II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1457 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Made In America Block 

Grant Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2011 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Ms. STABENOW, and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Made 

In America Block Grant Program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Made In America 

5 Block Grant Program Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF MADE IN AMERICA BLOCK 

7 GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com10 merce shall establish a Made In America Block Grant ProVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:56 Aug 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1457.IS S1457

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1457 IS

1 gram (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘program’’), under 

2 which the Secretary may make grants to support the man3 ufacturing industry in the United States. 

4 (b) HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING PARTNERSHIP PRO5 GRAM.—To the degree practicable, the Secretary shall 

6 carry out the program through the Hollings Manufac7 turing Partnership Program. 

8 SEC. 3. GRANTS. 

9 (a) GRANT USES.—A grant made by the Secretary 

10 of Commerce under the program shall be used by the re11 cipient of the grant to assist, through grants made to third 

12 parties, any of the following activities: 

13 (1) Retooling or retrofitting a small- or me14 dium-sized manufacturer, including with respect to 

15 equipment, facilities, infrastructure, or capital. 

16 (2) Diversifying the business plan of a small- or 

17 medium-sized manufacturer to advance the produc18 tion of clean energy technology products or compo19 nents, energy efficient products or components, high20 technology products or components, or other ad21 vanced products (as defined by the Secretary). 

22 (3) Improving the energy or process efficiency 

23 of a manufacturing facility of a small- or medium24 sized manufacturer. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1457 IS

1 (4) Retraining the employees of a small- or me2 dium-sized manufacturer to— 

3 (A) provide skills necessary to operate new 

4 or advanced manufacturing equipment; or 

5 (B) sustain or improve the processes of 

6 that manufacturer. 

7 (5) Training new employees of a small- or me8 dium-sized manufacturer, including through on-the9 job training. 

10 (6) Providing capital and technical expertise to 

11 a small- or medium-sized manufacturer to expand 

12 the export opportunities of that manufacturer. 

13 (7) Establishing a revolving loan fund to pro14 vide loans to small- or medium-sized manufacturers 

15 to finance the costs of activities described in para16 graphs (1) through (6). 

17 (8) Such other projects as the Secretary con18 siders appropriate to support the manufacturing in19 dustry of the United States. 

20 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following entities are el22 igible to receive a grant under the program: 

23 (A) A State meeting the requirements of 

24 paragraph (2). 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1457 IS

1 (B) A covered unit of local government 

2 meeting the requirements of paragraph (2). 

3 (C) An Indian tribe meeting the require4 ments of paragraph (2). 

5 (D) A State, unit of local government, In6 dian tribe, or consortium of such entities with7 out regard to whether the requirements of para8 graph (2) are met. 

9 (2) UNEMPLOYMENT.—An entity meets the re10 quirements of this paragraph if— 

11 (A) the entity experienced a seasonally ad12 justed unemployment rate of at least 10 percent 

13 for any 6 consecutive months during the period 

14 beginning on January 1, 2007, and ending on 

15 December 31, 2010 (as determined by the Sec16 retary of Commerce in consultation with the 

17 Secretary of Labor); or 

18 (B) the entity experienced a cumulative de19 cline in employment in the manufacturing sec20 tor greater than or equal to 15 percent during 

21 the period beginning on January 1, 2007, and 

22 ending on December 31, 2010 (as determined 

23 by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation 

24 with the Secretary of Labor). 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1457 IS

1 (c) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.—In making 

2 grants each fiscal year, the Secretary may— 

3 (1) use not more than 48 percent of the 

4 amounts made available for grants under the pro5 gram that fiscal year to make grants to entities de6 scribed in subsection (b)(1)(A); 

7 (2) use not more than 48 percent of the 

8 amounts made available for grants under the pro9 gram that fiscal year to make grants to entities de10 scribed in subsection (b)(1)(B); 

11 (3) use not more than 2 percent of the amounts 

12 made available for grants under the program that 

13 fiscal year to make grants to entities described in 

14 subsection (b)(1)(C); and 

15 (4) use not more than 2 percent of the amounts 

16 made available for grants under the program that 

17 fiscal year to make grants to entities described in 

18 subsection (b)(1)(D). 

