I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1672 
To improve the competitiveness of United States manufacturing by 
designating and supporting manufacturing communities. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 22, 2017 
Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. REED, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. POCAN, Ms. 
MATSUI, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, 
Mr. SCHRADER, Mrs. BUSTOS, and Mr. GARAMENDI) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To improve the competitiveness of United States manufac-
turing by designating and supporting manufacturing 
communities. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Make It In America 
Manufacturing Communities Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) MANUFACTURING
COMMUNITY
SUPPORT 
PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Manufacturing Community 
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Support Program’’ means the program established 
under section 3(a). 
(2) PARTICIPATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘par-
ticipating agency’’ means a Federal agency that 
elects to participate in the Manufacturing Commu-
nity Support Program. 
(3) PARTICIPATING PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘par-
ticipating program’’ means a program identified by 
a participating agency under section 3(c)(1)(C). 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce. 
SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO DESIGNATE AND SUPPORT MANUFAC-
TURING COMMUNITIES. 
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a program to improve the competitiveness of 
United States manufacturing— 
(1) by designating consortiums as manufac-
turing communities under subsection (b); and 
(2) by supporting manufacturing communities, 
as so designated, under subsection (c). 
(b) DESIGNATION
OF
MANUFACTURING
COMMU-
NITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (7), for purposes of the Manufacturing Com-
munity Support Program, the Secretary shall des-
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ignate eligible consortiums as manufacturing com-
munities through a competitive process. 
(2) ELIGIBLE CONSORTIUMS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible consortium 
is a consortium that— 
(i) represents a region defined by the 
consortium in accordance with subpara-
graph (B); 
(ii) includes at least one— 
(I) institution of higher edu-
cation; 
(II) a private sector entity; and 
(III) a government entity; 
(iii) may include one or more— 
(I) private sector partners; 
(II) institutions of higher edu-
cation; 
(III) government entities; 
(IV) economic development and 
other community and labor groups; 
(V) financial institutions; or 
(VI) utilities; and 
(iv) has, as a lead applicant— 
(I) a district organization (as de-
fined in section 300.3 of title 13, 
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Code of Federal Regulations, or suc-
cessor regulation); 
(II) an Indian tribe (as defined 
in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter-
mination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) or a consor-
tium of Indian tribes; 
(III) a State or a political sub-
division of a State, including a special 
purpose unit of a State or local gov-
ernment engaged in economic or in-
frastructure development activities, or 
a consortium of political subdivisions; 
(IV) an institution of higher edu-
cation or a consortium of institutions 
of higher education; or 
(V) a public or private nonprofit 
organization or association that has 
an application that is supported by a 
State, a political subdivision of a 
State, or a native community. 
(B) REGIONS.—Subject to approval by the 
Secretary, a consortium may define the region 
that it represents if the region— 
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(i) is large enough to contain critical 
elements of the key technologies or supply 
chain prioritized by the consortium; and 
(ii) is small enough to enable close 
collaboration among members of the con-
sortium. 
(3) DURATION.—Each designation under para-
graph (1) shall be for a period of two years. 
(4) RENEWAL.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of an ap-
plication submitted under subparagraph (B), 
the Secretary may renew a designation made 
under paragraph (1) for up to two additional 
two-year periods. Any designation as a manu-
facturing community or renewal of such des-
ignation that is in effect before the date of the 
enactment of this Act shall count toward the 
limit set forth in this subparagraph. 
(B) APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL.—An eli-
gible consortium seeking a renewal under sub-
paragraph (A) shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
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(C) MODIFICATIONS
AUTHORIZED.—The 
Secretary may renew a designation under sub-
paragraph (A) for an eligible consortium that— 
(i) has changed its composition, either 
by adding or removing members; or 
(ii) as part of its application under 
subparagraph (B), submits a revision to 
the 
plan 
submitted 
under 
paragraph 
(5)(B)(iv) or the strategy submitted under 
paragraph (5)(B)(v). 
(D) EVALUATION FOR RENEWAL.—In de-
termining whether to renew a designation of an 
eligible consortium under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall assess the eligible consortium 
based upon— 
(i) the performance of the consortium 
against the terms of the consortium’s most 
recent designation under paragraph (1) 
and any post-designation awards the con-
sortium may have received; 
(ii) the progress the consortium has 
made 
with 
respect 
to 
project-specific 
metrics the consortium proposed in the 
consortium’s application for the most re-
cent designation under paragraph (1), par-
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ticularly with respect to those metrics that 
were designed to help communities track 
their own progress; 
(iii) whether any changes to the com-
position of the eligible consortium or revi-
sions to the plan or strategy described in 
subparagraph (C)(ii) would improve the 
competitiveness of United States manufac-
turing; and 
(iv) such other criteria as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate. 
(5) APPLICATION FOR DESIGNATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible consortium 
seeking a designation under paragraph (1) shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time and in such manner as the Secretary may 
require. 
