ROCK ISLAND–(ENEWSPF)–August 26, 2013. U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today visited the Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC) and conducted a roundtable meeting with local employers, elected officials and Arsenal representatives regarding efforts to encourage more public-private partnerships on the island. Senator Kirk, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, recently backed the Defense Appropriations Act of 2014 authored by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) which will help lower overhead costs in order to encourage more work at the JMTC.
“Rock Island Arsenal is not only critical to our national security, but also central to the Quad Cities economy,” Senator Kirk said. “As we wind down our overseas conflicts, we need to preserve the Arsenal’s manufacturing capabilities. Public-private partnerships can play a key role in maintaining workloads during this time, but we need to ensure that costs remain low to ensure competitive rates. I’m honored to partner with Sen. Durbin to back legislation that will help the Arsenal attract non-military work for years to come.”
As a result of JMTC’s dwindling workload, the Arsenal has had to risk its competitiveness by charging above-market rates for its manufacturing services in order to cover costs. The Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2014 will help lower JMTC rates by adding $150 million to the Army Working Capital Fund’s Industrial Mobilization Capacity. This will make the JMTC more competitive as it seeks to expand public-private partnership opportunities.
The Department of Defense Appropriations Act also instructs the Secretary of the Army to maintain a workload significant enough to sustain our arsenals’ critical skills. Senator Kirk asked for both support for public-private partnerships and improved arsenal workloads in his annual request letter to the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
The Defense Appropriations Act passed the Appropriations Committee on Aug. 1 on a bipartisan 22-8 vote. It now moves to the Senate floor for consideration. The House already passed its funding bill on July 24 by a vote of 315-109.
At the Rock Island Arsenal, the JMTC alone employs more than 1,200 workers and has an estimated economic impact of $318 million on the surrounding area. When all the programs it houses are considered, the Arsenal has a $1 billion impact on the Quad Cities’ economy.
Source: kirk.senate.gov
