Aerospace Industries Association
AIA News 2006
Aeronautics Funding, Export-Import Bank Extension, Workforce Revitalization Should be Lame Duck Prio
November 13, 2006
Arlington, Va. - Congress should make increasing funding for vital aeronautics research, extending the charter for the Export-Import Bank, and re-approving the R&D tax credit its priorities for the lame duck session, AIA President and CEO John Douglass said Monday. These unfinished issues are important for aerospace as well as other industries, Douglass said, and should be addressed before the 109th Congress adjourns for the final time. "The aerospace industry counts on these measures to play our critical role in keeping the country safe and enhancing the nation's high-technology economy," Douglass said. Other important issues Congress should address are the bill (HR 758) that would create a federal task force on the revitalization of the aerospace workforce and approving the proposed U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative. Funding for aeronautics research within NASA has plummeted in recent years, from a high of $1.54 billion in fiscal 1994 to a low of $724.4 million in this year's presidential budget request. The House added $100 million to that request earlier this year, while a Senate committee added $35 million. Lawmakers will set the final figure for aeronautics research when it finalizes NASA budget during the lame duck. The Ex-Im bank helps broker foreign purchases of U.S. civil aviation products with loans in cases where private sources are not available. The House approved a five-year extension, which is awaiting Senate action. The R&D tax credit expired last year. It boosts innovation by allowing aerospace companies to embark upon high-risk research that might otherwise be impossible. AIA participates in an industry coalition seeking a permanent renewal. The House extended the credit through 2007, but the Senate has not acted. Rep. Vern Ehlers of Michigan sponsored the Aerospace Workforce Enhancement Bill, which would form an 11-agency federal task force to tackle challenges in the aerospace workforce, which is aging at a time when young people are not entering the field in sufficient numbers. The bill passed the House and awaits Senate action. The proposed Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative will strengthen political ties between the U.S. and India as well as bolster the dynamic trade relationship we are developing in civil aviation with India. The agreement will also further develop bilateral defense cooperation and integration in a region of great and growing importance to American counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation efforts. The House passed the initiative earlier this year.