19 (d) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN ENTITIES.—In providing 

20 grants to entities described in subsection (b)(1)(D), the 

21 Secretary shall give priority to an entity that experienced 

22 a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate that was at least 

23 97 percent of the national seasonally adjusted unemploy24 ment rate for any 3 consecutive months during the most 

25 recently completed fiscal year. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1457 IS

1 (e) PROHIBITION ON GRANTS TO CERTAIN COVERED

2 UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—A covered unit of local 

3 government may not receive a grant under the program 

4 if located within a State that has received a grant under 

5 the program. 

6 (f) USE OF FUNDS IN UNITED STATES.—A manufac7 turer who receives an amount from an eligible entity under 

8 the program to carry out an activity may only use such 

9 funds to carry out such activity in the United States. 

10 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS. 

11 (a) APPLICATION PROCESS.—To receive a grant 

12 under the program, an entity eligible for a grant under 

13 section 3(b) shall submit to the Secretary of Commerce 

14 an application at such time, in such manner, and con15 taining such information as the Secretary may require, 

16 but which shall include at least the plan of that entity 

17 to carry out, through grants made to third parties, an ac18 tivity described in section 3(a). 

19 (b) PROPOSED MANUFACTURING ENHANCEMENT

20 STRATEGY.—Not later than 6 months after the date on 

21 which an entity eligible for a grant under section 3(b) re22 ceives notice that it has been awarded a grant under the 

23 program, the entity shall submit to the Secretary a pro24 posed manufacturing enhancement strategy, which shall 

25 include— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1457 IS

1 (1) a description of the plans of the entity to 

2 make grants to third parties with grant funds; 

3 (2) a description of the goals with respect to 

4 such grants, including— 

5 (A) the number of jobs to be created or re6 tained by third-party grant recipients; 

7 (B) the sales to be increased or retained by 

8 third-party grant recipients; 

9 (C) the cost savings to be achieved by 

10 third-party grant recipients due to energy effi11 ciency savings; 

12 (D) the workforce training investments to 

13 be made by third-party grant recipients, includ14 ing— 

15 (i) the number of training hours to be 

16 provided; and 

17 (ii) a description of the nationally 

18 portable, industry recognized credentials 

19 or, if not available, other credentials, re20 lated to the targeted industry cluster that 

21 the eligible entity proposes to support, de22 velop, or use as a performance measure, in 

23 order to carry out the goals of the entity 

24 with respect to the proposed manufac25 turing enhancement strategy; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1457 IS

1 (E) the amount of capital to be provided to 

2 small- or medium-sized manufacturers to ex3 pand the export opportunities of manufacturers; 

4 and 

5 (F) private investments from the third 

6 party recipients or affiliated private investors 

7 leveraged by grant funding; 

8 (3) a written assurance that the entity intends 

9 to establish a Made In America Partnership 

10 Board— 

11 (A) to assist the entity in making grants to 

12 third parties; and 

13 (B) which shall be comprised of, to the ex14 tent practicable, representatives of— 

15 (i) economic development agencies of 

16 State and local governments; 

17 (ii) departments of labor; 

18 (iii) workforce investment boards and 

19 agencies; 

20 (iv) institutions of higher education, 

21 including community colleges run by a 

22 State; 

23 (v) economic development organiza24 tions; 

25 (vi) chambers of commerce; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1457 IS

1 (vii) nonprofit organizations; 

2 (viii) philanthropic organizations; 

3 (ix) industry associations; and 

4 (x) such other organizations or enti5 ties as the entity considers appropriate; 

6 (4) a description of the plans of the entity to 

7 foster, through the Made In America Partnership 

8 Board, collaboration between State and local eco9 nomic development organizations and agencies, State 

10 and local workforce development organizations and 

11 agencies, small- or medium-sized manufacturers, and 

12 institutions of higher education (including commu13 nity colleges run by a State) to— 

14 (A) improve resource allocation; and 

15 (B) ensure comprehensive counseling, tech16 nical assistance, workforce development, and ex17 port assistance are provided to small- or me18 dium-sized manufacturers. 

