SCHUMER ANNOUNCES HIS ONSHORE ACT TO INCREASE FED $$ TO PREPARE UPSTATE NY INDUSTRIAL SITES, INFRASTRUCTURE, & WORKFORCE FOR CRITICAL SUPPLY CHAINS – LIKE SEMICONDUCTORS AND CLEAN TECH – HAS PASSED AND SOON WILL BE SIGNED INTO LAW

Schumer Successfully Got The ONSHORE Act, Which He Pushed For Standing At Industrial Sites Across Upstate NY, Added To EDA Reauthorization, Which Is Now Headed To The President’s Desk

The ONSHORE Act Creates New Fed Grant Program For Bringing Back Critical Supply Chains, Like Semiconductors And Clean Technology, By Improving Infrastructure And Workforce Training To Prepare More Industrial Sites For Investment

Schumer: We Are Bringing Back Manufacturing From Overseas To Upstate NY, And The ONSHORE Act Will Help Boost Those Efforts

After launching his push at industrial sites needing investment across Upstate NY, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced the bipartisan ONSHORE Act, which he successfully got included in the reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration, has just passed Congress and will soon be signed into law.

Schumer said this will help provide much-needed federal support with site-readiness for bringing back supply chains, like semiconductors and clean technology, by helping breathe new life into industrial sites and increasing workforce development for communities across Upstate New York looking to maximize the benefits from the Schumer-crafted bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law, as well as from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Preparing shovel-ready sites with new infrastructure investment and workforce training is key to bringing manufacturing back to Upstate New York and creating jobs, jobs, jobs. I’m thrilled that the ONSHORE Act has passed and is on its way to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law and to start supercharging manufacturing across America,” said Senator Schumer. “I stood at industrial sites across Upstate New York from Buffalo’s former Bethlehem Steel site to Oswego’s Industrial Park and pushed for this bill because communities need this support to fully tap into the manufacturing boom now happening after legislation I led to passage – like the bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. We have seen firsthand how having shovel-ready sites helped secure major private investments like Micron in Central New York and with the ONSHORE Act Upstate New York can tap into new funding opportunities to supercharge critical industries like chips, clean energy, and more. Today we take another step toward making sure the future of manufacturing is stamped ‘Made in America’ and putting Upstate New York at the forefront of those efforts.”

“Reauthorization of the EDA after 20 years and with it the creation of Onshore Act is a significant and critical win for economic development efforts across the country and in New York State. The Onshore act will expedite timelines, creating much needed funding to build shovel ready sites across the country which will help bring good paying manufacturing jobs back to the United States and New York. This legislation would not have been possible without the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a true economic development champion for New York State. I want to thank him and his team for their hard work in making sure this was passed into law. The NYSEDC was proud to work with IEDC and several other state associations to support this legislation which will give our members additional resources to attract the companies and careers of the future,” said Ryan Silva, Executive Director, New York State Economic Development Council.

“There’s a reason Senator Schumer came to Renaissance Commerce Park in Erie County when he first announced his push for the ONSHORE Act. Legacy industrial sites, like Bethlehem Steel, present prime opportunities for rebirth and reinvestment,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “The ONSHORE Act will provide further federal support to make industrial sites shovel ready, and will support good paying jobs in manufacturing, new technology, and clean energy. I thank the Majority Leader for this legislation and for investing in American manufacturing.”

"ONSHORE Act funding will be critical in redeveloping brownfield and industrial sites, like the former Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna. Paving the way for job creation and advanced manufacturing investment at a critical time in our region," said John Cappellino, CEO Erie County Industrial Development Agency. “A big thank you to Senator Schumer and our federal representatives for providing this funding to address the lack of shovel ready sites, opening up new sites for manufacturing and jobs in our region.”

