“While many events in the world are uncertain and unforeseeable, funding our government is completely within our Congress’ control.”
Arlington, Va. (Dec. 13, 2022) – The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) today is urging Congress to reach an agreement with the Administration and pass a full-year whole of government funding bill before the end of 2022. In a letter to congressional leadership, AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning outlines the damage another short-term continuing resolution (CR) will have on America’s military, national security, and global competitiveness.
“When our current CR expires on December 16, 2022, our government’s critical functions will have been in a fiscal “holding pattern” for the first 10 weeks of fiscal year 2023,” Fanning writes. “As Secretary of the Army, I experienced firsthand how CRs strain the way a department operates. They force organizations to avoid needed new projects and cause agencies to reserve resources or spread them across multiple scenarios instead of focusing on a single optimal plan.”
“Our military and other vital agencies have already waited 10 weeks to execute new programs and make critically needed new purchases — almost all for activities already approved by the House or Senate thus far in the FY23 appropriations process. Congress must not delay any longer,” Fanning continues.
Full text of the letter is available here and below.
December 13, 2022
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer, Republican Leader McConnell, and Republican Leader McCarthy:
When our current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on December 16, 2022, our government’s critical functions will have been in a fiscal “holding pattern” for the first 10 weeks of fiscal year 2023 (FY23). We all know that CRs are often used as a short-term solution to shutdowns, but they create their own, significant problems, especially for our military. As Secretary of Defense Austin recently wrote, the current CR has disrupted the lives of military families and undermined the ability to recruit personnel in an already challenging environment. It has also delayed much needed investment in our industrial base and denied military advancement in critical areas like space and naval ship construction. Moreover, stopgap funding measures like the current CR imperil the defense industry’s ability to deliver to the customer, which in turn, compromises the capabilities and services delivered to the warfighter.
Our national security is an enduring responsibility that requires stable and predictable investment. This is even more important in this new era of strategic competition. Secretary Austin said it exactly right: “We can’t outcompete China with our hands tied behind our back three, four, five or six months of every fiscal year.”[1]
The harmful impacts of CRs go beyond the military; they impede the scientific innovation and economic progress that keeps us competitive in the global market, as well as slowing down updates to key safety programs. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), for example, cannot fully implement congressional directives in aviation safety without additional and reliable resources. A longer-term CR would hinder the FAA’s ability to license commercial space launches. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will not be able to continue the pace of development necessary for Artemis missions — affecting next-generation space suits, human landing systems, and the second mobile launcher. It will also impact commercial low Earth orbit destinations, increasing the risk of a gap in the over 20 years of continuous U.S. human presence in low Earth orbit. Furthermore, the Department of Commerce Office of Space Commerce would be dramatically impacted, stopping development of necessary components of a civil space situational awareness capability. The highly innovative and globally competitive U. S. aerospace industry depends on these and other agencies to help bring our products to world markets in a timely manner.
As Secretary of the Army, I experienced firsthand how CRs strain the way a department operates. They force organizations to avoid needed new projects and cause agencies to reserve resources or spread them across multiple scenarios instead of focusing on a single optimal plan. This means funds are wasted, important programs are delayed, and our troops and civilian workforce and their families suffer.
It is imperative that Congress and the President reach an agreement on topline spending levels and finalize a full-year, whole-of-government funding bill before the end of 2022. While many events in the world are uncertain and unforeseeable, funding our government is completely within Congress’ control. Our military and other vital agencies have already waited 10 weeks to execute new programs and make critically needed new purchases — almost all for activities already approved by the House or Senate thus far in the FY23 appropriations process. Congress must not delay any longer. China doesn’t shut down its government or disrupt its programs throughout the fiscal year. To stay competitive, neither should we.
Sincerely,
Eric Fanning
President & CEO
Aerospace Industries Association
[1] Letter to Congressional leaders by U. S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, November 28, 2022.
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