Q&A: Partnering to Accelerate Advanced Manufacturing in America
February 1, 2013 Newsletter
EDA Partners with National Governors Association to Accelerate Economic and Job Growth
In September 2011, eight states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania—were selected to participate in the National Governors Association (NGA) Policy Academy, “Making” Our Future: Encouraging Growth in Manufacturing through Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Investment.” The following month, representatives from these states began participating in a yearlong series of meetings and collaborative exercises designed to foster innovation, rejuvenate manufacturing, create jobs, and grow regional economies.
The NGA Policy Academy was funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Program (NIST MEP).
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“The Obama administration is committed to supporting American businesses and workers in advanced manufacturing, which will help create jobs and strengthen our economy while boosting our global competitiveness,” said Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank. “The Commerce Department is proud to have partnered with the National Governors Association to produce a report that will undoubtedly prove valuable in helping our nation’s governors grow their local economies.”
On January 30, EDA Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Erskine, along with Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries toured disaster sites in Coney Island, New York, and met with businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy. They were joined by Rep. Gregory Meeks, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, and other state and local officials in a tour of the Madelaine Chocolate Company in Far Rockaway, Queens. Madelaine’s, in business for more than 60 years, is a family business that employed 450 people before the Hurricane Sandy hit, and is seeking assistance to help reopen for business. 
Jason Miller is the special assistant to the president for manufacturing policy, working within the National Economic Council in the White House. He leads the administration’s efforts to coordinate policy and federal activities supporting U.S. manufacturing. EDA has a strong, ongoing partnership with these efforts, and this past November Miller spoke at EDA’s senior leadership retreat in Washington, D.C. Mr. Miller joined the Obama administration in April 2010. Prior to joining the administration, he advised global companies as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group and Marakon Associates.
EDA was a key player in efforts that led to the recent opening of a new plant in Rochelle, Illinois, for Nippon Sharyo, a Japanese manufacturer of passenger railcars. The company, already active in the U.S. market, will be able to expand its U.S. operations, lower its production costs, comply with the “Made in America” requirements of many of its buyers, and—most important to the local economy—create 250 new jobs.