Maintenance industry honors Graves, Lipinski
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On March 13, 2019, the aviation maintenance industry honored U.S. Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) for addressing the chronic shortage of technicians threatening to undermine the growth and vitality of America’s aerospace sector.
Last year, Graves and Lipinski were lead sponsors of H.R.5701, which created a new federal grant program to help recruit and educateaviation technicians. The legislation was ultimately enacted as Sec. 625 in theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization law signed by PresidentTrump in October 2018.
In presenting the Aeronautical Repair Station Association’s2019 Legislative Leadership Award, the association’s President David Latimer,senior vice president of regulatory compliance for HAECO Americas, stated thatthe program demonstrates how good people collaborate to address pressing needsregardless of party affiliation and despite any evidence of ideologicaldifference – a fact ARSA’s team observed in its industry-wide coalitionbuilding supporting the grant program.
ARSA members have identified the technician shortage as oneof the top strategic challenges facing the aviation maintenance industry. Thenew program is designed to facilitate collaboration among businesses, labororganizations, schools and government to address the challenge. In a recentletter to Transportation Secretary Elain Chao and Office of Management andBudget Director Mick Mulvaney, 40 aviation organizations called on theadministration to request full funding for the technician program and a relatedpilot education program in the president’s proposed FY 2020 budget.
The award presentation took place in conjunction with ARSA’sLegislative Day – a component of the association’s Annual Conference. More thanfour dozen executives from leading aviation maintenance companies met withlawmakers to urge Congress to appropriate the funds needed for the Departmentof Transportation to initiate the grant program.