19 (c) APPROVAL OF PROPOSED MANUFACTURING EN20 HANCEMENT STRATEGIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve 

22 or disapprove a proposed manufacturing enhance23 ment strategy submitted under subsection (b) not 

24 later than 90 days after the date on which the Sec25 retary receives such strategy. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1457 IS

1 (2) DISBURSEMENT OF GRANT FUNDS PROHIB2 ITED WITHOUT APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall not 

3 disburse to an entity awarded a grant under the pro4 gram the grant funds relating to that grant until the 

5 proposed manufacturing enhancement strategy of 

6 that entity has been approved by the Secretary. 

7 (3) OPPORTUNITY FOR RESUBMISSION.—If the 

8 Secretary does not approve a proposed manufac9 turing enhancement strategy submitted under sub10 section (b), the Secretary shall provide to the entity 

11 that submitted the strategy— 

12 (A) the reasons for disapproval; and 

13 (B) an opportunity to revise and resubmit 

14 the strategy until such strategy is approved. 

15 (d) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—In developing a pro16 posed manufacturing enhancement strategy under sub17 section (b), a covered unit of local government shall share 

18 information relating to potential grant activities with the 

19 State that includes that government to ensure the maxi20 mization of resources made available to small- or medium21 sized manufacturers. 

22 (e) COORDINATION WITH HOLLINGS MANUFAC23 TURING EXTENSION CENTERS.—Each grant recipient 

24 shall, to the extent appropriate, coordinate with a Hollings 

25 Manufacturing Extension Center as a preferred provider 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1457 IS

1 of services to implement the manufacturing enhancement 

2 strategy of the recipient. 

3 (f) WORKFORCE TRAINING INVESTMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant under 

5 the program may not use more than half of the 

6 amount of the grant for workforce training invest7 ments. 

8 (2) TRAINING AND RETRAINING OF EMPLOY9 EES.—Each grant recipient shall, with respect to 

10 training new employees and retraining employees of 

11 small- or medium-sized manufacturers, help postsec12 ondary educational institutions, training institutions, 

13 apprenticeship programs, and other training pro14 grams align curricula, entrance requirements, and 

15 programs to industry demand and nationally port16 able, industry-recognized credentials (or, if not avail17 able for the targeted industry, other credentials, as 

18 the Secretary considers appropriate), particularly for 

19 higher skill, high-priority occupations validated by 

20 the industry. 

21 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—With respect to a 

22 grant, a grant recipient may use for the administrative 

23 expenses of the recipient an amount that is not more than 

24 the greater of— 

25 (1) 10 percent of the grant amount received; or 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1457 IS

1 (2) $75,000. 

2 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than one year 

3 after the date on which grant funds are received by a 

4 grant recipient under the program, and annually there5 after, the grant recipient shall submit to the Secretary a 

6 report describing— 

7 (1) grants made by the grant recipient to third 

8 parties with grant funds; 

9 (2) achievements with respect to the goals iden10 tified in the proposed manufacturing enhancement 

11 strategy of the grant recipient; and 

12 (3) for each third party recipient, the achieve13 ments of such third party with respect to relevant 

14 goals specified in the proposed manufacturing en15 hancement strategy of the grant recipient. 

16 SEC. 5. STATE AND LOCAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

17 The Secretary of Commerce shall establish an advi18 sory committee to advise the Secretary with respect to im19 plementing and evaluating the program, which shall be 

20 comprised of— 

21 (1) individuals representing State and local en22 tities; 

23 (2) individuals representing small- or medium24 sized manufacturers; and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1457 IS

1 (3) other individuals determined appropriate for 

2 inclusion by the Secretary. 

3 SEC. 6. REVIEW AND EVALUATION. 

4 (a) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary of Com5 merce may review and evaluate the performance of a grant 

6 recipient under the program as the Secretary determines 

7 appropriate. 

