On Dec. 11, the U.S. Department of Transportation published a notice of its establishment of an Aerospace Supply Chain Resiliency Task Force. ARSA Executive Director Sarah MacLeod was selected as one of 16 primary members with demonstrated “expertise in logistics, economics, supply chain management, or another field or discipline related to the resilience of industrial supply chains.” Christian Klein, ARSA executive vice president, will serve as alternate.

The task force’s creation was mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. That law, passed in December 2022, directed the executive branch to establish the group in order to: “Identify and assess risks to the United States aerospace supply chains, including the availability of raw materials and critical manufactured goods, with respect to major end items produced by the aerospace industry.”

DOT specifically requested ARSA join the body, the association’s understanding of how the aviation safety rules interrelate – what it calls the “regulatory chain” or “circle of safety” – lends naturally to the needs of such a multi-disciplinary body.

The task force must submit its report to Congress within one year of its first meeting. DOT has established a website for the public to utilize in tracking the task force’s work. To see this resource, visit www.transportation.gov/ascr.

To read the Federal Register notice announcing the task force’s establishment, click here.

The maintenance community should stay tuned to ARSA communications for updates.

In addition to ARSA, the following organizations – most of which are regular allies of the association in its advocacy – are represented on the task force:

Aerospace Industries Association (AIA)
Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA)
Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA)
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)
Airlines for America (A4A)
Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF)
Flight Safety Foundation (FSF)
General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)
Helicopter Association International (HAI)
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)/Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA)
National Air Transportation Association (NATA)
National Business Aviation Association (NBAA)
Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS)
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)

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