Following Feenstra Letter, National Institute of Standards & Technology Confirms Full Funding for Center for Industrial Research and Service for Remainder of Fiscal Year 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, mere hours after U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Acting Director of the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Craig Burkhart requesting renewal of the Center for Industrial Research and Service’s (CIRAS) cooperative agreement with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), NIST confirmed that CIRAS would receive continued federal funding for Fiscal Year 2025.
Feenstra led U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Ashley Hinson (IA-02), and Zach Nunn (IA-03) in sending this letter.
“I’m glad that the National Institute of Standards & Technology decided to renew full funding for the Center for Industrial Research and Service within hours of receiving our letter. This initiative supports manufacturing in Iowa, makes important contributions to our economy, and strengthens our strategic position against countries like China,” said Rep. Feenstra. “Growing our domestic manufacturing sector and bringing jobs back to the United States is a vital mission, and CIRAS helps achieve these critical goals. By restoring full funding for CIRAS, we can continue to invest in our manufacturing might, sustain good-paying jobs in Iowa, and remain at the cusp of innovation and ingenuity, including in AI and other emerging technologies.”
In their letter, the lawmakers note, in part, that “As Iowa’s federal delegation [Iowan Senators and Members of Congress], we have seen the crucial role CIRAS has played in aiding and growing our state’s manufacturing sector and how critical the Center has been to our state’s economic success. As you will read in the letter from concerned organizations that have firsthand knowledge of the importance of CIRAS to the manufacturing industry, the Center has helped Iowa’s small-to-medium-sized manufacturers for over six decades. Though the total impact of CIRAS since the Kennedy Administration is truly incalculable and indispensable, in the last five years alone, they have served 1,500 Iowa manufacturers that have reported $1.4 billion in financial results.”
The full letter can be read HERE or below.
Secretary Lutnick and Acting Director Burkhart,
We write with concern over the recent National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) decision regarding the Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS). We are enclosing a letter we received from Iowa manufacturing businesses, Chambers of Commerce, and Iowa State University concerning the non-renewal and federal funding stoppage of the Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP) cooperative agreement.
As Iowa’s federal delegation [Iowan Senators and Members of Congress], we have seen the crucial role CIRAS has played in aiding and growing our state’s manufacturing sector and how critical the Center has been to our state’s economic success. As you will read in the letter from concerned organizations that have firsthand knowledge of the importance of CIRAS to the manufacturing industry, the Center has helped Iowa’s small-to-medium-sized manufacturers for over six decades. Though the total impact of CIRAS since the Kennedy Administration is truly incalculable and indispensable, in the last five years alone, they have served 1,500 Iowa manufacturers that have reported $1.4 billion in financial results.
Additionally, in the non-renewal notice from NIST, it mentioned that the U.S. Department of Commerce is reprioritizing to ensure United States leadership in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). The work of CIRAS in just the past 12 months has included 16 AI-focused events with almost 400 attendees and 38 AI-focused projects. These AI projects included 9 projects using sensors and data to collect data for AI use, 27 projects leveraging AI tools for business marketing, and 3 projects to develop and implement new AI tools for manufacturers. Additionally, CIRAS has worked with manufacturing enterprises in almost every industry over the last 62 years since its founding. The manufacturing jobs being supported by CIRAS programs in Iowa are supporting emerging technologies and future-ready industries.
As we work together to support President Trump’s prodigious goal of growing domestic manufacturing and reducing reliance on foreign industry, we believe that CIRAS should continue to be a key pillar of the MEP. We ask that all due consideration is given to resume or begin anew the cooperative agreement between CIRAS and the MEP.
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