WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Thursday that he's pushing the U.S. Commerce Department to select the Buffalo and Rochester regions as targeted economic development areas receiving federal funding under a stimulus bill program called "the Build Back Better Challenge."
Not to be confused with the $2 trillion social spending bill of the same name that's yet to pass the Senate, the Build Back Better Challenge is part of the American Recovery Act, which Congress passed in the the spring. Under the program, the Commerce Department will select parts of the country that will receive funding to bolster their economies.
The region has two proposals pending for the program. The Western New York Advanced Manufacturing Cluster proposes training more than 1,600 people for tech careers, while the Upstate New York Optoelectronics Cluster aims to bolster that industry across upstate.
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Schumer, D-NY, said he pushed for both projects in a phone call with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The two proposals "would revolutionize the manufacturing sector from Rochester to Buffalo and throughout Upstate New York, creating thousands of jobs and making the region a global technology hub," Schumer said.
