SCHUMER, AFTER DELIVERING $1 MILLION IN FED FUNDING, CUTS RIBBON ON BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY’S NEW CLEANROOM FOR MICROELECTRONIC PACKAGING RESEARCH – AND ANNOUNCES NEW LEGISLATION[...]

New Schumer Legislation Will Rebuild American Manufacturing Capacity In Industries Critical To Our Economy, Including Microelectronics, While Reducing Dependence On Foreign Manufacturers

Schumer Additionally Delivered $1 Million For Binghamton University's Nanofabrication Laboratory, Which Provides Hands-On Training For Students To Secure Jobs In Fast-Growing Chip Industry Across Upstate NY And In Other High-Demand Industries That New Schumer Legislation Will Boost

Schumer: New Legislation Would Bring Critical Manufacturing And Good-Paying Jobs Back Home To Areas Like The Southern Tier

After delivering $1 million in federal funding for Binghamton University to purchase equipment for advanced microelectronics packaging, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today joined Binghamton University President Anne D'Alleva and Watson School of Engineering Dean Atul Kelkar to cut the ribbon for the state-of-the-art facility. This new facility will help students learn the fundamentals of the semiconductor manufacturing process and prepare a workforce to fill critical microelectronics manufacturing jobs Schumer seeks to bring back to the Southern Tier from overseas.

Schumer said this is a major step forward to cement Binghamton University's status as a leader in emerging advanced electronics innovation. Today, he also announced his new legislation, the Make More In America Act, which will expand American manufacturing capacity in industries like microelectronics and battery manufacturing, critical to protecting national supply chains, driving down the cost of everyday products, and supporting the Southern Tier economy.

"With well over $100 billion in new major chip projects starting across Upstate New York, it's more important than ever for students to receive hands-on training for jobs in the semiconductor industry. I was thrilled to deliver $1 million in federal funding for Binghamton University to purchase new equipment for a state-of-the-art cleanroom facility. Investments like this will help grow Upstate New York's semiconductor ecosystem, but more is needed to strengthen our domestic supply chains," said Senator Schumer. "That's why I'm proud to announce my new legislation-the Make More in America Act-to expand American manufacturing capacity in critical industries that China is trying to control. This legislation will provide vital new investment to bring manufacturing in critical industries like microelectronics and batteries back from overseas to communities like the Southern Tier, creating new jobs and helping prevent cost spikes that Americans are often struggling with when global supply chains are disrupted."

Schumer delivered $1 million in federal funding in the FY2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education budget bill, enabling Binghamton University to purchase new equipment for its microelectronics packaging cleanroom. The technology is essential for critical semiconductor and electronics packaging research because it provides measures such as extreme air filtration to ensure no dust or other microscopic particulates can contaminate or damage components during the microchip manufacturing process. The new cleanroom, made possible by the federal investment Schumer secured, will also help Binghamton University provide job training for more than 100 students every year, providing a pipeline of talent for Upstate New York's growing chip manufacturing industry, including the over $100 billion Micron memory chip project and TTM's expansion in Central NY, GlobalFoundries' multibillion expansion in the Capital Region, Corning Incorporated's Expansion in Rochester and the North Country, and Menlo Micro's investment in the Southern Tier.

"Binghamton University is deeply grateful for Senator Schumer's leadership in securing significant funding for the Watson College Cleanroom and the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator," said President Anne D'Alleva. "These facilities provide students with hands-on research experience that prepares them for careers in semiconductor and battery storage industries and many more, while also supporting start-ups and strengthening entrepreneurship across the region. Binghamton University is committed to driving economic growth in the Southern Tier and throughout the state through research, workforce development, and business innovation. Senator Schumer's Make More in America Act would further strengthen domestic manufacturing and deliver meaningful benefits for American workers and consumers. We are proud to advance research and entrepreneurship initiatives that align with the Senator's vision for expanding production and innovation here in the United States

Schumer also announced his new Make More In America Act, which will expand on investments in microelectronics and battery research in the Southern Tier by rebuilding American manufacturing capacity in these critical industries. The legislation will allow the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to provide financing and other support to build or expand a manufacturing facility in the U.S., so more manufacturing of critical technologies happens in America. This new investment will reduce the country's dangerous dependence on foreign supply chains, especially in China, and create good-paying jobs across the country. Projects supported under this new program will directly benefit American workers and communities. To qualify, projects must demonstrate support for American jobs, pay prevailing wages for construction, protect existing collective bargaining agreements, remain neutral in union organizing, and include commitments to workforce training and education. The legislation provides support targeted at building American manufacturing in strategic industries in which there is evidence of subsidies or production support by other countries that creates an overreliance, foreign chokepoints, or other risks for U.S. supply chains, including batteries and microelectronics. This new bill will provide critical investment capital to enable technologies that come out of research institutions, like Binghamton University, to scale up to production domestically, building American jobs and bringing costs of products for Americans down.

Schumer has long recognized that Binghamton University's pivotal role in the region's economy and its potential to advance broader efforts to onshore critical industries like chip manufacturing, and batteries, and as a result has a strong record of delivering federal investments to boost Binghamton and Upstate NY's profile in both manufacturing and R&D. In 2022, Schumer delivered $63.7 million in federal funding for Binghamton University's New Energy New York (NENY) proposal to make the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes a national hub for battery research and manufacturing. In 2023, Schumer secured for NENY the prestigious Tech Hubs designation, a program he authored as part of his CHIPS & Science Law, accelerating the Southern Tier's emergence as America's next battery tech hub. In 2024, Schumer delivered a $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Award through the federal Tech Hubs program to boost their ongoing work.

In 2024, Schumer additionally announced another major milestone for the Binghamton University-led consortium: NENY was one of the winners of the esteemed U.S. National Science Foundation's Regional "Innovation Engines" Competition (NSF Engines), also created by his CHIPS & Science Law, bringing an initial $15 million in federal funding. Earlier this year, Schumer announced an additional $45 million award for the Engine, with potential for up to another $100 million total over the entirety of the program.

Schumer delivered $1 million in federal funding in the FY2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development budget bill earlier this year toward a new effort to expand capacity at Binghamton University's Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, to support the Southern Tier's growing innovation ecosystem, continue to attract cutting-edge technology companies and startups, and create even more good-paying local jobs. The Koffman Incubator, which opened in 2017, began with $2 million in federal funding Schumer secured from the Economic Development Administration (EDA). Since then, it has supported more than 130 companies in creating 667 full-time jobs in the Southern Tier, creating a more than $400 million economic impact. Schumer said his legislation could also boost the work of the incubator and companies that rely on it by supporting their projects.

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