|
|
|
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
WHEREAS, Over the past eight years, the State of Texas and the |
|
City of San Antonio have partnered in the redevelopment of Kelly Air |
|
Force Base into the Port of San Antonio to create a world-class |
|
aerospace center in support of the United States Air Force; and |
|
WHEREAS, Several top-level defense prime contractors have |
|
made significant private investments in leased facilities at the |
|
Port of San Antonio to provide world-class aircraft maintenance, |
|
repair, and overhaul services for the United States Air Force, |
|
employing approximately 3,300 people; and |
|
WHEREAS, The maintenance, repair, and overhaul defense |
|
contractors have invested heavily in the development of the San |
|
Antonio workforce by providing training in state-of-the-art |
|
technical operations, productivity improvement, worker safety, and |
|
employee involvement to develop a highly skilled workforce that has |
|
demonstrated outstanding performance for military customers; and |
|
WHEREAS, The defense contractors and employees located at the |
|
Port of San Antonio contribute to United States defense |
|
preparedness by providing critical aircraft systems maintenance, |
|
repair, overhaul, and support services to optimize United States |
|
Air Force fleet utilization; and |
|
WHEREAS, The world-class performance of the defense industry |
|
and its highly trained workforce provides best-value results |
|
measured in terms of lowest cost, highest quality, and on-time |
|
delivery to military customers and serves the best interest of the |
|
military forces serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other |
|
high-priority regions of the world; and |
|
WHEREAS, Maintaining defense industry maintenance, repair, |
|
and overhaul operations at the Port of San Antonio, in association |
|
with government-owned military depots performing maintenance, |
|
repair, and overhaul operations throughout the United States, is |
|
critical to national security requirements to preserve national |
|
strategic capability by maintaining a high state of readiness |
|
during this time of high-threat conflict; and |
|
WHEREAS, The United States Code, 10 U.S.C. Section 2466, |
|
requires that not more than 50 percent of designated core depot work |
|
be performed by private industry; however, the General Accounting |
|
Office has cited some inconsistencies with regard to the reporting |
|
of industry and depot maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations, |
|
which may not properly reflect work performed by depots through |
|
"public/private partnerships," so that inaccurate data is being |
|
reported to the United States Air Force with regard to the |
|
percentage of work being performed by private industry; and |
|
WHEREAS, As the United States Air Force continues to consider |
|
moving work from the Port of San Antonio to out-of-state Air Force |
|
depots, due consideration should be given to maintaining our war |
|
fighting capability as well as to all reasonable business costs |
|
such as capital funding for construction and other costs, research |
|
and development, procurement, benefits and future pension |
|
expenses, and other costs; such factors may not be accurately |
|
reflected in the data that the Air Force uses in making decisions to |
|
move maintenance, repair, and overhaul work; and |
|
WHEREAS, The significant investments made by industry, the |
|
Port of San Antonio, and the State of Texas to support the national |
|
maintenance, repair, and overhaul defense industrial base and |
|
workforce should be considered before the United States Air Force |
|
invests in duplicate capabilities; and |
|
WHEREAS, The maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations at |
|
the Port of San Antonio, which maintain a highly skilled workforce, |
|
are essential to the national interest; they require an adequate |
|
level of business in order to be in a position to support our armed |
|
forces, and this national asset will be lost to our nation forever |
|
if allowed to be degraded due to inadequate attention and |
|
utilization; and |
|
WHEREAS, The maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations |
|
and workforce competency and ability are driven by a spirit to |
|
compete for work that provides best value to our military |
|
customers; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
hereby congratulate maintenance, repair, and overhaul defense |
|
industry employees located at the Port of San Antonio and the State |
|
of Texas on their commitment to support our armed forces and the |
|
taxpayers; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That the United States Air Force should consider |
|
the impact on our armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere |
|
and on American taxpayers as it determines its national public and |
|
private industrial base policy with regard to relocating work from |
|
the Port of San Antonio to military depots; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That the United States Air Force should take into |
|
account all due business considerations such as workforce |
|
performance, capital and construction costs, benefits and future |
|
pension costs, and the existing national industrial base including |
|
the private sector as it considers work transfer; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
prepared for the Secretary of the United States Air Force as an |
|
expression of the high regard of the legislature for the defense |
|
contractors and their employees located at the Port of San Antonio. |
|
|
|
Congratulating defense industry employees at the Port of San |
|
Antonio on their support of our armed forces and the taxpayers and |
|
requesting the United States Air Force to consider the economic |
|
effects of transferring work from the port. |