NASA Budget Falls Short of Stated Goals

The following is a statement by AIA President & CEO Marion C. Blakey:

We are disappointed with the proposed fiscal year 2012 budget for NASA of $18.7 billion, which represents a cut of $750 million from the authorized level and a major drop of more than $6.2 billion from the fiscal year 2011 request over the next four years.

In his State of the Union address, the president challenged this nation to embrace our “Sputnik” moment and win the future. Yet the administration’s request for NASA fails to recognize the return on investment – both now and in the future – that our nation’s space program provides as we strive to innovate, educate and build an America of which we can be proud.

AIA understands the current difficult fiscal environment facing the entire U.S. government. However, the aerospace and defense industry is a true economic engine, employing more than 800,000 people across the country, supporting over two million middle class jobs and 30,000 suppliers from all 50 states. It is important that near-term cuts aren’t made to programs that affect our long-standing tradition of leading in space and impair our investment in the future.
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Founded in 1919 shortly after the birth of flight, the Aerospace Industries Association is the most authoritative and influential trade association representing the nation’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military and business aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aircraft systems, space systems, aircraft engines, homeland and cybersecurity systems, materiel and related components, equipment services and information technology.