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Congressman Paul Tonko and 35 House Members along with Senators Charles E. Schumer, Kirsten E. Gillibrand,  Elizabeth Warren, Edward J. Markey, and Robert P. Casey, Jr., have signed onto a letter of support for a federal grant that would bring a $470million manufacturing institute to the Capital Region. Senators and Members of Congress from New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts have joined the bipartisan letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to promote a “robust public-private partnership of industry leaders” that would be centered in Albany.

These states have demonstrated their ability to develop public-private partnerships to successfully commercialize 21st century technology.   This unprecedented application, enabled by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, will be built upon New York’s proven world class advanced nanotechnology ecosystem.

“In a time where gridlock and partisan politics dominate Washington, it’s important to note that there are still some of us willing and able to work together toward growing our economy and putting people back to work,” said Congressman Paul Tonko. “This grant is tailor-made for facilities like RPI, CNSE, and GE to create a long-lasting consortium that will give domestic manufacturing a boost. The Capital Region is the hottest real estate in the country for cutting edge innovation and manufacturing, and I am pleased to see such a large, bipartisan group of officials that are working together to make this happen.”

“The 21^st Century American economy will depend on high-tech manufacturing.  So finding ways to manufacture electronics more efficiently and more eco-friendly is a win-win for our country, and that’s exactly what CNSE and its industry partners intend to do,” said Senator Schumer. “Manufacturing has had an integral place in New York’s history, but now with this application by CNSE, New York will be a part of building its future.  With CNSE and New York leading the way, we can drive growth and innovation in the industry, improve the environment, spur business development, and create new, good-paying jobs.”

“America was built by New York’s manufacturing,” Senator Gillibrand said. “Our manufacturers powered our economy through the 20^th century, and will be the key to fueling our economy in the 21^st century. It’s time to see ‘Made In America’ again starting right here in New York. When we harness the full potential we have across New York State, we can spark more growth in clean-tech and high-tech manufacturing, reignite our great manufacturing communities, attract new businesses, and create more family-supporting jobs right here where we need them the most.”

Text of the letter as well as a full list of signatories are below.

# # #

October 21, 2013

Honorable Dr. Ernest Moniz

Secretary

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Ave., SW

Washington, DC 20585

RE:  DOE FOA #0000683, Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute

Dear Secretary Moniz:

We are writing to express our strong support for the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) U.S. Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium’s (PEMC) grant application for the Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The proposed institute will revolutionize the manufacturing of power electronics and make the U.S. a global leader in the power electronics industry. 

By creating a domestic industry consortium, this initiative will provide companies with access to wide band gap based power electronic facilities and technologies as well as other crosscutting manufacturing product lines. These capabilities will boost U.S. manufacturing through a robust domestic supply chain and create tens of thousands of high paying jobs. In turn, high power domestically manufactured devices will be competitive in the marketplace.

The PEMC is a robust public-private partnership of industry leaders, small and medium size manufacturers, leading academic institutions and state government designed to create jobs and build a sustainable clean energy manufacturing hub in the U.S. Members of the PEMC include, among others, IBM, General Electric, General Motors, Raytheon, Delphi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, University of Buffalo, University of Pittsburgh – Swanson School of Engineering, and Cornell. Importantly, the application includes commitments for matching funds from PEMC partners and far exceeds the overall one-to-one match ratio required.

We believe the PEMC will enable and bolster an entire industry to grow domestically and facilitate market adoption of these devices for new applications as diverse as wind and solar inverters, electric vehicles, smart grid, and aviation. Furthermore, the comprehensive ecosystem created by the PEMC will provide sustainability for the institute well into the future. The PEMC is ready to hit the ground running and will guarantee the development of prototypes in the first 18 months. Members of the PEMC are ready to move the U.S. to the forefront of the wide band gap power electronics industry and continue America’s global leadership in technology and innovation. We strongly urge your support of this application.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senators:

Kirsten E. Gillibrand                                        

Charles E. Schumer                                                     

Elizabeth Warren                                                         

Edward J. Markey

Robert P. Casey, Jr.

Members of Congress:

Paul D. Tonko

Sean Patrick Maloney                                      

Louise McIntosh Slaughter

Timothy H. Bishop                                                       

Peter T. King

Steve Israel                                                                 

Gregory W. Meeks

Grace Meng                                                                

Nydia M. Velazquez

Hakeem S. Jeffries                                                       

Yvette D. Clarke

Jerrold Nadler                                                             

Michael G. Grimm

Carolyn B. Maloney                                                    

Charles B. Rangel

Joseph Crowley                                                           

Jose E. Serrano

Eliot L. Engel                                                               

Nita M. Lowey

Christopher P. Gibson                                                 

William L. Owens        

Richard L. Hanna                                                        

Tom Reed

Daniel B. Maffei                                                          

Brian Higgins

Chris Collins                                                                

Richard E. Neal

Niki Tsongas                                                               

Joseph P. Kennedy, III

John F. Tierney                                                

Michael E. Capuano

William R. Keating                                                       

Stephen F. Lynch

John D. Dingell                                                

Robert A. Brady

Charles W. Dent