8 (b) INELIGIBILITY FOR FUTURE GRANTS.—The Sec9 retary may determine a grant recipient to be ineligible to 

10 receive additional grants under the program if the Sec11 retary determines that the grant recipient has failed to 

12 achieve compliance with— 

13 (1) any applicable guideline or regulation of the 

14 Secretary relating to the program, including with re15 spect to the misuse or misappropriation of funds 

16 provided under the program; or 

17 (2) the proposed manufacturing enhancement 

18 strategy of the grant recipient. 

19 SEC. 7. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

20 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct 

21 a study on the program, which shall include an analysis 

22 of— 

23 (1) grants made by the Secretary of Commerce 

24 under the program; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1457 IS

1 (2) grants made to third parties by the recipi2 ents of grants made by the Secretary under the pro3 gram; 

4 (3) outcomes relating to proposed manufac5 turing enhancement strategies submitted to the Sec6 retary; 

7 (4) administrative costs relating to the pro8 gram; 

9 (5) activities of the Secretary, the recipients of 

10 grants made by the Secretary, and third party grant 

11 recipients under the program, including whether the 

12 activities of those entities are accomplishing the pur13 poses of this Act; and 

14 (6) other information determined appropriate 

15 by the Comptroller General for assessing the per16 formance and financial accountability of the pro17 gram. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

19 on which the Secretary makes the first grant under the 

20 program, and every 2 years thereafter, the Comptroller 

21 General shall submit to Congress a report describing the 

22 results of the study conducted under subsection (a), which 

23 shall include any recommendations the Comptroller Gen24 eral determines are appropriate for modifying the pro25 gram. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1457 IS

1 (c) ACCESS TO RECORDS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of conducting 

3 the study under subsection (a), the Comptroller Gen4 eral, and any duly authorized representative of the 

5 Comptroller General, shall be permitted to access, 

6 examine, and copy any documents, records, and 

7 other recorded information— 

8 (A) within the possession or control of— 

9 (i) the recipient of a grant made by 

10 the Secretary under the program; or 

11 (ii) the recipient of a grant made by 

12 an entity described in clause (i) with grant 

13 funds; and 

14 (B) determined by the Comptroller Gen15 eral, or the duly authorized representative of 

16 the Comptroller General, to be relevant to the 

17 study. 

18 (2) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—The Comp19 troller General may not make proprietary informa20 tion obtained under this section available to the pub21 lic without the consent of the party to whom the in22 formation belongs. 

23 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1457 IS

1 (1) COVERED UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

2 The term ‘‘covered unit of local government’’ means 

3 a unit of a government of— 

4 (A) a municipality— 

5 (i) with a population of at least 

6 50,000 individuals; or 

7 (ii) with a population that is less than 

8 50,000 individuals, but that is one of the 

9 10 largest municipalities by population in 

10 the State including that municipality; or 

11 (B) a county— 

12 (i) with a population of at least 

13 200,000 individuals; or 

14 (ii) with a population that is less than 

15 200,000 individuals, but that is one of the 

16 10 largest counties by population in the 

17 State including that county. 

18 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

19 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

20 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

21 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

22 (3) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufac23 turer’’ shall be defined by the Secretary of Com24 merce in accordance with the North American In25 dustry Classification System. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1457 IS

1 (4) NATIONALLY PORTABLE.—The term ‘‘na2 tionally portable’’, with respect to a credential, 

3 means a credential that is sought or accepted by 

4 businesses within the industry sector involved, across 

5 multiple States, as a recognized, preferred, or re6 quired credential for recruitment, screening, or hir7 ing purposes. 

8 (5) SMALL- OR MEDIUM-SIZED MANUFAC9 TURER.—The term ‘‘small- or medium-sized manu10 facturer’’ means a manufacturer that is a small 

11 business concern (as such term is defined in section 

12 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)). 

13 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

14 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and any ter15 ritory or possession of the United States. 

16 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated to the Secretary of Commerce for making grants 

19 under the program such sums as may be necessary. 

20 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—There are author21 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary for administrative 

22 expenses relating to the program such sums as may be 

23 necessary. 

24 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that amounts made available to carry out the proVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:56 Aug 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1457.IS S1457

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1457 IS

1 gram should supplement and not supplant other funding 

2 provided by Federal departments and agencies to support 

3 the manufacturing industry. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS