Melancon Introduces Bill to Aid Manufacturers Affected by Katrina
U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) today introduced legislation (H.R. 3826) aiming quick and direct aid to rebuild South Louisiana's manufacturing community.
Hurricane Katrina affected an estimated 2,500 small and medium-sized manufacturers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. More than 100,000 workers have been impacted. Employers are eager to rebuild, but the task ahead is daunting.
"Getting these businesses up and running, and getting our people back to work can't happen fast enough," stated Rep. Melancon. His district includes St. Bernard, Plaquemines and Jefferson Parishes, where entire communities and their local economies have been destroyed.
Rep. Melancon is a member of the U.S. House Committee on Science - the authorizing Committee for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. MEP offices in the Gulf states are working to assist small businesses in rebuilding, redeveloping and growing to meet emerging needs. The MEP program has long been a vital business generator in local communities across the country. Many branches of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Louisiana (MEPoL) are currently overwhelmed; their operating budgets simply are unable to provide all the resources that will be needed.
If enacted, Melancon's bill would aid these centers in getting the help they need - speeding relief to small manufacturers and the workers they employ. Specifically, the legislation instructs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to immediately establish a MEP Katrina Assistance Program (KAP) with teams that will directly assist MEP centers in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana in assessing needs, locating support and coordinating help through manufacturing communities across the country. KAP program costs are estimated at $60 million.
KAP will help local MEP Centers:
- Find alternative sources for raw materials or supplies;
- Find alternate locations locally to start-up again;
- Design facility layouts, equipment selection, etc.;
- Assist/advise in financial decisions such as capital investments, rate of return calculations and rebuilding studies; and
- Meet other needs of the local small- and medium-sized manufacturing community.
The bill also authorizes funding for NIST, under its authority from the National Construction Safety Team Act, to carry out investigations relating to building and infrastructure failures in an effort to improve building codes and safety in rebuilding. The NIST study will be based upon an examination of physical structures damaged due to excessive wind, storm surge, and flooding, including key physical infrastructures such as ports, utilities, lifelines associated with infrastructure facilities, and transportation systems; and engineered and non-engineered buildings.
"My colleagues in Congress are asking me how they can help us in Louisiana - my answer is 'get us back to work'. Acting quickly on this bill would be a clear step forward and I urge my colleagues to help me do that," added Rep. Melancon. "The MEP network in Louisiana and our neighboring states - most of which are housed at local universities - has proven itself time and again as a reliable resource for manufacturers. They are in touch with our needs on the ground and now is when we most need their expertise."
"I compliment Congressman Melancon for his approach in drafting this bill," concluded Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science. "He has worked with local MEP centers to assess need, coordinate their ideas and is now working to help them deliver to communities and businesses in need. I'll work with him to see that this bill gets the attention it deserves."
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