105-101 – “Restore NASA Aeronautics Funding”

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WHEREAS, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 states that NASA shall contribute materially to the improvement of the usefulness, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical vehicles;

WHEREAS, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 states that NASA shall contribute materially to the preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical science and technology;

WHEREAS, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 states that NASA shall contribute materially to preservation of the United States’ preeminent position in aeronautics through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing processes;

WHEREAS, aerospace currently provides about 9 percent of the United States’ gross national product;

WHEREAS, aerospace continues to provide the United States with the nation’s largest trade surplus, including the sum of $31 billion in the year 2004;

WHEREAS, aerospace companies in the United States continue to invest in research and development, including more than $50 billion over the past 15 years;

WHEREAS, funding for aeronautics in the budget of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has steadily declined over the past 12 fiscal years, from a peak of $1.54 billion in FY1994 to $852.3 million in the President’s budget request for FY2006;

WHEREAS, the current NASA proposal eliminates funding for research into advanced gas turbine propulsion for future vehicle systems, as well as the critical engine noise and emissions technologies necessary to ensure compliance with the more stringent environmental requirements of the future;

WHEREAS, proposed cuts to the Vehicle Systems portion of NASA’s budget will eliminate all funding available for critical rotorcraft research and development and place domestic manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage in the international marketplace;

WHEREAS, the U.S. Marine Corps selected for transport of the President a helicopter primarily manufactured by a European manufacturer;

WHEREAS, the European Union will invest more than $1 billion in aeronautics research in 2006;

WHEREAS, the countries of China, Japan, Brazil, and Russia continue to invest in aeronautics research, which will be utilized in defense and commercial aircraft that directly compete with aircraft built by the United States;

WHEREAS, the long-term aeronautics budget of NASA is projected to continue to decline from a level of $852 million in FY 2006 to a level of $717.6 million in FY2010;

WHEREAS, the projected decline in aeronautics funding will result in the closing of the majority of NASA’s aerospace testing facilities, including the nation’s primary rotary craft test facility, the nation’s only cryogenic transonic test facility, the nation’s only aero elasticity facility, the nation’s only aircraft spin facility, and nearly all of the NASA’s subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic facilities;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Aerospace States Association, hereby encourages all members of the United States Congress to restore aeronautics funding in the amount of $1.057 billion within the NASA budget for FY2006 and to increase aeronautics funding by three percent each year through FY2010 to a level of $1.19 billion.
The Honorable Mary Fallin, Lt. Gov., Oklahoma
Chair, Aerospace States Association

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