Arlington, Va. – Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President and CEO Eric Fanning sent a letter this week to congressional leaders urging them to finalize 12 individual appropriations bills ahead of the March 14, 2025, funding deadline.
In the letter, Fanning calls for both the Senate and the House to find a path forward, warning that failing to do so would allow defense spending to fall behind the pace of inflation.
“Extending the current CR to a full year would finalize a defense budget only 1% above current levels – at a time when the world is growing more dangerous amid strategic challenges from China and other potential adversaries,” Fanning said. “This is not adequate to maintain current services nor to ensure that the American military remains the most lethal force in the world, and it sends the wrong message to our warfighters and to American businesses we hope to attract to the defense industrial base.”
He goes on to remind congressional leaders of bipartisan initiatives for commercial aviation that would modernize mission-critical systems.
“For agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration, a full-year CR at current levels would deny funding increases to hire additional air traffic controllers and aviation safety personnel and to modernize our aging air traffic control system – two much needed, long-overdue initiatives that already have bipartisan support in the House and Senate.”
He ends by encouraging them to use their “power of the purse” to tailor government funding through detailed analysis of initiatives through the appropriations process.
AIA has long called for stable, on-time appropriations, including in a document outlining the harm continuing resolution pose to American industry and overall readiness.
You can read the full letter here or find it below.
Dear Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Thune, Democratic Leader Schumer, and Democratic Leader Jeffries:
As you make decisions to complete the appropriations process for fiscal year 2025, the aerospace and defense industry strongly urges you to finalize 12 individual appropriations bills before the March 14, 2025, deadline, and not depend on a further continuing resolution (CR). Companies like the Aerospace Industries Association’s (AIA) members that do business with the government rely on timely government funding. This is the second consecutive year where the government has operated on autopilot for half the year – extending outdated funding levels and leaving innovative new programs on the table for months. Next year’s budget request will be before the Congress in only a few weeks. It is time to finish the FY25 appropriations process in a responsible manner and move forward.
Extending the current CR to a full year would finalize a defense budget only 1% above current levels — at a time when the world is growing more dangerous amid strategic challenges from China and other potential adversaries. This is not adequate to maintain current services nor to ensure that the American military remains the most lethal force in the world, and it sends the wrong message to our warfighters and to American businesses we hope to attract to the defense industrial base. For agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration, a full-year CR at current levels would deny funding increases to hire additional air traffic controllers and aviation safety personnel and to modernize our aging air traffic control system — two much needed, long-overdue initiatives that already have bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
These are just two examples illuminating the importance of individual appropriations bills over a full-year CR. Stop-and-start government funding harms our warfighters, aerospace innovators, and aviation safety personnel and negates Congress’ power of the purse — your ability to tailor government funding by conducting line-item reviews of government funding through the appropriations process. We understand and believe it is possible for Congress to finalize the FY25 appropriations bills before March 14, 2025, and we strongly urge you to take every effort to ensure that result.
Respectfully,
Eric Fanning
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