Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection (AMJP) Program

 

The objectives of the AMJP program were to help businesses that are primarily engaged in aircraft manufacturing activities and services, or aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul activities and services, to retain or rehire employees. Financial assistance payments must be used to retain current employees or to recall employees who were previously laid off or furloughed. As part of the American Rescue Plan Act enacted on March 11, 2021, the AMJP program provided up to $3 billion for the aviation manufacturing and repair industry.

Active 20.114 Office of The Secretary, Department of Transportation C - Direct Payments For Specified Use Fiscal Year 2021 Completed the application and award process for Round 1 within six months of enactment, including initial disbursements. Offered $482 million in awards to 313 eligible recipients in 37 states and Puerto Rico, with more than 80% of recipients being small businesses.
Fiscal Year 2023 Administered 592 AMJP awards / agreements, which included monitoring reporting and compliance, reviewing requests for Interim and Final Payments, and closing out agreements when all required documentation was completed. This included deobligating funds in cases where the recipients did not incur sufficient allowable costs during their Period of Performance. As of July 4, 2023, DOT had closed out 547 of the original 592 awards, and deobligated $11.8 million in unused funds on 163 of those awards (roughly a 1.2% reduction from the initial obligated amount of $673 million). DOT's oversight also included issuing notices regarding apparent compliance concerns, and evaluating and adjudicating responses as appropriate. As of July 4, 2023, DOT had issued 43 such notices, and successfully resolved 21 cases (including compelling several AMJP recipients to make corrective payments to more than 1,500 employees). As of July 4, 2023, USDOT had disbursed more than $633 million (96% of obligated funds), and had only 32 open agreements remaining to administer. DOT had also established a hard set of deadlines to either close out or terminate all remaining AMJP agreements by Sep. 30, 2023. Public Law 117-2
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Public Law 117-2, enacted March 11, 2021, §§7201-7202. Business entities that (i) Actively manufactures an aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, or a component, part, or systems of an aircraft or aircraft engine under a Federal Aviation Administration production approval; or (ii) Holds a certificate issued under part 145 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, for maintenance, repair, and overhaul of aircraft, aircraft engines, components, or propellers; or (iii) operates a process certified to Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) AS9100 related to the design, development, or provision of an aviation product or service, including a part, component, or assembly. Eligible businesses that met all of the requirements were the direct beneficiaries of the program. Their employees were indirect beneficiaries. Other businesses that rely upon the aviation manufacturing and repair industry have also benefitted indirectly. This included air carriers, air cargo carriers, corporate flight departments, and individual aircraft owners and operators. Applicants were required to submit documentation that they meet the eligibility requirements, including evidence of their significant operations in the types of aviation manufacturing or repair work specified in the Federal Register announcement that DOT published in 2021; evidence of their involuntary layoffs or furloughs from 2019 to 2020 or their decline in operating revenues; and evidence substantiating the total compensation costs for their "Eligible Employee Group." Preapplication coordination is required. Applicants had to have a valid Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, and must have an ACTIVE registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://sam.gov/SAM/. For purposes of the AMJP program, it was not necessary to be registered to pursue Federal contracts (which takes longer to process). Instead, when the SAM website asks “Why are you registering this entity to do business with the U.S. government?” applicants for the AMJP only need to select the option that reads, “I only want to apply for federal assistance opportunities like grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs.” 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Link to the application portal will be posted at https://www.transportation.gov/amjp/apply The final application process closed on December 13, 2021. DOT reviewed all completed applications that DOT received prior to the submittal deadline, and validated data and documentation provided by each applicant. DOT then required each eligible recipient to enter into a legally binding funding agreement. August 4, 2021 to September 1, 2021 Submit completed application using the designated online system. Submission deadline is precisely 5:00 p.m. prevailing Eastern time. NO LATE APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines From 60 to 90 days. DOT outlined the appeal process in notifications to applicants. Not applicable. Applicants were required to meet all of the eligibility requirements and restrictions set forth in the Federal Register notice announcing the program, and in the online application instructions. This included providing all required supporting documentation prior to the submittal deadline. Funds must be used strictly to facilitate the retention, rehire, or recall of employees of the employer. Not applicable. All recipients will be subject to review, audit, and verification requirements by DOT or other oversight and audit agencies. All recipients will be required to maintain comprehensive payroll and compensation records to substantiate both their application (including data as of April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021) as well as records from the date of application through the duration of the funding agreement, and for at least three (3) years past the point at which DOT accepts the final closeout documentation. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is mandatory. Recipients were required to fund at least 50 percent of the total compensation costs for the "Eligible Employee Group." If the recipient receives other Federal funds (e.g., under CARES Act Section 3610) for those costs during the timeframe of the agreement, then the amount payable from the AMJP will be reduced accordingly.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The statute made the funds available until September 30, 2023. However, the statute also set a time limit of six months, from the effective date of the first agreement to the award date of the last agreement. Moreover, as required by the statute, If eligible requests had exceeded the available funds, then DOT would have had to reduce the funds provided, on a pro rata basis. Therefore, DOT initially set out to conduct a single, expedited application and review process, with the intent of identifying all eligible recipients. This would have enabled DOT to determine whether funds need to be pro-rated, before entering into any agreements. Because actual applications were substantially lower than the available funds, and for other reasons, DOT conducted two more rounds of applications. DOT cannot consider any further applications because the statutory deadline for any additional AMJP awards expired in March 2022. DOT made an Initial Disbursement after each agreement was awarded. DOT anticipated then provided an opportunity for Interim Payments, before making Final Payments after the recipients had provided all required documentation and certifications. None AMJP program
Office of the Under Secretary for Policy; Department of Transportation; 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20590 US
AMJP@dot.gov
Phone: (202) 366-5112
Fax: TBD

Elliott Black
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20590 USA
elliott.black1@dot.gov
Phone: 202-924-0588 https://www.transportation.gov/AMJP 69-0110-0-1-402 (Direct Payments for Specified Use) FY 22$234,652,731.00; FY 23 est $0.00; FY 24 est $0.00; FY 21$439,289,770.00; FY 20 Estimate Not Available - Program neither authorized nor funded beyond FY-2023. $2,500 to $75 million DOT published a Federal Register notice on April 14, 2021, regarding DOT's request for emergency approval of the Information Collection Request. (Vol. 86, No. 70). The OMB Control Number is 2106-0048. DOT published a second Federal Register notice when the application process began, on June 14, 2021. Fiscal Year 2022 Payroll support to a company based in Mill Creek, Washington, for $246,191. The company fulfilled all requirements under the program and received the full amount of the award. Payroll support to a company based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, for $21,259,164. The company did not incur sufficient allowable costs during the Period of Performance to receive the full amount of the award, but did receive $19,388,098 (91.2% of the award amount).