Building Careers and Shaping Public Policy

7 September 2005

The Honorable Bill Frist
Senate Majority Leader
United States Senate
461 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Frist:

On behalf of the IEEE-USA, I am writing to urge the Senate to increase appropriations for the aeronautics and aviation research and technology development (R&D) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for fiscal year 2006. An increase in this program, both near and longer term, is vital to the welfare of the nation and the American aviation industry — a $900 billion component of America's economic engine.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would cut NASA’s Aeronautics Research and Development (R&D) FY 2006 appropriations by over $124 million from the FY 2005 levels and $14 million below the President’s Budget Request. We are deeply concerned by these drastic cuts and further reductions proposed for the rest of the decade reflected in NASA's program planning. These funding cuts continue a disturbing trend in federal aerospace R&D funding, which has decreased by over 50 percent in the past 10 years. Cuts of this magnitude are jeopardizing the nation’s leadership in aerospace and aviation and risk hindering advances in technology that could make our country stronger and more secure.

The importance of providing adequate funding for aeronautics cannot be overstated. The U.S. aviation industry is the driving force behind the creation of millions of American jobs in other fields as diverse as computers, fiber optics, manufacturing, steel, and microelectronics, and is an essential contributor to military aviation research. While the U.S. trade deficit has reached an all-time high of $665.9 billion in 2004, the U.S. aerospace industry generates a $32 billion foreign trade surplus attributable to aerospace and aeronautical exports (based on Aerospace Industries Association figures). The U.S. aviation and aerospace industry consistently makes the largest contribution of all industrial segments in the U.S to our export market. However, aerospace employment has declined from 1.1 million jobs in 1990 to 609,000 over the past 15 years. The leadership position of the U.S. aviation and aerospace industries is being continuously eroded by foreign competitors who benefit from extensive government subsidies. The challenge becomes even more pressing in view of the European Commission plan, European Aeronautics: A Vision for 2020, which outlines a roadmap for the European aerospace industry to acquire world leadership.

Investments in aerospace and aviation research and development support this country's national security, technological innovation and economic competitiveness. For these reasons, we urge the Administration and Congress to reverse the debilitating trends and re-invigorate NASA’s basic and applied research in aeronautics and aviation.

IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of the IEEE. It was created in 1973 to advance the public good and promote the careers and public policy interests of the more than 220,000 technology professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, go to www.ieeeusa.org.

Sincerely,

Gerard A. Alphonse
President, IEEE-USA