II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2977 

To allow State manufacturing extension partnerships to award grants to 

small- and medium-sized manufacturers for the purpose of training new 

workers to replace departing experienced workers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 7, 2021 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself and Mr. INHOFE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To allow State manufacturing extension partnerships to 

award grants to small- and medium-sized manufacturers 

for the purpose of training new workers to replace departing experienced workers. 

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 ‘‘Retain Innovation and 

5 Manufacturing Excellence (RIME) Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 25(a) of the Na3 tional Institute of Standards and Technology Act 

4 (15 U.S.C. 278k(a)). 

5 (2) ELIGIBLE MANUFACTURERS.—The term 

6 ‘‘eligible manufacturer’’ means a manufacturer 

7 that— 

8 (A) is a small business concern, as that 

9 term is defined under section 3 of the Small 

10 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632); and 

11 (B) has an existing relationship with a 

12 Center. 

13 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

15 establish a pilot program to award National Institute of 

16 Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension 

17 Partnership (MEP) grants to help ensure an adequately 

18 trained manufacturing workforce. Under the program, eli19 gible Centers may award MEP grants to eligible manufac20 turers to retain retiring employees for up to 90 days for 

21 the purpose of transferring job-specific skills and training 

22 to existing or new employees. The length of each grant 

23 shall be determined through negotiations between the Cen24 ter and the eligible manufacturer. 


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1 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to receive 

2 funding and award grants under the program, a Center 

3 must meet the following criteria: 

4 (1) A Center must be able to document evi5 dence of an aging workforce within manufacturing 

6 firms that are seeking assistance with retaining 

7 skills and knowledge of their operations. 

8 (2) A Center shall establish a transparent appli9 cation process for eligible manufacturing firms that 

10 may include one or more of the following pref11 erences: 

12 (A) A preference for manufacturers that 

13 employ veterans discharged or released under 

14 honorable conditions. 

15 (B) A preference for manufacturing firms 

16 from industry sectors that are most in need of 

17 assistance as determined by the local MEP. 

18 (C) A preference for manufacturing firms 

19 with a facility in the State or region for an ex20 tended period of time before the application is 

21 submitted (as determined by the Center). 

22 (D) A preference for manufacturing firms 

23 that have an existing relationship with the local 

24 MEP. 


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1 (3) A Center must be able to demonstrate their 

2 ability to assess, advise, and train manufacturers on 

3 how to transfer the job-specific skills and training 

4 through the implementation of a training structure 

5 and train-the-trainer program focused on knowledge 

6 capture and transfer. 

7 (c) TRAINING.—In awarding grants pursuant to this 

8 section, consideration shall be given to the use of funds 

9 by Centers to assist manufacturers that are experiencing 

10 high employee turnover due to their inability to transfer 

11 required job-specific skills and training to new employees 

12 with the implementation of training structures and train13 the-trainer programs. 

14 (d) COST SHARING.—To be eligible for a grant under 

15 the pilot program under this section, a Center shall dem16 onstrate that 50 percent of the amount of the funds 

17 awarded are matched from non-Federal sources. Those 

18 sources may include State and local agencies engaged in 

19 workforce development, foundations engaged in workforce 

20 development, or an in-kind contribution from an employer 

21 that would stand to directly benefit from the grant re22 ceived by the Center. 

23 (e) NUMBER AND SIZE OF AWARDS.— 

24 (1) NUMBER.—The Secretary may award up to 

25 25 grants to Centers under the pilot program. 


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1 (2) SIZE.—Each award under the program 

2 shall be for not less than $50,000 and not more 

3 than $500,000. 

4 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A Center receiving 

5 a grant under the pilot program may use up to 5 percent 

6 of the amount of the grant for the administration of ex7 penses incurred by the Center in distributing grants to 

8 eligible manufacturers under the pilot program. 

9 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to the National Institute of 

11 Standards and Technology $10,000,000 to carry out the 

12 pilot program. 

Æ 


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