The Senate passed a sweeping government funding package on Friday that includes two provisions that could make up to $70 million available to the Spokane Aerospace Tech Hub, a consortium of nearly 50 companies, agencies and schools working to make the Inland Northwest a global leader in manufacturing advanced composite materials.
Senators passed the legislation, which includes five of the remaining six appropriations bills needed to fund the government through the end of September, in a bipartisan vote of 71-29 after Democrats successfully demanded that money for the Department of Homeland Security and its crackdown on immigrants be separated from the rest of the spending package following the fatal shooting of a second U.S. citizen by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
The Spokane-area consortium was awarded $48 million by the U.S. Commerce Department in the final days of the Biden administration, then had that funding rescinded by the Trump administration last May. Just two weeks after its revised application was rejected again by the Commerce Department, the inclusion of so much money for the project in the appropriations package speaks to the quiet influence of Washington state’s Democratic senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, at a time when their party wields little power in the other Washington.
This is great news for the Spokane tech hub,” Cantwell said in a statement. “It means that there will now be a serious investment in the composite advances we need for our defense, NASA, and aviation competitiveness. The creation of this consortium that is now eligible for these funds is a huge milestone for the Spokane region.
Patrick McHail, executive director of the Tech Hub, said Spokane is ready with a favorable business environment.
“The aerospace market here is really ripe and growing,” McHail said. “This is a great way to step change into new materials, new manufacturing methods, and then really anchoring a lot of great jobs for decades to come.”
He also mentioned the region’s schools and programs with a focus on manufacturing and engineering bring “all the right ingredients” for success.
The funding that would be available to the Spokane-area hub, which must still pass the House, is divided between two provisions in the massive defense appropriations bill: $55 million for an “advanced aerospace composites tech hub” and $15 million for “thermoplastic composite parts.
The Spokane Tech Hub’s existing work, centered around the former Triumph Composite Systems Inc. factory at 1514 S. Flint Road in Airway Heights, puts it in pole position for the funding. But President Donald Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may seek to block or divert the money.
source : www.spokesman.com
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