2014 -- H 7785

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LC005085

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

SUPPORTING PRESIDENT OBAMA'S VISION FOR 21ST CENTURY MANUFACTURING

AND TRADE IN AMERICA AND THE DESIGNATION OF RHODE ISLAND AS A

"MANUFACTURING COMMUNITY"

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Marshall, Mattiello, Serpa, Costantino, and DeSimone

     Date Introduced: March 04, 2014

     Referred To: House read and passed

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island has among the oldest and most deeply ingrained

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manufacturing cultures in America, beginning in 1793, when Samuel Slater opened the first

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successful factory in the United States in the City of Pawtucket; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island is uniquely and strategically positioned to take advantage of

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both transatlantic trade and the resurgence in manufacturing; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island is geographically positioned 150 miles east of the Port of New

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York, providing for shorter and less expensive transatlantic shipping from Europe; and

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      WHEREAS, Rhode Island hosts two major ports, the Port of Providence, and the Port of

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Davisville at Quonset, which was a former Navy Base, now a successful Business Park; and

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     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation seeks to secure funding to

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implement a Design and Manufacturing Center that will accelerate the resurgence in

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manufacturing and trade in Rhode Island; and

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     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Design and Manufacturing Center will consist of three

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primary components: Manufacturing Design and Engineering and Market Analysis; Technology

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Development and Applications; and Workforce Training; and

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     WHEREAS, Center Partners include manufacturers, entrepreneurs, institutions of higher

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education, state agencies, and federal research and development centers in the region; and

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     WHEREAS, This collaboration aims to bring together partners knowledgeable in the

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existing manufacturing and supply line landscape, the workforce needs of business, curriculum

 

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development, workforce training, product design, entrepreneurship, R&D, and the maritime

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infrastructure of the region in order to ensure that the various actors in the public and private

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sectors that are engaged in manufacturing and trade are consistently on the same page; and

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     WHEREAS, With the creation of the Rhode Island Design and Manufacturing Center, for

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the first time, private investors, entrepreneurs, and the general public will have a single voice that

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can speak and act with confidence and clarity as to exactly what manufacturing opportunities

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exist in the region, and what efforts are ongoing to expand them; and

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     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation is preparing a Phase II Grant

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proposal to the United States Economic Development Administration under a program that would

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designate Rhode Island as a "Manufacturing Community," thereby providing for priority funding

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from over thirteen federal agencies with the combined financial resource of over $1.3 billion;

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now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

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Providence Plantations hereby supports the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation's Phase II Grant

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proposal to the United States Economic Development Administration that would designate Rhode

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Island as a "Manufacturing Community"; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this House hereby respectfully requests our state's Congressional

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Delegation to pursue and endorse Rhode Island being designated as a "Manufacturing

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Community"; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, members of

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Rhode Island's Congressional Delegation, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the

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Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the Director of the Rhode Island

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Commerce Corporation.

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LC005085

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