FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â NEWS
November 30, 2016
Statement by AIA President and CEO David F. Melcher supporting the letter Secretary of Defense Carter sent to Congress Nov. 29 urging full-year appropriations
Arlington, Va. — The Aerospace Industries Association strongly supports Secretary of Defense Carter’s recent letter urging Congress to provide full-year appropriations for Fiscal Year 2017. Continuing resolutions, by their very nature, delay and defer critical spending choices, prevent the start of new contracts and undermine industry’s ability to plan and invest to properly support our warfighters in harm’s way.
As Secretary Carter states in his November 29 letter, DOD requires 57 new starts and 86 production increases in FY17 alone. The CR prevents that spending for its entire duration, directly harming industry’s ability to move forward with the hiring and investment decisions required to support those programs. Delays into March, April or even May would cause intense disruptions to production, delay critical spending and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Further, delays of half, or even two-thirds of the fiscal year would leave Congress with very little time to complete the FY18 appropriations process next year – further compounding delays and program uncertainty.
AIA sent a letter signed by more than 70 top industry representatives to Congress outlining the same concerns on November 22, and organized a similar letter from a coalition of 14 defense-related associations on November 1. It is imperative that Congress fulfill its Constitutional mandate and provide for the common defense with a full appropriation for FY17 as soon as possible.Â
CONTACT:Â Â Â Dan Stohr
(703) 358-1078 office
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