Regulations and Government
Aerospace Leaders Warn Against Impact of U.S. Budget Cuts
The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) hosts a Christmas-season luncheon each year at which it reports on the state of the industry and forecasts futur

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) hosts a Christmas-season luncheon each year at which it reports on the state of the industry and forecasts future performance. This year, AIA feels pressed to state its case by November 23, the date a 12-member “super committee” of the U.S. Congress is due to recommend ways to curb government spending by $1.5 trillion. AIA brought members of its governing board to Washington, D.C., last week to argue that further defense budget cuts and reductions to civil aviation and manned spaceflight programs will threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs and undermine the leadership position of the US aerospace industry.

According to the association, aerospace directly employs 800,000 highly skilled people, supports two million more related jobs and consistently produces America’s largest manufacturing trade surplus. The industry posted $214.5 billion in sales in 2010 and has continued expanding through the recession.