The Trump administration’s slashing of funding to a public-private partnership will affect the promotion of small and medium-sized manufacturers in the country, according to two members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation
The Manufacturing Extension Program run by the U.S. Commerce Department has long helped boost Made in America products by small and medium-size manufacturers, said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
“It is one of the most effective programs no one has ever heard of,” he said.
“For a total of $179 million nationwide, tens of thousands of businesses are given a better start or sustained more effectively and efficiently,” Blumenthal said.
MEP centers in Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming have already been closed.
Connecticut companies would also be affected, said U.S. Rep. John Larson.
“By cutting these programs without the knowledge of the impact or the value added that that brings is not good government,” Larson said.
The lawmakers spoke at HABCO Industries in Glastonbury, a Connecticut manufacturer that makes engine tools and ground support technology used by Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Boeing.
They vowed to fight for the restoration of the funds when they returned to Washington.
