# The ONSHORE Act of 2024: What It Does

The ONSHORE Act creates a new federal grant program designed to help communities prepare land and infrastructure for manufacturing facilities. The government will give grants of up to $100 million per year (from 2024 through 2028) to help develop industrial sites that could attract manufacturing companies—both American companies moving production back to the U.S. and foreign companies looking to build factories here.

Think of it this way: if a community wants to attract a semiconductor factory or an advanced manufacturing plant, they often need to spend money first to make the land ready. That means building roads, water lines, power lines, broadband internet, and dealing with environmental reviews and zoning. This bill helps pay for those upfront costs so communities don't have to shoulder the entire burden alone. The grants can cover everything from basic site preparation to workforce training programs that prepare local workers for jobs at the new facility.

Who can apply for these grants? States, cities, tribal nations, economic development organizations, colleges, and nonprofits focused on economic development. The bill gives priority to projects in rural areas, struggling communities with high unemployment, and projects that bring in additional funding from local sources. It also prioritizes manufacturing in industries considered critical to national security—like semiconductors, batteries, and other advanced technologies—though the government can support other industries too.

There's one important restriction: the grants cannot go to foreign companies or projects that would benefit countries considered threats to U.S. interests. The bill also requires that at least 10 grants be awarded each year and prevents any single industry from getting more than 20 percent of the total funding, ensuring money gets spread across different regions and sectors.