Bill to Back Plane Project to Be Offered

Seeking to keep the $750-billion Joint Strike Fighter project in California, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) said he would introduce legislation to force the Defense Department to study the cost of assembling the fighter in Palmdale.

Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co. have design teams in Palmdale now competing for the project, but have said they would build the fighter in Texas and Missouri, respectively, if they get the contract.

The project is expected to generate about 10,000 manufacturing jobs. Several times that number could ultimately be created by subcontractors.

McKeon said building the fighter locally would save $2.2 billion in federal funds for reasons including the proximity to test facilities at Edwards Air Force Base and a well-trained local work force.

“This was the aerospace state,” McKeon said. “We are still in the top rung in this country--and that means the world.”

McKeon said his bill would be co-sponsored by Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove). McKeon and Sanchez are leading the California delegation on the Joint Strike Fighter issue.

While McKeon’s district would enjoy the most direct benefits, work would be scattered throughout the region to various subcontractors.

McKeon announced his plans at a summit called by Gov. Gray Davis to boost the fortunes of the state’s flagging aerospace industry.

At the summit, Davis challenged the 300 public and private officials at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport to attract additional investment in California aerospace, become more competitive, increase regulatory flexibility and continue to build the industry through research and development.

“This industry has been uniquely identified with [the] growth of California,” Davis said. “We can fight for every project. We can fight for every job.”

To build for the future, Davis stressed the need to improve the state’s role in educating “home-grown talent” in science and math to supply the labor force for the next generation of aerospace engineers.

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Toward that end, Davis cited his ongoing efforts to improve state schools and plans to expand the state’s “Summer Academy for Reading” program to include a math and science curriculum.

McKeon said it was important that the governor weigh in on the issue to show “top down” support for aerospace given the loss of 192,000 state jobs during the 1990s.

Industry officials, including Michael S. Kelly, chairman of Kelly Space & Technology Inc. in San Bernardino, agreed.

“Gov. Davis appears to appreciate the importance of the aerospace industry as opposed to the previous administration,” said Kelly, whose company has been awarded a $2.1-million contract to study the development of space transportation through the year 2030. “It’s the fact that he’s here and set this up.”

Richard D. Stephens, a Boeing executive, also said government needs to improve its relationships with business leaders.