FOLLOWING HIS PERSONAL INVITATION & LONGSTANDING ADVOCACY TO MAKE BINGHAMTON A NATIONAL BATTERY HUB, SCHUMER ANNOUNCES HE WILL BRING U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ASSISTANT SECRETARY CASTILLO TO THE SOUTHERN TIER TOMORROW TO SHOW BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HOW UPSTATE NEW YORK CAN POWER AMERICA’S CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE
Schumer Fought Non-Stop For Over A Year, Calling Commerce Secretary Multiple Times, Writing Op-Eds, And Uplifting Binghamton University’s New Energy NY To The National Level To Deliver Major Fed Investment To Transform The Southern Tier Economy And Jumpstart Cutting-Edge Battery Research and Manufacturing
Now, Following His Personal Invitation Last Month, Schumer Will Join U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Castillo To Show How The Greater Binghamton Area Is Charging Up To Fulfill America’s Growing Battery Demand And Will Highlight How His Just Passed Fed Bills Can Supercharge The Region, Creating Thousands Of Good Paying Jobs
Schumer To Feds: Come See Firsthand How Binghamton University Captured Lightning In A Bottle With New Energy NY Project And How Southern Tier Workers Are Ready To Power An Industry That Will Define America For The Next Century!
After his relentless advocacy for the Southern Tier successfully secured Binghamton University’s New Energy New York over $63 million in federal funding through the American Rescue Plan’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that, following his personal invitation, he will bring the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo to Binghamton tomorrow to show the Biden administration firsthand how the Southern Tier can re-establish America as an innovation and manufacturing hub for batteries. Schumer will explain how Binghamton University’s selection was no accident, and will discuss his lengthy personal advocacy to elevate Binghamton to the national level, while simultaneously laying the foundation to expand manufacturing, clean energy, and battery infrastructure in the U.S. At the event with one of America’s top economic development leaders, Schumer will highlight how legislation he authored and led to passage as majority leader, like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, can play a major role in accelerating the growth of Binghamton and Upstate NY’s emerging battery cluster, and supercharge this once-in-a-generation clean energy industrial revolution for the region.
“It has been a long road, and I am proud to have helped deliver the tens of millions in federal investment and national spotlight the Southern Tier has long deserved to help it become the future of battery research and manufacturing for America. Now it is time for the Biden Administration to come see firsthand the world class manufacturing and research Binghamton University, and it’s coalition partners have to offer the country, and how the Southern Tier can lead a renaissance for the America in an industry we once lost to overseas,” said Senator Schumer. “When people think of the batteries that power our everyday lives, I want that spark to become synonymous with Binghamton, because this is where the future will be built. With every major piece of legislation I led to passage to boost America’s manufacturing sector in the past year, I always had places like Binghamton at the front of my mind. That is why I personally invited the Commerce Department to see how Southern Tier workers, innovators, and communities have the potential to lead the nation in battery manufacturing and powering our future.”
A copy of Schumer’s original invitation sent last month to the Economic Development Administration appears below:
Dear Assistant Secretary Castillo:
I first want to thank you and the Economic Development Administration (EDA), under the leadership of President Biden and Secretary Raimondo, for your tremendous commitment and efforts to move the country forward in the wake of the pandemic, including bringing manufacturing back to America to strengthen our domestic supply chains in key industries like semiconductors and clean energy and rebuild local economies across the country. These efforts will position the United States to remain competitive and ensure economic prosperity for generations to come. The recently announced Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) awards underscore your commitment to achieving these goals for the country. I was proud to craft the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which included the $3 billion EDA investment that made the BBBRC possible, along with leading to passage the CHIPS and Science Act and most recently the Inflation Reduction Act, all of which includes historic investment in rebuilding American manufacturing, and I look forward to working with you, Secretary Raimondo, and the entire Administration on the implementation of these important legislative milestones.
I write to you today in regards to the recently announced Build Back Better Regional Challenge awards. I was proud to successfully push for the selection of Binghamton University’s New Energy New York proposal as one of 21 final awardees, receiving one of the highest awards at $63.7 million. Under the leadership of Noble Laureate Professor Stan Whittingham, the inventor of the lithium ion battery, the proposal will establish a national hub for battery research and manufacturing in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions of Upstate New York. This major initiative, combined with the single largest federal investment into clean energy, including batteries, through the Inflation Reduction Act presents a significant opportunity for this region of New York State to become a new global battery hub, with the potential to bring battery manufacturing back to America, create thousands of good-paying jobs in Upstate New York, and accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy.
As the Southern Tier looks ahead to implementing New Energy New York following the BBBRC award, I invite you and your team to personally visit the region to see first-hand the work taking root and to engage with a diverse coalition of local leaders, university stakeholders, and the industry partners that have coalesced around this once in a generation opportunity. The New Energy New York proposal has the potential to not only rebuild the region’s economy, a priority for the ARP investment that made the BBBRC possible, but also to further fuel the country’s manufacturing resurgence as a leading hub for U.S.-based battery development. From the inception of this trail blazing research center to the inaugural manufacturing launch of North America’s only pure homegrown battery, a clean energy technology ecosystem is taking shape in the Southern Tier. A personal visit will offer an opportunity to learn more about how the investment EDA has made will provide the foundation to advance cutting-edge research, attract innovative companies, secure a critical supply chain, and most significantly give new life to a rural industrial region that could create thousands of new jobs. This is only the beginning of a bright future for the region, and I know you will share in the optimism I have for the impact of the New Energy New York project on the regional economy and the direction of the nation’s clean energy future.
Sincerely,
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