Empire State Today

With Micron’s historic investment driving interest for supply chains in Central NY, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today revealed the ONSHORE Act, bipartisan legislation to create critical federal investment to breathe new life into industrial sites across Upstate New York and bring good-paying manufacturing jobs back from overseas.

Schumer said that this new bipartisan bill will help provide much-needed federal support with major site-readiness and workforce development that can boost sites like Harbor Lights Business Park in Madison County, White Pine Commerce Park in Onondaga County, and Marcy Nanocenter in Oneida County. Schumer said as America works to onshore critical industries like semiconductors, clean energy, and their supply chains thanks to legislation he has passed like the CHIPS & Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act, Central NY and the Mohawk Valley are primed to take advantage of game-changing new investments proposed by the ONSHORE Act to bring jobs back from overseas.

“Micron’s historic investment as well as investment’s like Wolfspeed’s at Marcy Nanocenter, are proof positive that with increased support for shovel-ready sites and workforce development, in tandem with the federal incentives I led to passage, we can bring manufacturing and good-paying jobs back from overseas to Central New York and the Mohawk Valley. The ONSHORE Act is about preparing our industrial sites and workforce to tap into Upstate NY’s amazing assets to power the revival of American manufacturing. Upstate NY can tap the ONSHORE Act to supercharge critical industries like chips and clean technology and ensure they are made in America, including right here in places like CNY and the Mohawk Valley,” said Senator Schumer. “The ONSHORE Act will build on the historic new investments and manufacturing boom that Upstate NY is already seeing from the bills I pushed through into law last Congress, and I will fight tooth and nail to lead the ONSHORE Act to passage to continue to deliver federal investment in manufacturing across Upstate NY.”

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said, “Onondaga County is a community that has a strong history in manufacturing and it is that history that has poised us for the next chapter of our comeback story. My administration is proud to have done the important, but often difficult work that made the White Pine business park successful in securing the largest economic development investment in American history with Micron. While the investment by Micron has validated to the rest of the country and the world that Onondaga County is the home for the next generation of manufacturing, our work does not end there. We must take advantage of this historic investment and the undeniable catalyst it will offer for future investment and growth in our community.” McMahon continued, “Our county has a wide variety of locations that are ripe for the necessary investments to lure additional manufacturing opportunities of all kinds and we welcome and fully support this legislation to help make those sites shovel ready as soon as possible. My administration remains steadfastly committed to ensuring that our entire county, from the urban core to our rural communities and everything in between has the opportunity to take part in this next chapter of our economic comeback and I thank Senator Schumer for his leadership in this effort.”

"The tides of globalization that once stripped our country and the Central New York region of its proud manufacturing history have changed. We see dramatic shifts in the return of manufacturing to our shores driven by market and geo-political forces,” said Centerstate CEO and President Robert Simpson. “This region and others like it are poised to help lead this reshoring but we must ensure that the pace of change isn't inhibited by a dearth of development-ready sites. The ONSHORE Act of 2023's dedicated funding for critical supply chain site development will fuel this opportunity and drive growth in areas that need it most. We thank Senator Schumer for his visionary leadership and investments in our communities so that this new wave of progress can be fully realized." 

“The Onshore Act will help sites like the Harbor Lights Business Park take the final step to being ready for businesses to move in.  Thank you to Senator Schumer for working with communities to remove the barriers in the way of developing shovel ready sites here in the U.S.  It is now more important than ever to strengthen and grow domestic manufacturing. This will not only protect our economic future but also our national security,” said Madison County Board Chairman and Sullivan Town Supervisor John Becker. “Harbor Lights Business Park has so much to offer with a great location, modern infrastructure, high speed internet, and a supportive community. Thanks to this bill, this business park can become prime real estate for any potential Micron spinoff business. Making Harbor Lights Business Park a reality has been a longtime coming.”

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 CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the Bipartisan Infrastructure 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. 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 explained that investment in the site readiness of New York industrial locations will further position the state to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity we currently have to bring manufacturing jobs back to America and build resilient and robust supply chains right here at home.

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 to preparing sites for this new manufacturing investment. Micron’s recent historic $100 billion investment to build a cutting-edge memory fab in Central New York is a proof positive example that with an increased investment into 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 is what ultimately positioned 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 that site development will lead to major investment, such as Wolfspeed’s recent opening of a new facility at Marcy Nanocenter after the shovel-ready site and advanced infrastructure attracted the semiconductor 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 and Plug’s green hydrogen production facility, the largest in North America.

Specifically, the new federal legislation would provide $100 million per year for 5 years in dedicated funding for a Critical Supply Chain Site Development Grant Program within the Economic Development Administration (EDA). Through this program, EDA would provide assistance for 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 resource for the pressing priority of workforce development. Central New York would be able to tap these resources to prepare strategic sites, like Harbor Lights Business Park and others to be market-ready and able to rapidly scale to begin construction of new domestic manufacturing facilities, better positioning the U.S. to compete against international competitors like China and the European Union and ensuring more critical products are made in America.

Schumer said Central New York is uniquely positioned for this kind of federal investment, given the region's legacy manufacturing sites and workforce, as well as the region’s universities, and current manufacturing base that make it a prime location to onshore critical industries in both Onondaga County and other sites across CNY and the Mohawk Valley. For example, the Town of Sullivan has been trying to develop the Harbor Lights Business Park for decades to make it shovel-ready for employers but has lacked the funding to be able to complete the needed infrastructure upgrades. With Micron on the horizon, the Town is now considering the park for high tech opportunities, and programs like those created in ONSHORE could help bridge the gap needed to land these major employers in Madison County.

Schumer has been the leading champion of bringing manufacturing back to America and Upstate New York in particular. In addition to the major new federal incentives to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to America, Schumer’s CHIPS and Science Act that he created and led to passage as Majority Leader, for example, includes a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (“Tech Hubs”) Program that allows Upstate communities to compete for planning grants and flexible implementation investment that would position the region as a global center in innovation. Schumer said that the Tech Hubs program, just like the ONSHORE Act, is about ensuring America’s future is being built in the places that helped build our nation, breathing new life into America’s legacy as a manufacturing and innovation powerhouse, and creating thousands of good-paying jobs that will sustain communities for generations to come.

Original source can be found here.