[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 6, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1248-E1249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCING AMENDMENT TO THE DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL

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                            HON. BILL POSEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 6, 2011

  Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce an amendment to the 
Defense Appropriations bill that directs the Secretary of Defense to 
utilize to the fullest extent practicable the incredible resource that 
exists at the NASA Shuttle Logistics Depot, NSLD, in Central Florida.
  The Department of Defense would be well served to make greater use of 
the facility's unique manufacturing capabilities and highly-skilled 
workforce for Department of Defense supply chain and repair needs. The 
loss of this facility and its workforce would not only be a blow to our 
nation's space program but represent a missed opportunity to serve U.S. 
national security interests.
  The unique combination of technologically-advanced equipment used in 
the 300,000 sq. ft. NSLD facility for aerospace manufacturing, repair, 
and overhaul combined with the critical workforce is extremely capable 
of providing warfighter support for our military. Although the NSLD's 
operator, the United Space Alliance, USA, has procured a recent DLA 
contract, the work is not enough to maintain the NSLD.
  This irreplaceable workforce will go elsewhere once the Shuttle 
Program comes to an end. The skills the NSLD facility and personnel 
offer are a direct match to those the DoD needs to reduce the risk of 
vanishing vendors and diminishing manufacturing sources in its supply 
chain. USA's performance-based logistics operations have maintained on-
time delivery greater than 98 percent, and a customer acceptance rate 
of 99.99 percent.
  USA has managed NASA assets of 250,000 unique part numbers valued at 
$1.5 billion per year. During the Shuttle Program, over 80 OEM hardware 
repair or manufacturing tasks--260 Orbiter Line Replaceable Units 
comprised of over 7,000 line items--were transitioned to and certified 
by USA at the NSLD. By Shuttle Program end, more than 80 percent of all 
completed Orbiter Line Replaceable Unit repairs were done at NSLD by 
USA resources.
  This Amendment is directly tied to jobs. The final flight of the 
Space Shuttle Orbiter, scheduled for Friday, sets the stage for a mass 
exodus of highly skilled labor and specialized resources from Florida's 
Space Coast. This void will further strain our economy and dilute the 
workforce and capabilities needed to sustain the technologies required 
to achieve the diversification of Florida's economy.
  Aside from being a great asset to the Department of Defense, greater 
utilization of this important asset will keep the facility functioning 
as we look to NASA's next mission. This workforce would have been 
sustained as NASA transitioned to the Constellation Program, that is 
before it was vitiated. The retirement of the Shuttle Program presents 
an excellent opportunity for the Department of Defense, the Defense 
Logistics Agency specifically, to take advantage of the highly skilled 
workforce as they process and refurbish equipment returning from 
theater in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is an opportunity which can 
preserve a national asset, preserve jobs, and assist the Department of 
Defense in cycling through the equipment returning from combat.
  And so, Mr. Speaker, I am submitting this amendment to encourage DoD 
to make better use of this rich resource so that it does not winnow 
away.
    

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