Congressman Gonzalez Announces $5 Million to UTRGV to Support Defense Manufacturing

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) announced $5 million for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) from the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. This funding is possible through the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program, whose mission is to increase national security through community investment efforts.  

The grant would fund the development of new manufacturing processes for tactical alloys used by all branches of the U.S. military. The number of U.S. casting and forging facilities dropped from 22,000 to 2,000 since 1992 due to offshoring, downsizing, and consolidation. This has negatively impacted our military’s ability to produce equipment ranging from turbine blades to warships.  

“This grant is a huge win for UTRGV and for our national defense,” said Congressman Gonzalez. “It will allow our nation’s defense manufacturing industries to increase the production of tactical alloys found throughout our military’s supply chains. Ensuring we have robust manufacturing is essential to keeping our armed forces readily equipped at large scales.”  

This funding will also support certificate and training programs and allow UTRGV to serve as a regional hub to demonstrate the latest tactical alloy manufacturing methods.  

This is part of a larger $30 million effort by the DOD divided across six different Defense Manufacturing Community Support Programs, each focused on a unique effort to support defense manufacturing.  

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