	Overview

The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is a national network of centers that provide custom services to small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) to improve production processes, upgrade technological capabilities, and facilitate product innovation. Reflecting these ideas, the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act ( P.L. The first three centers were established in 1989. In 2010, the "overarching strategy" for the MEP program was to reduce manufacturing costs through "lean, quality, and other programs targeting plant efficiencies" and to increase profitability "through business growth services resulting in new sales, new markets, and new products." Current MEP efforts focus on innovation strategies, commercialization, lean production, process improvements, workforce training, supply chain optimization, and exporting. Statutory Mission and Activities

The statutory objective of the MEP centers is to enhance productivity and technological performanc e in U.S. manufacturing through the following: 
 the transfer of manufacturing technology and techniques developed at NIST to centers and, through them, to manufacturing companies throughout the United States; the participation of individual s from industry, universities, state governments, other f ederal ag encies, and, when appropriate, NIST in cooperative technology transfer activities; efforts to make new manufacturing technology and processes usable by U.S.-based small- and medium-sized companies; the active dissemination of scientific, engineering, technical, and management information about manufacturing to industrial firms, including small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies; the utilization, when appropriate, of the expertise and capability that exists in f ederal agencies and federally sponsored laboratories; the provision to community colleges and area career and technical education schools of information about the job skills needed in manufacturing companies, including small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses in the regions they serve;promoting and expanding certification systems offered through industry, associations, and local colleges when appropriate, including efforts such as facilitating training, supporting new or existing apprenticeships, and providing access to information and experts, to address workforce needs and skills gaps in order to assist small- and medium-sized manufacturing businesses; andthe growth in employment and wages at United States-based small and medium-sized companies. System-Wide Center Recompetition

In 2017, NIST completed a recompetition of all its centers. According to NIST, the system-wide competition was intended to result in center funding levels more closely reflecting the national distribution of manufacturing activity and result in a single center in each state and Puerto Rico. Other objectives included aligning center activities to the NIST MEP strategic plan; aligning center activities with state and local strategies; providing opportunities for new partnering arrangements; and restructuring and reinvigorating local center boards. The federal government may provide up to 50% of the funds required to establish and support a center regardless of the year of operation of the center. In 2015, the Senate Committee on Appropriations expressed concerns about the federal cost-share structure (as it existed prior to the recent system-wide competition) and directed NIST to provide a report to the committee and to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation "detailing quantifiable metrics on total MEP center funding, including a breakdown of the type of contribution source across centers that have transitioned from the 50 percent Federal, 50 percent non-Federal cost-share to a lower cost-share held by the Federal Government." On March 23, 2018, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, providing $140.0 million for MEP. President Trump has again proposed to eliminate federal funding for the MEP centers in his FY2019 budget. Both the House committee-reported bill, H.R. For FY2009, President Bush's final budget proposed to end federal funding for MEP, requesting $4 million to allow for "the orderly change of MEP centers to a self-supporting basis." President Trump proposed the elimination of federal support for the MEP centers in FY2018, requesting $6.0 million "for the orderly wind down" of the program. Congress appropriated $140.0 million for MEP for FY2018. In his FY2019 budget, President Trump proposed again to eliminate federal support for the MEP centers, requesting no funding for the program. The MEP program has, at times as it is now, been included in discussions surrounding termination of federal programs that provide direct support for industry. Proponents assert that SMMs play a central role in the U.S. economy and that the MEP system provides information and assistance not otherwise available to SMMs. Some opponents have asserted that such services are available from other sources and that MEP inappropriately shifts a portion of the costs of these services to taxpayers. In 1998, Congress lifted the prohibition on funding after the fifth year and allowed NIST MEP to provide up to one-third of center costs after their sixth year of operation indefinitely.
The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program is a national network of centers established by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act (P.L. 100-418). MEP centers provide custom services to small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) to improve production processes, upgrade technological capabilities, and facilitate product innovation. Operating under the auspices of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the MEP system includes centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
NIST provides funding to support MEP center operations, with matching funds provided by nonfederal sources (e.g., state governments, fees for services). Initially established with a goal of transferring technology developed in federal laboratories to SMMs, MEP shifted its focus in the early 1990s to responding to needs identified by SMMs, including off-the-shelf technologies and business advice. As MEP evolved, its focus shifted to reducing manufacturing costs through lean production, quality, and other programs targeting plant efficiencies and to increasing profitability through growth. Current MEP efforts focus on innovation and growth strategies, cybersecurity, commercialization, lean production, process improvements, workforce training, supply chain optimization, and exporting.
In 2017, NIST completed a system-wide revamp of MEP to better align center funding levels with the national distribution of manufacturing activity and to result in a single center in each state and Puerto Rico. Other objectives included aligning center activities to the NIST MEP strategic plan; aligning center activities with state and local strategies; providing opportunities for new partnering arrangements; and restructuring and reinvigorating the boards of local centers.
As originally conceived, the centers were intended to become self-supporting after six years. The original legislation provided for a 50% federal cost-share for the first three years of operation, followed by declining levels of federal support for the final three years; federal funding after a center's sixth year of operation was prohibited. In 1998, Congress eliminated the prohibition on federal funding after year six. In 2017, Congress authorized NIST to provide up to 50% of the capital and annual operating and maintenance funds required to establish and support a center. Previously, the federal cost-share was limited to 50% for a center's first three years of operation, 40% in year four, and one-third in fifth and subsequent years.
The MEP program has, at times, been included in discussions surrounding termination of federal programs that provide direct support for industry. Invoking the intent of the original legislation, President George W. Bush proposed in his FY2009 budget to eliminate federal funding for MEP and to provide for "the orderly change of MEP centers to a self-supporting basis." Nevertheless, Congress appropriated $110 million for the program. Proponents assert that SMMs play a central role in the U.S. economy and that the MEP system provides assistance not otherwise available to SMMs. Some opponents have asserted that such services are available from other sources and that MEP inappropriately shifts a portion of the costs of these services to taxpayers.
Continued federal support for MEP centers remains a point of contention. In his FY2018 budget, President Trump sought to eliminate federal support for MEP centers, requesting $6.0 million for the program's "orderly wind down." The House committee-reported appropriations bill included $100 million for MEP, while the Senate committee-reported bill included $130.0 million. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141), provides $140.0 million for MEP for FY2018. President Trump has again proposed the elimination of MEP in his FY2019 budget.
As Congress makes appropriation decisions, it may continue to discuss support for MEP in the context of the federal government's role in bolstering innovation and competitiveness, and in the context of the appropriate federal role in such activities.