MARPA is providing resources to our members who want to ask Congress for assistance during the Covid-19 crisis.
History shows that when the airlines experience financial distress, as is happening now, then the aviation supply chain suffers with them. Past experience from incidents like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has shown that the aviation supply chain continues to suffer even after the airlines starts to recover.
We are coordinating with other aviation trade associations to request support for the aviation supply chain. This should include manufacturers, distributors, and MROs.
Without the supply chain, necessary parts and maintenance are not available and we risk the safety of the flying public. Supporting the supply chain means that the critical safety infrastructure remains intact. This allows us to continue to support the operators that rely on us.
MARPA is asking Congress to provide aid to the aviation supply chain. We are asking for these four items:
- Authority for the aviation supply chain to make use of disaster assistance loans;
- Grants to be used for payroll during the period when there is no income;
- Tax credits to all purchasers for 26% of the purchase price of U.S. FAA-approved aircraft parts (known as “PMA parts” this is a product that is uniquely produced in the United States);
- Expansion of the research tax credit to include all domestic PMA research activities, by adding a subsection (5) to 26 U.S.C. 41(d) that reads “(5) Activities for which credit allowed. Notwithstanding any of the limits of paragraph (d)(4) of this section, the term “qualified research” shall include all activities conducted in support of research, development and application for Parts Manufacturer Approval submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration.”
As you can see from this list, we have some very reasonable requests and some ‘stretch’ requests. If we can just get one of these four then that will help our membership.
So what can you do to help in this effort?
- Send emails to your Representative and both Senators. Do it TODAY. You can find out how to identify your members of Congress (and send them emails) here. We have an email template for MARPA Members to send to Congress that you can use as a model.
- After sending the emails, send postal letters to your Representative and both Senators. You can use the same template for your letter and put it on your letterhead. These may arrive after the initial round of Congressional decisions, but they will help influence the next round of funding decisions.