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Arlington, Va. (Dec. 20, 2023) – Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President and CEO Eric Fanning today released the following statement after the U.S. Congress again failed to address the harmful research and development tax amortization requirement, despite broad bipartisan support for action:

“America stays ahead of our economic and strategic competitors because we lead the world in innovation. For decades, our tax policies encouraged American businesses to invest in the research and development that kept us on the cutting edge, but that has changed — and it’s stifling innovation, hurting salaries for hard-working Americans, and harming American businesses, especially small businesses. There is broad bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate to fix the R&D tax amortization requirement — but Congress must vote on these bills to provide much-needed relief. 

“As Congress goes home for a holiday break, we hope they take time to meet with the small businesses being hurt by their inaction, and we hope they return in January with a renewed commitment to fixing this harmful policy and protecting America’s global leadership in technology and innovation.”

Two pieces of legislation have been introduced: S. 866, the American Innovation and Jobs Act, in the Senate, and H.R. 2673, the American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act, in the House. AIA’s President and CEO Eric Fanning hailed H.R. 2673 as a “lifeline to small businesses across the country” in a letter to the bill’s lead sponsors, Reps. Ron Estes (R-Kan.) and John Larson (D-Conn.), and urged swift consideration of the Senate counterpart bill, S. 866, in a letter to the bill’s lead sponsors, Sens. Maggie Hassan (R-N.H.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.). In May, 35 AIA small business members representing the supply chain implored Congress to act immediately on this legislation as well.

Learn more about the need to address the R&D tax challenge and support American innovation here.

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