WASHINGTON – Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) introduced legislation today to recruit new, high-value jobs to rural regions in the United States by encouraging the return of jobs that have been off-shored to foreign countries.  Sen. Warner’s America Recruits Act is also included as part of the Manufacturing Jobs for America initiative, a package of more than 40 bills that seeks to modernize America’s manufacturing sector.

Sen. Warner’s America Recruits legislation strengthens manufacturing by:

• Creating a competitive grant program for states, to provide up to $5,000 in forgivable federal loans for each new advanced manufacturing job created and maintained for at least five years within a designated rural or economically-distressed region of the country.
• Working with employers to develop training and education programs for the specific jobs available at area businesses, strengthening those programs which provide an industry-recognized credential for workers in the advanced manufacturing and information technology industries;
• And expediting federal financing to allow select manufacturing companies to increase export capacity.

“I am proud that today’s legislation includes my America Recruits proposal to help bring back advanced manufacturing jobs to states like Virginia,” Sen. Warner said. “America Recruits will allow us to provide a targeted boost to state and local economic development incentives, similar to what is offered in countries like Brazil, India, and Korea, in order to better attract quality investment and jobs.”

The cost of the program would be more than offset by the economic activity generated by these new jobs: for instance, a job paying $50,000 per year typically results in almost $6,000 in annual federal and state sales and income tax payments. In addition, economic development models show that each new high-end manufacturing and IT job typically “spins-off” other economic activity, including the creation of between four and five additional new jobs.

Sen. Warner initially introduced America Recruits in 2010, announcing the legislation during events in Danville and Martinsville, Virginia., in a region of Virginia hit hard over the past decade by the loss of traditional manufacturing jobs. The region has worked to reclaim many of those jobs through a focus on targeted workforce training and partnerships which boost the development of advanced manufacturing.

The Manufacturing Jobs for America package has support from the National Association of Manufacturers and AFL-CIO, as well as the Alliance for American Manufacturing; American Automotive Policy Council; American Small Manufacturers Coalition; Association for Manufacturing Technology; Bloom Energy; BlueGreen Alliance; Dow; DuPont; Ford Motor Company; General Electric; the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation; National Association of Development Organizations; National Skills Coalition; One Voice - National Tool & Machining Association, and Precision Metalforming Association; Progressive Policy Institute; STEM Education Coalition; Third Way; the United Autoworkers; and the United Steelworkers.

Text of Sen. Warner’s America Recruits Act is available here. A summaries of each bill included in the Manufacturing Jobs for America package is available here.