"Buy America" campaign part of Bill

[canyonblue]

Reuters
US House approves $58.9 billion aviation bill
Wednesday June 11, 6:17 pm ET


WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - The House of Representatives approved a $58.9 billion bill on Wednesday that would continue funding air traffic control operations and other federal aviation programs for the next four years.

The bipartisan initiative is $2 billion more than requested by the Bush administration and more than $15 billion above a three-year proposal making its way through the Senate.

The FAA reauthorization legislation was the first of three major transportation bills now before Congress to clear a full chamber. House lawmakers approved it 418-8 after debate that was limited mainly to technical issues.

The aviation proposal is the least contentious of the three bills with lawmakers bracing for tougher fights over long-term funding for highways and Amtrak, the national passenger railroad.

The aviation bill passed by the House would continue air traffic control operations run by the FAA as well as other agency programs through 2007.

It would also:

- Streamline the federal review process for new runways and other initiatives to increase airport capacity.

- Reimburse airlines and airports for certain security enhancements required by Congress in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijack attacks on New York and Washington.

- Increase the number of flights at Washington's Reagan National Airport where access is controlled by the government.

- Require the Transportation Department to include complaints about passenger and baggage screening in the consumer report it publishes monthly.

-Make airlines display information for passengers on where aircraft are manufactured. This is part of a "buy America" campaign pushed by lawmakers concerned with the success of overseas aircraft manufacturers, like Europe's Airbus , with U.S. carriers.

A procedural vote ahead of House consideration of the FAA bill was delayed after several lawmakers got stuck in a Capitol Hill elevator for nearly an hour.

 

[N1atEcon]

Amen to that! I think the flying public needs to know whether Jacque from France or Bill from Seattle built it.

 

[CoopDog]

Don't forget Bubba from Jacksonville

....a Skynyrd walk'n, Skynyrd talk'n, true southern American.

FREE BIRD!!!!!




Embraer Selects Jacksonville, Florida, for U.S. Defense and Homeland Security Aircraft Production
Monday June 2, 6:25 pm ET
Embraer Picks Cecil Commerce Center


SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Embraer (NYSE: ERJ - News), one of the world's largest aircraft manufacturers, today announced that it intends to open an aircraft production facility in Jacksonville, Florida, for the U.S. defense and homeland security markets.

This production facility, to be located at Cecil Commerce Center, will fully qualify the company as a compliant U.S. government supplier for defense and homeland security programs.

"We believe this initiative, aimed at the U.S. defense and homeland security markets, will lead to a multi-year expansion of Embraer capabilities in the United States on defense related operations," said Mauricio Botelho, Embraer President and Chief Executive Officer. "Embraer first established its U.S. presence in 1979 with a sales and product support facility in Fort Lauderdale. In the past years, besides the significant expansion of that facility, we added an engineering office in Palm Beach Gardens, and a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Nashville, Tennessee.

"Embraer has been actively pursuing U.S. defense and homeland security market opportunities that have requirements for advanced, reliable and affordable Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems such as those on our current products ordered by Brazil, Mexico and Greece," Botelho said.

"We are very pleased that Embraer has selected Jacksonville as a strategic location from which to successfully compete in the U.S. defense market," said Florida Governor Jeb Bush. "Florida is host to many of the world's top aerospace and defense companies, and of our ability to play a vital role in maintaining the security of our nation is a source of great pride for us."

Embraer selected Jacksonville from a short list of attractive cities because it best satisfied the company's checklist of requirements primarily focused on facilities and logistics, but also included factors such as skilled labor and cost of living.

"We are very excited about Embraer's announcement," said Jerry Mallot, Executive Vice President of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce. "The selection of Jacksonville for its production facility is testament to the quality of Cecil Commerce Center as a major aviation location."

The Cecil Commerce Center is the former Cecil Field Naval Air Station, an active military base until its closure in 1999. The 17,200-acre site, which includes four aircraft runways, is now being redeveloped for civilian use. The company will release details on the scope and timing of the project at a later date.

The U.S. market is the largest for Embraer, accounting for some 67 percent of its sales for commercial and business aircraft. Of 1,519 aircraft delivered worldwide, more than 780 aircraft have been delivered in the U.S. since the company was founded in 1969. These deliveries not only make Embraer one of Brazil's leading exporters, but a leading importer of components as well, with the major portion of this trade coming from U.S. suppliers.