(B) CONTENTS.—Each application sub-
mitted to the Secretary under subparagraph (A) 
shall include— 
(i) a description of the regional 
boundaries of the consortium; 
(ii) a description of the manufacturing 
concentration of the consortium, including 
an assessment of how the manufacturing 
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concentration of the consortium competi-
tively ranks nationally according to meas-
ures relating to employment, sales, location 
quotients for an industry’s level of con-
centration, or such other measures as the 
Secretary considers appropriate; 
(iii) an integrated assessment of the 
local industrial ecosystem of the region of 
the consortium, which may include assess-
ment of workforce and training, supplier 
network, research and innovation, infra-
structure or site development, trade and 
international investment, operational im-
provements, and capital access components 
needed for manufacturing activities in such 
region; 
(iv) an evidence-based plan for devel-
oping components of such ecosystem (se-
lected by the consortium)— 
(I) by making specific invest-
ments to address gaps in such eco-
system; and 
(II) by making the manufac-
turing of the region of the consortium 
uniquely competitive; 
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(v) a description of the investments 
the consortium proposes and the imple-
mentation strategy the consortium intends 
to use to address gaps in such ecosystem; 
(vi) a description of the outcome- 
based metrics, benchmarks, and milestones 
that the consortium will track and the 
evaluation methods the consortium will use 
while designated as a manufacturing com-
munity to gauge performance of the strat-
egy of the consortium to improve the man-
ufacturing in the region of the consortium; 
and 
(vii) such other matters as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate. 
(6) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall evaluate each application received under 
paragraph (5) to determine— 
(A) whether the applicant demonstrates a 
significant level of regional cooperation in their 
proposal; and 
(B) how the manufacturing concentration 
of the applicant competitively ranks nationally 
according to measures described in paragraph 
(5)(B)(ii). 
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(7) CERTAIN COMMUNITIES PREVIOUSLY REC-
OGNIZED.—Each consortium that was designated as 
a manufacturing community by the Secretary in car-
rying out the Investing in Manufacturing Commu-
nities Partnership initiative of the Department of 
Commerce before the date of the enactment of this 
Act shall be deemed a manufacturing community 
designated under this subsection if such consortium 
is still designated as a manufacturing community by 
the Secretary as part of such initiative. 
(c) SUPPORT
FOR DESIGNATED MANUFACTURING 
COMMUNITIES.— 
(1) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (D), if a member of a consortium 
designated as a manufacturing community 
under subsection (b) seeks financial or technical 
assistance under a participating program of a 
participating agency, the head of such agency 
may give preferential consideration to such 
member with respect to the awarding of such fi-
nancial or technical assistance if— 
(i) such head considers the award of 
the financial or technical assistance con-
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sistent with the economic development 
strategy of the consortium; and 
(ii) the member otherwise meets all 
applicable requirements for the financial or 
technical assistance. 
(B) PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—The Sec-
retary shall invite other Federal agencies to be-
come participating agencies of the Manufac-
turing Community Support Program. 
(C) PARTICIPATING PROGRAMS.—The head 
of each participating agency shall identify all 
programs administered by such participating 
agency that are applicable to the Manufacturing 
Community Support Program. 
(D) MULTIPLE MEMBERS OF THE SAME 
CONSORTIUM
SEEKING
THE
SAME
FINANCIAL 
OR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—If a participating 
agency receives applications for the same 
financial or technical assistance from more 
than one member of the same consortium 
designated as a manufacturing community 
under subsection (b), the head of such 
agency may determine how preference will 
be given under subparagraph (A), includ-
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ing by requiring the consortium to select 
which of the members should be given 
preference. 
(ii) COORDINATION.—If the head of a 
participating agency determines that more 
than one member of a consortium should 
be given preference for financial or tech-
nical assistance under subparagraph (A), 
he or she may require such members to 
demonstrate coordination with each other 
in developing their applications for the fi-
nancial or technical assistance. 
(E) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
head of each participating agency shall submit 
a report to the Secretary that specifies how the 
head will give preferential consideration under 
subparagraph (A). 
(2) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 
may make a Federal point of contact available to 
each consortium designated as a manufacturing 
community under subsection (b) to help the mem-
bers of the consortium access Federal funds and 
technical assistance. 
(3) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—Under the Manufac-
turing Community Support Program, the head 
of a participating agency may award financial 
or technical assistance to a member of a consor-
tium designated as a manufacturing community 
under subsection (b) as he or she considers ap-
propriate for purposes of such program and 
consistent with the economic development strat-
egy of the consortium. 
(B) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of fi-
nancial or technical assistance under sub-
paragraph (A) may use such financial or 
technical assistance to support an invest-
ment in an ecosystem that will improve the 
competitiveness of United States manufac-
turing. 
(ii) INVESTMENTS
SUPPORTED.—In-
vestments supported under this subpara-
graph may include— 
(I) infrastructure; 
(II) access to capital; 
(III) promotion of exports and 
foreign direct investment; 
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(IV) equipment or facility up-
grades; 
(V) workforce training or retrain-
ing; 
(VI) energy or process efficiency; 
(VII) business incubators; 
(VIII) site preparation; 
(IX) advanced research; 
(X) supply chain development; 
and 
(XI) small business assistance. 
(4) COORDINATION.— 
(A) COORDINATION
BY
SECRETARY
OF 
COMMERCE.—The Secretary shall coordinate 
with the heads of the participating agencies to 
identify programs under paragraph (1)(C). 
(B) INTER-AGENCY
COORDINATION.—The 
heads of the participating agencies shall coordi-
nate with each other— 
(i) to leverage complementary activi-
ties, including from non-Federal sources, 
such as philanthropies; and 
(ii) to avoid duplication of efforts. 
(d) RECEIPT OF TRANSFERRED FUNDS.—The Sec-
retary may accept amounts transferred to the Secretary 
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from the head of another participating agency to carry out 
this section. 
Æ 
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