Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 120.djvu/2917

 120 STAT. 2886

PUBLIC LAW 109–420—DEC. 20, 2006

Public Law 109–420 109th Congress An Act Dec. 20, 2006 [H.R. 758]

To establish an interagency aerospace revitalization task force to develop a national strategy for aerospace workforce recruitment, training, and cultivation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following: (1) The aerospace industry generates nearly 15 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States, supports approximately 11,000,000 jobs in the United States, and leads the United States economy in net exports. (2) The aerospace industry contributes directly to the economic and national security of the United States through military, space, air transport, and information technology applications. (3) A skilled and educated workforce represents the most valuable asset of the United States economy. (4) In 2004, total employment in the aerospace industry fell to its lowest point in 50 years. (5) 27 percent of the aerospace manufacturing workforce will become eligible for retirement by 2008. (6) Students in the United States rank near the bottom of the leading industrialized countries of the world in mathematics and science test performance. (7) To ensure the stability of high-skilled jobs and the global competitiveness of the domestic aerospace industry, the United States requires coordinated Federal Government policies to sustain and expand the science, mathematics, engineering, and manufacturing workforce. SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY AEROSPACE REVITALIZATION TASK FORCE.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a task force to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Aerospace Revitalization Task Force’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). (b) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall develop a strategy for the Federal Government for aerospace workforce development, including strategies for— (1) maximizing cooperation among departments and agencies of the Federal Government and the use of resources of the Federal Government in fulfilling demand for a skilled workforce across all vocational classifications; (2) developing integrated Federal Government policies to promote and monitor public and private sector programs for

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