CEOs Weigh In

Eleven aerospace and defense industry associations sent a letter to Congress late last week urging lawmakers to support a fiscal year 2011 defense appropriations bill instead of another continuing resolution, and today a bunch of defense CEOs ratcheted up the pressure from industry.

Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens and 13 of his colleagues sent a letter of their own on the same subject.

"We strongly support Defense Secretary Gates' recommendation to pass a full FY2011 defense appropriations bill to avoid unnecessary risk to our national security," Stevens said in a statement. "Without appropriate full-year funding decisions on national security programs, we will face costly schedule delays and breaks in production that will increase overall program costs and interrupt the delivery of critical equipment to warfighters."

The letter, delivered to Congress today, states:

We fully understand and support the imperative of addressing the difficult fiscal challenges that face the nation. We also know that national security and aerospace programs will be considered for reductions in responding to those challenges. These are important issues that deserve a deliberative approach by the Congress.

The current CR provides funding for most aerospace and national security programs at fiscal year 2010 levels. In addition, it contains provisions limiting production rates and prohibiting new starts. While these restrictions are understandable in a short-term CR, they are very difficult to implement for national security programs that by design adapt to changing circumstances. Failure to address funding decisions for individual national security programs on a full-year basis will lead to program dislocations, funding interruptions and adverse consequences on U.S. employment not only in the current fiscal year but for many years to come.