SMALL MANUFACTURING EMPLOYERS FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE
WASHINGTON—Action by the House Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee has cast more doubt on America’s small manufacturers and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), according to the Modernization Forum, the trade association for the MEP centers. The subcommittee chose to partially restore funding for MEP’s 2004 fiscal year, which had been cut, but to only one-third the current level.
MEP, a public/private program, provides small manufacturers with technical assistance and business support services. The House subcommittee plans to reduce funding to $39.6 million. The Bush administration had proposed cutting spending to $12.6 million, effectively eliminating the national program, according to the Modernization Forum.