AS NEW COVID VARIANTS EMERGE, SCHUMER HIGHLIGHTS TO FEDS CORNING INCORPORATED'S POTENTIAL EXPANSION OF THE ONEONTA LIFE SCIENCES FACILITY TO BOOST DOMESTIC SUPPLY OF BIOPROCESS AND DIAGNOSTIC CONSUMABLES; SCHUMER SAYS NEW PROPOSAL WOULD CREATE HUNDREDS OF NEW GOOD-PAYING JOBS IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY, BOLSTER U.S. MEDICAL SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE, AND STRENGTHEN AMERICA'S ABILITY TO RESPOND TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES
Statement
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer sent a letter urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense to give full and fair consideration of the proposal submitted by Corning Incorporated to expand domestic industrial base capabilities for bioproduction and diagnostic consumables production. Schumer said that the proposed expansion of their Oneonta Life Sciences Facility would preserve the existing 150 jobs at the facility and create as many as 275 new construction and permanent manufacturing jobs, investing in an economically disadvantaged area of the Mohawk Valley Region, and importantly strengthen the U.S. domestic supply chain for the production of vaccine research and diagnostic consumables, and sterilization capacity.
"New variants, like Omicron, underscore the necessity to plan for and invest in our nation's ability to address the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies. Innovative proposals like Corning Incorporated's expansion of the Oneonta Life Sciences facility will help address the nation's medical supply chain vulnerabilities that the pandemic has exposed, strengthening the U.S. response to public health emergencies and boosting American innovation and manufacturing," said Senator Schumer. "Innovation plus federal investment is how we better equip America to deal with health threats. Corning's proposed project would be a shot in the arm for the Upstate New York economy, creating hundreds of jobs and would be a booster for the domestic medical supply chain. I strongly urge the federal government to give full and fair consideration to the project to safeguard against any possible research and diagnostic shortages."
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