SCHUMER ANNOUNCES OVER $10.8 BILLION TO LAUNCH FIRST-OF-THEIR KIND INITIATIVES CREATED IN CHIPS AND SCIENCE BILL; INCLUDES LARGEST $ INCREASE TO NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION IN HISTORY, AND $$ TO LAUNCH THE FIRST-EVER REGIONAL TECH & INNOVATION HUB COMPETITION; SCHUMER PUSHES TO GET MONEY TO UPSTATE NY

Schumer’s Historic CHIPS & Science Bill Has Already Spurred Thousands Of Jobs In Upstate NY- And Now He’s Secured First Major Down Payment Bringing Unprecedented New Investment For STEM Job Training, Strengthening Manufacturing, And Creating Regional Tech And Innovation Hubs Competition

New Funds Will Help Prepare New York Workers For Semiconductor & Other Tech And Manufacturing Careers, Revitalize Economically Distressed Areas, Attract New Businesses, And Supercharge Research At Universities With NSF Funding

Schumer: New Historic Fed Investment In Tech Hubs, Science And Manufacturing Will Lay Foundation For Upstate NY Workers To Build The Future Of Technology 

With his historic CHIPS and Science Bill already spurring major investment across Upstate New York, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today revealed that the just announced, end-of-year spending bill expected to pass later this week provides $10.8 billion in federal investment for key programs in the CHIPS and Science Act, including $1.8 billion in increased funding, compared to last year, to implement major provisions from his legislation that are key to supercharging the Upstate innovation economy.

This includes the largest dollar increase for the National Science Foundation in history, the launch of the Regional Technology & Innovation Hub program, expansion of manufacturing programs, and STEM education and training programs to help prepare the next generation of Upstate NY workers for the good-paying jobs spurred by his legislation, all of which will help further establish Upstate as an emerging global tech ecosystem.

“I just secured the largest increase in history, over $1 billion, for the National Science Foundation which is going to help jumpstart R&D and STEM workforce training to help prepare the next generation of Upstate New Yorkers to out-compete China and position Upstate New York to lead in the innovation economy. This is the first major down payment to implement key provisions from my CHIPS and Science Bill for Upstate New York, which will bolster cutting-edge research, rebuilds domestic supply chains, and give workers the technical skills to bring manufacturing back to America and build the future in places like Upstate NY,” said Senator Schumer.

Schumer added, “This funding also will finally kick off the Regional Tech Hubs program I created in my CHIPS and Science Bill, and originally proposed in my Endless Frontier Act, specifically with Upstate New York in mind. Now communities can begin planning to compete for major federal investment, and you can bet I will be fighting to deliver this and other federal funding from these programs to Upstate New York.” 

Specifically, Schumer explained that this $10.8 billion in funding includes:

• $9.87 billion for the National Science Foundation: The omnibus includes an increase of over $1 billion for the NSF, the largest dollar increase for NSF in history. Schumer said that Upstate universities and community colleges will be able to utilize this new investment for workforce training, including technical training programs key to supporting the emerging semiconductor industry in Upstate NY with the arrival of major projects like Micron in Central New York, Wolfspeed at the Marcy Nanocenter, and Edwards Vacuum at STAMP, along with expansion of GlobalFoundries and other manufacturing companies in the chip and clean energy industries, all of which will require a large workforce pool. This surge of funding will also be important to preparing underrepresented populations for these good-paying jobs, and to translating more research at the state’s universities and labs into new businesses.  Additionally, this funding will support the continued implementation of the NSF’s new Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate, originally proposed in Schumer’s Endless Frontier Act, to keep the U.S. on the cutting-edge of research and entrepreneurship in key industries like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, and advanced energy.

• $500 million to begin implementation of the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (“Tech Hubs”) Program: This funding will provide planning grants and an initial round of implementation awards to create regional technology hubs, focusing on economic development, job creation, and expanding U.S. innovation capacity. Schumer’s CHIPS and Science bill created the Regional Technology Hubs program to build up major technology hubs across the country to lead in research, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship in key industries, with places like Upstate NY in mind, and this funding represents the first major down payment to this program becoming a reality and allowing Upstate communities to compete for major federal investment to bring manufacturing back to America.
• $200 million for the Recompete Pilot Program: Through Schumer’s leadership on the CHIPS and Science bill, Congress created the Recompete Pilot Program, which authorizes the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to make comprehensive economic development investments in economically distressed communities. This new funding will establish grants to empower distressed communities to develop, implement, and carry out economic development strategies and create jobs.

• $188 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP): This program is a national network of affiliated manufacturing extension centers and field offices located in all fifty states and territories that work to improve the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers to strengthen domestic supply chains. MEP funding supports New York State’s network of 11 MEP Centers that work directly with small and medium-sized manufacturing firms throughout the state, working to cultivate the growth of the high-tech industry and help small manufactures expand.

• $51 million for the Manufacturing USA program: This funding will create at least one new Manufacturing USA institute to drive innovation and expand American manufacturing in key industries. The Manufacturing USA program is a public-private partnership with 14 manufacturing institutes across the nation, including AIM Photonics in Albany and Rochester, RAPID in New York City, and the REMADE Institute in Rochester, that connect companies, academic institutions, nonprofits, and local, state and federal entities to solve industry-relevant advanced manufacturing challenges in technology and help expand manufacturing in the U.S.

Schumer has been the leading champion of bringing tech manufacturing back to America and Upstate New York in particular. Going back to 2019, Schumer proposed a major tech investment “moon shot” in cutting-edge technologies like semiconductors to out-compete China. Schumer then spent the next three years working to pass into law this vision – ultimately manifesting itself into the CHIPS and Science Act, which makes a generational investment in innovation and manufacturing, including providing over $76 billion in new federal incentives for microchip manufacturing and research and development in the U.S.

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