AIAA Welcomes Passage of FY2020 Appropriations Package Written 20 December 2019

CONTACT: Michele McDonald
703.264.7542  
michelem@aiaa.org

Executive Director Praises Funding Levels for Aerospace Programs and Reauthorization of the EXIM Bank, Calls on Congress to Return to Regular Order

December 20, 2019 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) applauds the passage of the $1.4 trillion appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2020. The package includes $695.6 billion for the Department of Defense, $17.6 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, $22.6 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, $5.4 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and $8.3 billion for the National Science Foundation. It also reauthorizes the U.S. Export-Import Bank for seven years.

AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement upon passage of the measure:

“Nearly three months into the current fiscal year, this important appropriations package finally gives our government departments and agencies the resources they need to execute important programs and missions. This includes funding that will help return American astronauts to the moon and beyond, grow a commercial economy in low Earth orbit, integrate UAS more effectively into the national airspace, develop new aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds, and modernize our defense capabilities, among many other critical endeavors.

Despite the challenges posed by an unstable and unpredictable fiscal environment, the aerospace and defense industry continue to provide contributions to education, our economic prosperity, our national defense and homeland security, and our quality of life. A return to a regular appropriations process – last accomplished in the late 1990s – coupled with a long-term perspective is needed immediately so that the nation can best plan for and execute initiatives critical to a secure and economically robust future.

Separately, the Institute has been actively calling on Congress to restore the U.S. Export-Import Bank to full functionality and to pass a long-term authorization. The export credit agency’s seven-year authorization included in this funding package, as well as the provision fixing the quorum issue in the absence of a sufficient number of Senate-confirmed board members, is welcome news to the aerospace industry and to all American manufacturers selling products internationally.”

About AIAA 
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 85 countries, and 95 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, or follow us on Twitter @AIAA.

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 
12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 200, Reston, VA 20191-5807  
Phone: 703.264.7558 Fax: 703.264.7551  www.aiaa.org