BUFFALO, N.Y. — Out of an original 500 applications, Western New York is one of 60 finalists to win up to a $100 million grant which it would use to bolster the region's advanced manufacturing industry.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer believes the bid has a very good chance.

"We are the place that wants this probably the most," he said.

Schumer, speaking Monday at Buffalo Manufacturing Works, said the Economic Development Administration Regional Challenge, part of the American Rescue Plan, is only step one. The senator is the author of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, or USICA, which if passed will provide $1 billion to 10 regions to become advanced manufacturing hubs. 

"If you win the $100 million, it doesn't mean you get to be a tech hub, but it helps because it lays the groundwork," Schumer said. "It starts training the workforces. It starts priming the businesses."

Schumer said he continues to advocate for Western New York as one of those potential hubs and said the greater Buffalo and Rochester regions have a number of advantages, including a need for good-paying jobs, a well-trained workforce, centers like Buffalo Manufacturing Works to help cultivate start-ups and provide highly specialized training and a reputation for employee retention.

"Western New York has a reputation when you work for a company, you get paid a decent wage, you stay there and that's a big selling point," Schumer said.

A major goal of USICA is for the United States to become a global leader in the production of semiconductor chips, which are crucial for a number of different industries, including automotive. Schumer said companies particularly are looking at the Science Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park or STAMP in Batavia as a potential homebase for that tech.

"I have spoken with about five companies to come, all of which, part of the USICA bill is money to build these chip fab plants and those will be determined again by the administration and I will weigh in heavily," he said.

Schumer said the federal government will choose the $100 million winners in October.