Arlington, Va. – Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President and CEO Eric Fanning today urged Congress to pass full-year appropriations legislation and avoid a long-term continuing resolution without including anomalies to protect mission-critical technology and programs.
“With the next funding deadline rapidly approaching, the Aerospace Industries Association reiterates our strong support for full-year appropriations for each of the 12 government funding bills – fully funding the Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and other critical federal functions on which the American aerospace and defense industry relies,” Fanning said. “These bipartisan priorities need and deserve funding that reflects the most current landscape, and we urge Congress to come together wherever agreement can be made.
“Given the threats we face around the world and the current progress being made in space and aviation technology, the importance of up-to-date funding cannot be understated,” Fanning continued. “Industry relies on clear demand signals set by current funding levels to plan and prioritize for their production lines, hiring, and other strategic investments needed to equip the warfighter quickly and advance American leadership in defense technology. Furthermore, full-year funding will allow critical regulatory development to continue – taking our aviation and space systems into the next generation and protecting American dominance in aerospace.
“If it is determined that a full-year continuing resolution is the only possible path forward, we encourage Congress to carefully consider any updates, or ‘anomalies,’ that need to be made to the Defense, Transportation, and NASA budgets to protect critical national security efforts, aviation modernization, and space advancement,” Fanning said. “Protecting our homeland and our skies must remain a top priority, and without a complete budget, we risk falling woefully behind our adversaries.”
AIA has routinely warned against continuing resolutions, urging Congress to “avoid succumbing to the practice of full-year CRs.”
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