THE
GENERAL COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS
STATE
HOUSE, BOSTON 02133-1054
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
September 1, 2005
Representative Michael Rodrigues
617-722-2030
(Boston)
CORREIA AND RODRIGUES BUDGET TEAMWORK
BENEFITED LOCAL AREA
Boston – State Representative
Robert Correia (D-Fall River), the House Chairman of the Elder Affairs
Committee, today announced that measures of local importance were included in
the Fiscal Year 2006 House Budget engrossed last week. “We were able to secure
funds for higher education and economic development projects that will bring
growth to our area. It is imperative that we continue to invest in our students
and in the technologies of the future because they will provide the people of
Southeastern Massachusetts with better jobs, better
technology, better benefits, and better lives,” Correia said.
The combined efforts of Rep.
Correia and State Representative Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport), House Chairman
of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, garnered the support
for a $1.3M appropriation for the UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology and
Manufacturing Center (ATMC), a $200,000 increase over the FY 2005 Budget. The
UMass Dartmouth Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture was also fully funded
with a $500,000 appropriation.
Representative Rodrigues has
also been instrumental in providing the Southcoast with three very important
economic development initiatives in the FY 2006 Budget; specifically, the
funding of the Southcoast Development Partnership, the International Trade
Assistance Center, and the UMASS Dartmouth Center for Business Reasearch.
“Throughout my tenure in the Legislature,” Rep. Rodrigues stated, “the
economic advancement of the Southcoast has been one of my most important
legislative priorities. I am extremely grateful that in this year’s budget,
the House recognized the value of promoting the economy of the Southcoast by
fully funding the Southcoast Development Partnership, increasing funding for the
International Trade Assistance Center by $20,000, and adding new funding for the
UMASS Dartmouth Center for Business Research.”
“The University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth, the Southcoast Development Partnership, and ITAC are
nuclei of educational, touristic, and economic activity in our region and it is
imperative that we support their work. That is why Representative Rodrigues and
I worked cooperatively to ensure that funds were included in the House version
of the Budget,” Rep. Correia stated.
The budget now goes to the
Senate, then to Conference Committee, where differences between the two chambers
will be compromised. It will then move to Governor Mitt Romney’s desk for
approval, reduction, or veto.
The Advanced Technology and
Manufacturing Center of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is located in
the South Coast Research and Technology Park in Fall River, MA. The ATMC’s
focus is to enable advanced technology and manufacturing solutions, through
industry and university partnerships, to meet current and future business needs
thus fostering economic growth in Southeastern Massachusetts. Opened in late
2001, the ATMC has three business areas: Research and Partnering Laboratories, a
Technology Venture Center and a State-of-the-Art Conference Center.
The University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture, created in the early 1990s,
is a multidisciplinary international studies and outreach unit dedicated to the
study of the language, literatures, and cultures of the Portuguese-speaking
world. According to the 2000 US Census, approximately 280,000 people of
Portuguese heritage call Massachusetts home.
The University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth Center for Business Research is part of the Charlton School of
Business. The center’s mission is to assist small businesses throughout
Southeastern Massachusetts with marketing strategies and research studies to
help these businesses become competitive in the Massachusetts’ economy.
The Southcoast Development
Partnership has the responsibility of promoting the tourism and economic
development of Southcoast communities such as those along I-195 from Seekonk to
the Cape Cod Canal. UMass Dartmouth has been the center of this partnership as
it acts as the facilitator and catalyst for the Southcoast Development
Partnership’s economic development and tourism initiatives.
The International Trade Assistance Center (ITAC) supports small and medium sized companies of Southeastern Massachusetts in increasing their exports. ITAC is crucial in forging partnerships and providing resources for these companies with federal and state agencies such as the Massachusetts Trade Office, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Massachusetts Port Authority.
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