Arlington, Va. – In case you missed it, AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning joined NewsNation’s Alicia Nieves on The Hill with Blake Burman to discuss reports of munitions shortages amid the conflict in Iran, Deputy Secretary Feinberg’s memo to industry urging a ramp-up in weapons production, and budget uncertainty on Capitol Hill.
Fanning underscored the importance of fully funding the government and not relying on continuing resolutions to build capacity and expand production, calling it the most “critical element” of being able to deliver for the warfighter.
“The most critical element of that is the U.S. defense budget. And we’re about to have our 15th year out of 16 where we start a fiscal year without a defense budget.”
Fanning also emphasized that industry is continuing to invest, despite headwinds on Capitol Hill, which is resulting in quicker deliveries.
“Industry is investing. Capital expenditure investments have gone up year over year in a pretty remarkable way, and timelines are shortening.”
Finally, Fanning called on the need for both new and legacy systems to help the United States maintain our asymmetric advantage over our adversaries.
“The answer is almost always both. We need the legacy systems. They’re proven. They do a good job, but we always need to be investing in what’s next.”
You can watch the full interview here.
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