Schumer explained that strengthening domestic manufacturing, especially for industries of the future, is critical for economic and national security. Following the passage of Schumer’s bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Law, companies from across industries have shown a renewed interest in bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. and rebuilding their supply chains in America, presenting a significant opportunity to revive manufacturing in Upstate New York. New federal investment included across these historic bills has attracted $1 trillion in private investment, bringing manufacturing back to America in critical industries like semiconductors and batteries, including over $110 billion in proposed private investment in in the chip industry across Upstate NY alone. However, one of the primary factors that affects where a new manufacturing facility is built is site-readiness, or whether a site has the basic infrastructure and workforce to enable a company to quickly begin construction on a facility and hire enough qualified workers to begin operations.

Schumer said the Opportunities for Non-developed Sites to Have Opportunities to be Rehabilitated for Economic Development (ONSHORE) Act would provide much-needed federal support for preparing sites for new manufacturing investment. The Senate passed the legislation as part of the Economic Development Administration reauthorization that was included in the bipartisan, bicameral Water Resources Development Act.

Specifically, the EDA reauthorization creates a new grant program to support site development or expansion projects for manufacturing industries critical to national or economic security, all of which is modeled on the ONSHORE Act. Through this program, EDA will assist with site and utility readiness, workforce development, distribution, and logistics, to prepare strategic mega sites and regionally impactful sites across places like Upstate NY for new industrial investment. The EDA funding would place an emphasis on building up the workforce through training and other support as a key priority for attracting and scaling new employers at these industrial sites, providing new federal resources for the pressing priority of workforce development. 

Schumer said Micron’s historic $100 billion investment to build a cutting-edge memory fab complex in Central New York is a proof positive example that with increased investment in shovel-ready sites and workforce development, the region could attract major manufacturing companies. Years of site preparation at the White Pine Commerce Park in Clay, NY was a major selling point in positioning the region to compete for Micron’s new investment and be home to an industrial project of this size and significance. Schumer said there are countless other examples across Upstate New York in which site development will lead to major investment, such as Wolfspeed’s opening of a new semiconductor manufacturing facility at Marcy Nanocenter after the shovel-ready site and advanced infrastructure attracted the manufacturer. The successful attraction of major new manufacturing investment to Western New York’s STAMP is another example, including Edwards Vacuum’s over $300 million, 600 job investment. Schumer explained that investment in the site readiness of New York industrial locations will further position the state to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity New York currently has to bring manufacturing jobs back to America and build resilient and robust supply chains right here at home.

Thanks to Schumer’s CHIPS & Science Law, Upstate New York has seen a major revival in tech manufacturing. Earlier this year Schumer secured a major $825 million federal investment to make Albany NanoTech the first National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) flagship facility and headquarters for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) research and development that is critical to the global chip industry. Micron has announced plans for a historic $100+ billion investment to build a cutting-edge memory megafab in Central New York with the support of a finalized $6.1 billion CHIPS incentive award. GlobalFoundries plans to invest over $13 billion to expand in the U.S., including building a second, new state-of-the-art computer chip factory in the Capital Region, with support from a finalized $1.5 billion CHIPS incentive award. Wolfspeed has opened a 200mm silicon carbide fabrication facility in the Mohawk Valley, one of the largest in the world, with a $750 million preliminary CHIPS agreement accelerating their ongoing expansion in the Mohawk Valley and boosting good-paying jobs expected to be created at the Marcy facility. TTM Technologies, a printed circuit board manufacturer, plans to invest up to $130 million to expand its facilities in Onondaga County, supported by federal investment to strengthen domestic supply chains, creating up to 400 good-paying jobs. Menlo Micro will invest $150 million to build their microchip switch manufacturing facility in Tompkins County, creating over 100 new good-paying jobs. In addition, Upstate New York is home to semiconductor supply chain companies like Corning Incorporated, which manufactures glass critical to the microchip industry at its Canton and Fairport, NY plants. Recently, Schumer announced that Corning Incorporated reached a $32 million preliminary CHIPS agreement to make a $315 million investment that would increase production at their Canton facility of specialized glass vital for the semiconductor industry. Additionally, following Schumer’s advocacy, Edwards Vacuum has announced a $300+ million investment to build a dry pump manufacturing facility, made possible by a $18 million preliminary CHIPS agreement, creating 600 good-paying jobs to support the growing chip industry in Western New York. 

###