May 2023 Volume 5

WASHINGTON UPDATE

Congressional Forging Improvement Initiative Program FIA has embarked on an opportunity for $25million in government funding to further grow the forging industry and scale up readiness for the warfighter. One part of the request is $15 million in Department of Defense funding for member-focused community colleges and trade schools to aid in workforce development. The other part of the request is a $10 million congressional programmatic increase for university technical projects and members to innovate forging technology. FIA had numerous members visit Capitol Hill in February and March to illustrate the critical need for and importance of granting the funding requests. All appropriations forms have been submitted; however, we are now in the waiting phase to see if our efforts were successful. The House of Representatives should release its markups in the next couple of months and the Senate should complete its markups by the end of the Summer or early Fall, but that may change due to the fluid nature of this process. As more information becomes available on the requests, FIA will update members right away. Thank you all for your tremendous support as we continue to ramp up our advocacy efforts. None of this would be possible without our members. FIA will continue to promote and ensure the prosperity of the North American forging industry.

Megha M. Patel Government Affairs Manager Forging Industry Association Phone: 216-781-6260 Email: megha@forging.org

T O O L S T E E L S

HARD AND TOUGH THE IDEAL COMBINATION FOR OPTIMAL DIE PERFORMANCE

W303

W360

» Excellent hot tensile properties » High retention of hardness » Good toughness » Resistance to heat checking » When H13 fails, switch to W303

» High Hardness » Exceptional toughness » Hight temper resistance » Good thermal conductivity » Can be cooled with water

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MATERIALS | MACHINING | PVD COATINGS | ADDITIVE

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FIA MAGAZINE | MAY 2023 5