Space Coast Task Force Delivers Economic Strategies Report To
The White House
The President's Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and
Economic Development, co-chaired by NASA Administrator Charles F.
Bolden, Jr. and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, released its
report Tuesday to President Barack Obama with recommendations to
enhance economic development strategies along Florida's Space
Coast.
The task force was charged with developing a plan for how best
to invest $40 million in transition assistance from the federal
government in the Space Coast region as the space shuttle program
winds down.
Bolden, Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood, and several other senior administration
officials visited the region several times since the creation of
the task force to meet with area workers and experts. "Over the
past few months, we have worked diligently with local government
officials, economic development agencies and affected corporations
and employees to develop a comprehensive plan that will create
high-skill, high-wage jobs and a strong economic base in the Space
Coast," Locke said. "Space is a key driver of the 21st century
American economy, and that's why the president believes so strongly
in empowering NASA to pursue new avenues of discovery."
After review of the Space Coast's economic assets, employment
needs, and development priorities, as well as suggestions submitted
through a public website, the task force developed four key
recommendations for the President:
- To sustain regional investments already underway including
retraining resources for displaced workers, the Space Shuttle
Transition Liaison Office, and Recovery Act funding for the region,
and other government programs.
- To spur immediate opportunity by launching a new Commercial
Spaceflight Technical Center, Investing $600,000 of the Department
of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) and Small
Business Administration FY 2010 budget to support small businesses
and industry clusters, and holding a federal government job fair
for the highly skilled displaced workers, facilitating a technology
export exposition hosted by the Department of Commerce to increase
access to international markets for small- and medium-sized
businesses.
- 3. To invest in smart economic growth initiatives through a new
competitive fund by establishing a fast-track competitive grant
process through the EDA.
- To build lasting infrastructure for success by engaging a
public-private partnership between the federal government, venture
capitalists, and corporations to catalyze new, long-term business
creation along the Space Coast.
The majority of the $40 million investment will be dedicated to
a fast-track competitive grant process through Commerce's EDA.
Thirty-five million dollars in grants will be awarded to the most
promising job creation and economic development programs, with
competition announced Sept. 1. The additional $5 million will fund
a new Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center to support commercial
space launch and reentry activities.
"For decades, the dedicated members of the Space Coast workforce
have used their wide-ranging talents to safely create, launch, and
maintain some of the world's most complex aerospace and technical
systems," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "As we transition
to a new era in our national space policy, President Obama has made
it a top priority to foster innovation and create job opportunities
for those who helped make America the leader in international space
exploration. The investments we're making with these Task Force
recommendations are investments in our nation's most important
asset ... our skilled workforce."
In addition to funding set aside in President Obama's 2011
budget for the Space Coast, another $60 million was set aside for
other areas across the country that will be impacted by changes to
the nation's space policy, including $45 million for economic
development through EDA and another $15 million for job training
activities through the Department of Labor. Earlier this year,
President Obama announced a new, ambitious space initiative that
includes a budget increase of $6 billion over five years to support
a bold new path of innovation and discovery that will create
thousands of jobs at Kennedy Space Center, on the Space Coast, and
nationwide.
Cape Canaveral
And in May, he established the Task Force on Space Industry
Workforce and Economic Development to lead the initiative to
coordinate and implement a plan to grow the region's economy and
prepare its workers for the opportunities of tomorrow as the
shuttle program comes to a close. The $40 million, multi-agency
initiative builds on and complements ongoing local and federal
economic and workforce development efforts.