to enable community and technical colleges to reskill and upskill the advance manufacturing workforce.”
“As we prepare our workforce to safely head back to work, we must also act to address the growing need from employers for trained candidates to fill advanced manufacturing jobs across our nation,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m glad to see so many education officials show their support for our bipartisan legislation to help close the manufacturing skills gap and prepare Nevada workers for success in the critically important field of manufacturing. I will continue working in Congress to support innovative legislation that promotes education and job growth for our workers and economy.”
“In the wake of this pandemic, growing American manufacturing is more important than ever,” said Senator Blackburn. “It is essential that we continue to educate our workforce in order to decrease our dependency on foreign imports, and I am so pleased the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in America Act has the support of 40 colleges and 34 states, including Tennessee. This bill will assist our employers in increasing the number of advanced manufacturing training programs and encourage collaboration to grow our workforce. Let’s make America manufacture again.”
The College Presidents’ full letter of support can be found here.
BACKGROUND: Earlier this year, Senators Rosen and Blackburn introduced the bipartisan Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in America Act, S. 3188. This bill would help to fill in the gap between advanced manufacturing job growth and qualified individuals that are capable of filling these positions. The bill would direct the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to begin pilot projects between local community colleges, state and tribal colleges, local boards, advanced manufacturers, and Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers, in order to facilitate education and training programs in the field of advanced manufacturing.
The bipartisan Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in America Act is also supported by Nevada Industry Excellence, the Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, the American Small Manufacturers Coalition, The Software Alliance, CompTIA, and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
###
