Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 553 To establish a program to preserve and restore jobs in the aviation manufacturing industry, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself, Mr. ESTES, Mr. SMITH of Wash- ington, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. CARSON, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. SCHRIER, and Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a program to preserve and restore jobs in the aviation manufacturing industry, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aviation Manufac- 4 turing Jobs Protection Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H553.IH H553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 553 IH (1) AT-RISK EMPLOYEE GROUP.—The term ‘‘at- 1 risk employee group’’— 2 (A) means the 25 percent of an employer’s 3 United States workforce comprised of employ- 4 ees— 5 (i) who are most at risk of a perma- 6 nent reduction in force or furlough due to 7 the COVID–19 public health emergency; or 8 (ii) who— 9 (I) were previously part of a re- 10 duction in force or furlough due to the 11 COVID–19 public health emergency; 12 and 13 (II) the employer would choose to 14 recall under the program established 15 by this section; but 16 (B) does not include— 17 (i) senior executive employees; or 18 (ii) any employee with a total com- 19 pensation level of $200,000 or more. 20 (2) AVIATION EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘aviation 21 employer’’ means an aviation manufacturing com- 22 pany. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H553.IH H553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 553 IH (3) AVIATION MANUFACTURING COMPANY.— 1 The term ‘‘aviation manufacturing company’’ means 2 a corporation, firm, or other business entity that— 3 (A) holds a type or production certificate 4 or similar authorization issued under section 5 44704 of title 49, United States Code; 6 (B) holds a certificate issued under part 7 145 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 8 for maintenance, repair, and overhaul of air- 9 craft, aircraft engines, components, or propel- 10 lers; or 11 (C) under contract or subcontract, pro- 12 duces components, parts, or systems of aircraft, 13 aircraft engines, or appliances for inclusion in 14 an aircraft, aircraft engine, or appliance. 15 (4) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 16 The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emergency’’ 17 means the public health emergency with respect to 18 the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. 19 (5) SENIOR EXECUTIVE EMPLOYEE.—The term 20 ‘‘senior executive employee’’ means a chief executive 21 officer, chief operating officer, or chief financial offi- 22 cer. 23 (6) TOTAL COMPENSATION LEVEL.—The term 24 ‘‘total compensation level’’ means salary, bonuses, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H553.IH H553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 553 IH awards of stock, and other financial benefits of an 1 employee, excluding overtime and premium pay, as 2 of April 1, 2020. 3 SEC. 3. PAYROLL SUPPORT EXTENSION PROGRAM. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation, 5 in coordination with other appropriate Federal depart- 6 ments or agencies, shall establish a payroll support exten- 7 sion program to enter into agreements with aviation em- 8 ployers to provide a 50 percent share for the compensa- 9 tion, benefits, and training of at-risk employee groups fi- 10 nancially impacted by the COVID–19 public health emer- 11 gency. 12 (b) PROCEDURES.—Not later than 10 days after the 13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall estab- 14 lish, and make available to the public, procedures for ap- 15 plication and minimum eligibility requirements for partici- 16 pation in the program established under subsection (a). 17 (c) COMPENSATION CONTRIBUTIONS.—Under the 18 program established under this section, the Secretary may 19 enter into agreements to provide a 50 percent contribution 20 to ensure the total compensation level of the at-risk em- 21 ployee group of an aviation employer for any period begin- 22 ning on or after April 1, 2020, and ending not later than 23 April 30, 2023. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H553.IH H553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 553 IH (d) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may enter into an 1 agreement with an aviation employer under this section 2 if the Secretary determines that— 3 (1) the aviation employer has experienced at 4 least a 15 percent decline in revenues between Octo- 5 ber 1, 2019, and October 1, 2020; 6 (2) the aviation employer has an identifiable at- 7 risk employee group; 8 (3) the aviation employer agrees to provide the 9 non-Federal share of the agreement under this sec- 10 tion; 11 (4) the aviation employer provides a written 12 justification for the need for assistance, including 13 the size of the at-risk employee group and a descrip- 14 tion of the economic conditions of the company that 15 make Federal assistance necessary under this sec- 16 tion; and 17 (5) receipt of assistance under this section will 18 reduce the likelihood of a permanent reduction in 19 force or furlough, or facilitate the retention or recall, 20 of the at-risk employee group of the aviation em- 21 ployer. 22 (e) REQUIREMENTS.—An agreement entered into 23 under this section shall require that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H553.IH H553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 553 IH (1) the aviation employer may not carry out 1 any permanent reduction in force or furlough of em- 2 ployees in the at-risk employee group for the dura- 3 tion of the agreement, subject to the aviation em- 4 ployer’s right to discipline or terminate an employee 5 in accordance with policies of the aviation employer; 6 (2) assistance provided under this section may 7 not be used for stock buybacks or to pay out divi- 8 dends; 9 (3) assistance provided under this section shall 10 be used solely for the purpose of providing com- 11 pensation, benefits, and training of the at-risk em- 12 ployee group; 13 (4) the aviation employer may not— 14 (A) circumvent or abrogate a collective 15 bargaining agreement, including any training 16 provided for in such agreement; or 17 (B) move jobs assisted by this program out 18 of the United States; 19 (5) the aviation employer may only provide 20 compensation, benefits, and training to United 21 States-based employees; and 22 (6) restore the rights and protections for re- 23 turning employees as if such employees had not been 24 involuntarily furloughed. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H553.IH H553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 553 IH (f) DURATION OF AGREEMENT.—An agreement en- 1 tered into under this section shall be for a period not to 2 exceed 6 months, and may be renewed for a period of 2 3 years, at the discretion of the Secretary, so long as the 4 Secretary recertifies such agreement every 6 months. 5 (g) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of assist- 6 ance provided to an aviation employer under an agreement 7 entered into pursuant to this section shall not exceed 50 8 percent. 9 (h) MULTIPLE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may 10 enter into multiple agreements with an aviation employer 11 under this section, except that the total assistance shall 12 not exceed beyond the applicable at-risk employee group. 13 (i) COORDINATION WITH EMPLOYEE RETENTION 14 CREDIT.—The Secretary shall not enter into any agree- 15 ment under this section with an employer who was allowed 16 a credit under section 2301 of the CARES Act for any 17 calendar quarter ending before such agreement is entered 18 into and such section 2301 shall not apply to any employer 19 who enters into any agreement under this section. 20 (j) REPORT.—An aviation employer entering into an 21 agreement under this section shall submit to Congress, 22 after submission to the Secretary for review, on the imple- 23 mentation and allocation of funds provided pursuant to 24 this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H553.IH H553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 553 IH (k) TAX TREATMENT.—For purposes of the Internal 1 Revenue Code of 1986, any public partner contribution 2 provided by the Secretary under this section which is re- 3 ceived by any employee shall be included in the gross in- 4 come of such employee and no deduction shall be allowed 5 under such Code to the employer with respect to any such 6 contribution. 7 (l) TERMINATION.— 8 (1) SUNSET.—The authority established by this 9 Act shall end on April 30, 2023. 10 (2) AGREEMENT DURATION.—No agreement 11 may be entered into under this section that provides 12 for assistance after April 30, 2023. 13 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 14 authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000,000 to carry 15 out this Act. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H553.IH H553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS