The bill seeks to enhance the administration and oversight of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. It mandates the use of cooperative agreements for MEP centers, shifting from a discretionary to a required practice. A significant change is the expansion of center evaluations to explicitly include an assessment of financial management , with a focus on monitoring for potential fraud and misuse of funds. Furthermore, the legislation strengthens the process for managing centers placed on probation due to performance issues. It requires the Secretary to reevaluate a probationary center within 180 days to determine if deficiencies have been remedied or significant improvement shown. If a center fails to improve, the Secretary shall promptly initiate a competition to select a new operator, ensuring continuity and effectiveness of services. The bill also sets clear timelines for these competitions, limiting the application period to 90 days and requiring selection within 30 days thereafter.