Letter From Aerospace and Technology Company Leaders to Congressional Leaders Regarding NASA’s FY 2009 Budget

May 14, 2008

The Honorable David Obey
Chairman, Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
H-218 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

As leaders of our nation’s largest aerospace and technology companies, we employ hundreds of thousands of Americans and know first hand the formidable challenges in today’s global marketplace. We write to thank you for your past support of NASA and to urge you to enact a top-line increase for NASA’s FY 2009 budget. Without this increase, our nation faces the very real risk of losing our uniquely critical industrial base and human space access capability.

NASA plays a crucial role in advancing our nation’s innovation agenda. NASA programs promote our scientific, economic and educational interests, and contribute to our national and homeland security requirements. In the past few years, we have witnessed the rise of strong national space programs in China, India, and Japan, and a resurgence in Russia. We face major challenges to our space leadership and our national security.

In 2010, as the Shuttle is retired and we make the transition to the next generation of human spaceflight systems, the United States will become temporarily reliant on foreign human space transportation capabilities, if domestic commercial orbital space transportation does not emerge. In order to minimize this potential gap of independent American access to space, it is critical that we maintain funding and program stability for Orion and Ares I, sufficient to ensure a rapid and safe transition for American human space exploration. Future U.S. leadership in space is at stake.

This nation has an obligation to future generations of young Americans who, we hope, will focus their studies on science, math and engineering. Creating good, high-paying jobs in the aerospace and technology sectors will ensure that America maintains the technical human capital necessary for our country to retain its global economic strength well into the 21st century.

We are deeply concerned that there is a growing disparity between the programs that NASA has been asked to accomplish and the resources the agency has been provided.

The FY 2009 budget request is not adequate to accomplish all of NASA’s important missions. Therefore, we respectfully request that Congress appropriate $20B for NASA in FY2009, a $2.4B increase above the request, to minimize our nation’s gap in human spaceflight capability, ensure U.S. leadership in space, and contribute to our national and homeland security and international competitiveness.

Sincerely,

J. Scott Neish
President
Aerojet-General Corporation

Daniel J. Murphy
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
ATK

Paul Graziani
President and Chief Executive Officer
Analytical Graphics Inc.

David L. Taylor
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.

Sandy Johnson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Barrios Technology

Jim Albaugh
President and Chief Executive Officer
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems

Diana T. MacArthur
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
Dynamac Corporation

Howard Lance
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Harris Corporation

Robert J. Gillette
President and Chief Executive Officer
Honeywell Aerospace

Steven R. Loranger
Chief Executive Officer
ITT Corporation

Craig Martin
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jacobs Technology

Robert J. Stevens
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Lockheed Martin Corporation

Ronald D. Sugar
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Northrop Grumman Corporation

David W. Thompson
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Orbital Sciences Corporation

Peter Altabef
President and Chief Executive Officer
Perot Systems Corporation

William H. Swanson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Raytheon Company

Ken Dahlberg
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
SAIC

Harold S. Stinger
President and Chief Executive Officer
SGT,INC

Elon R. Musk
Chief Executive Officer
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Om P. Bahethi, Ph.D.
President
Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI)

Robert Mehrabian
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated

Michael C. Gass
President and Chief Executive Officer
United Launch Alliance

Richard O. Covey
President and Chief Executive Officer
United Space Alliance

Louis R. Chênevert
President and Chief Executive Officer
United Technologies Corporation

George Melton
President and Chief Executive Officer
Wyle Laboratories, Inc.

Identical CEO letters delivered on May 14, 2008 to the following:

Senate:

The Honorable Harry Reid
Office of the Senate Majority Leader
S-221 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20510-7020

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Office of the Senate Minority Leader
S-230 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20510-7010

The Honorable Robert Byrd
Chairman, Committee on Appropriations
S-131 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Chairman, Subcommittee on Commerce
Justice, Science and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
SD-144 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Thad Cochran
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
SD-131 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Richard Shelby
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice
and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
SH-144 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Daniel Inouye
Chairman, Committee on Commerce
Science and Transportation
SD-508 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510-6125

The Honorable Ted Stevens
Vice Chairman, Committee on Commerce
Science and Transportation
SD-508 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510-6125

The Honorable Bill Nelson
Chairman, Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics And Related Sciences
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
427 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0904

The Honorable David Vitter
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics and Related Sciences
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
United States Senate
SD-560 Senate Dirksen Building
Washington, DC 20510-4304

House:

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
H-232 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515-6501

The Honorable Steny Hoyer
Office of the House Majority Leader
H-107 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515-6501

The Honorable John Boehner
Office of the House Minority Leader
H-204 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable David Obey
Chairman, Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
H-218 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Alan Mollohan
Chairman, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice Science and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
H-309 The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorabel Jerry Lewis
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
H-218 Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Rodney Frelinghuysen
Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on Commerce
Science and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Bart Gordon
Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology
U.S. House of Representatives
2320 Rayburn Office Building
Washington DC 20515

The Honorable Ralph Hall
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Science and Technology
U.S. House of Representatives
2320 Rayburn Office Building
Washington DC 20515

The Honorable Mark Udall
Chairman, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Committee on Science and Technology
U.S. House of Representatives
B-374 Rayburn Office Building
Washington DC 20515-6308

The Honorable Tom Feeney
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Committee on Science and Technology
U.S. House of Representatives
2320 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515-6308