Two House lawmakers reintroduced legislation that would provide for federal relief to help preserve aerospace manufacturing jobs. Introduced late last week by House aviation subcommittee chairman Rick Larsen (D-Washington) and Ron Estes (R-Kansas), the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act of 2021 would establish a temporary 50 percent cost-share program to cover compensation for workers at risk of being furloughed.

Similar legislation was introduced in both the House and Senate last year but was not acted upon.

The bill calls for the Department of Transportation to work with other federal agencies to enter into six-month, renewable cost-sharing agreements with manufacturers that would ensure salaries are maintained for the at-risk employees. Manufacturers must demonstrate that the workers were at risk and must use the federal assistance solely for their compensation. Compensation assistance is limited to 25 percent of the workforce.

The program is eligible for demonstrated risks during a period that began on April 1, 2020, and runs through April 30, 2023. To be eligible, employers must demonstrate at least a 15 percent decline in revenues between October 2019 to October 2020. The bill would set aside $15 billion for the program.

“This bipartisan bill provides critical relief to help sustain the aerospace supply chain until the nation gets to the other side of the pandemic,” Larsen said.

Estes added that the pandemic has slowed production rates to record lows and put thousands of workers out of jobs. "The Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act will help keep workers on the payroll and connected with their aviation jobs, which solves the short-term unemployment issue and keeps our skilled workforce here in the Sunflower State for the long term.”

The bill has received the endorsement of more than a dozen aviation organizations representing workers, manufacturers, pilots, and aviation businesses, among others.

“Saving this critical industry and the livelihoods of the men and women who have made the aerospace sector thrive for generations is our top legislative priority,” said Robert Martinez Jr., international president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.  

“The pandemic-related challenges and obstacles that industry and its highly skilled workforce face continue to be significant. It is essential that both industry and government partner together to protect this vital job sector,” added Pete Bunce, General Aviation Manufacturers Association president and CEO.