National Textile Association supports ATTIRE Act

30 Jun '11

3 min read

On June 22nd North Carolina Representatives David Price (D-NC) and Howard Coble (R-NC) introduced the American Textile Technology Innovation and Research for Exportation (ATTIRE) Act, urging their colleagues to support the legislation to boost high-tech textile manufacturing and job creation.

The National Textile Association supports this bill and urges it's prompt passage.

The bill creates a grant program to support textile research and innovation through university adn industry-based research. In summary:

The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a competitive grant program to fund textile research and innovation and to promote increased textile exports. The eligible recipients of grants under the grant program shall be limited to institutions of higher education and not-for-profit research institutions, including not-for-profit industry associations whose core mission is to support textile research and innovation.

Preference in awarding such grants shall be given to collaborative research organizations that emphasize peer-reviewed research by leading academic and industry experts. Applications for such a grant shall be submitted at such time and in such manner as determined by the Secretary of Commerce. All such applications shall be subject to a rigorous and competitive peer review procedure.

The funds authorized to be appropriated for the grant program shall be used for research and development activities that achieve at least one of the following goals:

1. To build and sustain innovation, competitiveness, and best practices in the United States textile industry.
2. To contribute to transforming the United States textile and apparel industry into a highly flexible supply chain, capable of responding to rapidly changing market demands including shifts to technologically advanced textile production.
3. To discover, design, and develop new materials, and innovative and improved manufacturing and integrated systems, essential to the success of a modern United States textile industry.
4. To train personnel, establish industrial partnerships, and create transfer mechanisms to ensure the utilization of technologies developed.
5. To strengthen the Nation's textile research and educational efforts by uniting diverse experts and resources in unique collaborative projects.
6. To facilitate the creation of domestic jobs in the textile industry.

No more than 75 percent of total funding made available under the grant program in a fiscal year may be disbursed to institutions of higher education, unless the Secretary of Commerce determines that such limitation would result in the failure to disburse all appropriated funds for a fiscal year.

H.R.2275 authorizes $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2013 for this program which will come from a reduction of $5,000,000 from the funds appropriated for operations and administration of the International Trade Administration in the Department of Commerce for fiscal year 2013.

National Textile Association

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