Nearly a month ago we wrote about legislation that was moving through Congress and that could provide targeted payroll support for the PMA community. That legislation has become a reality.
Congress passed the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Program (“AMJP”) (P.L. 117-2 §§ 7201-02). This legislation authorizes government payroll support for FAA-approved manufacturers, repair stations and AS9100 suppliers.
This program is managed by the Department of Transportation (DOT). It is a new program for the DOT so it requires development of internal control mechanisms, as well as coordination with other agencies. For example, DOT will require OMB approval of applications and forms related to the program. This is required under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Normally this can be a lengthy process, but it doesn’t have to be. OMB was able to approve the first Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) form (under OMB Control No. 3245-0407) within one week of the Treasury application. We are coordinating with other associations to request that the Department of Transportation seek a similarly expedited approval process for OMB’s approval of the AMJP application.
It is likely that applications for the program will not be open until the summer, but we understand that DOT will set up a website for the program before the program is opened. This is similar to what Treasury has done for the PPP and PSP funding programs. When that website is available, we will let the community know about it.
MARPA has begun preparing a list of questions for the DOT. Our hope is that these questions will be answered in a FAQ on the webpage once it is available. While we wait for the applications to be opened, we want to work with DOT to ensure that many of the questions about the program can get answered before the applications are opened.
ACTION ITEM: We are asking the PMA community to look at the legislation and provide us with questions suitable for a FAQ and we will add them to our own growing list.
The biggest issue right now is for the government to figure out how we apply and how the funds will be issued!!!!!!
Posted by Andy Shields | April 26, 2021, 10:31 am