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Economy Adv Exts - Aerospace key to hegemony
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- Economy Exts - Next Gen modernizes aviation infrastructure
Economy Adv Exts - Aerospace key to hegemonyAerospace industry key to hegemony and global leadershipKinne 11 (Christopher, USAF Lieutenant Colonel, “Preserving the Industrial Base: Is the United States Air Force Responsible?” 2011, AD: 07/10/12, http://www.aflma.hq.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-101122-031.pdf | Kushal) Early in his first term, President George W. Bush established a bipartisan presidential commission to examine the future of the US aerospace industry.9 To ensure a broad, bipartisan effort, the President only appointed 6 of the 12-member commission. The other six were appointed by the leadership of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. The commission was chartered on July 19, 2001, to “study the issues associated withthe future of the United States aerospace industry in the global economy, particularly in relationship to United States national security. [They were also chartered to] assess the future importance of the domestic aerospace industry for the economic and national security of the United States (emphasis added).” The commission was asked to study a broad spectrum of topics. The budget process of the US government. The acquisition process of the government¶ • The financing and payment of government contracts¶ • International trade and the export of technology¶ • Taxation¶ • The national space launch infrastructure¶ • Science and engineering education11¶ The commission had a great deal to say about these topics.¶ After months of meetings and discussions covering the broad¶ spectrum of topics, the commission published its final 300-plus¶ page report in November 2002. The commission report begin with a positive statement about the US aerospace industry and claims in its opening sentences that “the role of aerospace in establishing America’s global leadership was incontrovertibly proved in the last century…[and] aerospace will be at the core of America’s leadership and strength in the twenty-first century.”12¶ However, the report also includes nine recommendations that¶ address many concerns of the aerospace industry and the panel¶ members themselves. The commission identified several trends¶ it believed must be corrected to both preserve the US aerospace¶ industry and to improve US national security. Most importantly,¶ the commission observed: “The contributions of aerospace to our global leadership have been so successful that it is assumed US preeminence in aerospace remains assured. Yet the evidence would indicate this to be far from the case.”13 In highlighting its concern about the future preeminence of the US aerospace industry, the commission observed: “The US aerospace industry has consolidated to a handful of players— what was once more than 70 suppliers in 1980 is down to 5 prime¶ contractors today. Only one US commercial prime aircraft¶ manufacturer remains. Not all of these surviving companies are¶ in strong business health.”14 The commission also noted: “New¶ entrants to the industry have dropped precipitously to historical¶ lows…[and] the industry is confronted with a graying workforce¶ in science, engineering, and manufacturing…[and] the US K-12¶ education system [is failing] to properly equip US students with¶ the math, science, and technological skills needed to advance¶ the US aerospace industry.”15¶ Addressing part of the national security issue, the commission¶ noted:¶ Other countries [specifically in Europe and Asia] that aspire for a¶ great global role are directing intense attention and resources to foster¶ an indigenous aerospace industry. This is in contrast to the attitude¶ present here in the United States. We stand dangerously close to squandering the advantage bequeathed to us by prior generations¶ of aerospace leaders…. A healthy aerospace industry is a national imperative. The administration and the Congress must heed our¶ warning call and act promptly to implement the recommendations¶ in this report (emphasis added).16 Economy Exts - Next Gen modernizes aviation infrastructureNextGen revolutionizes air traffic control infrastructure - would stimulate economic recoveryMcGee 11 (Bill McGee, a contributing editor to Consumer Reports and the former editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, is an FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher who worked in airline operations and management for several years, “”Five ways to improve air travel (that government won't act on)”, 10/26/11, AD: 07/14/12, http://travel.usatoday.com/experts/mcgee/story/2011-10-26/Five-ways-to-improve-air-travel-that-government-wont-act-on/50925900/1 | Kushal) Regardless of which airline you choose, you're likely to be confronted by a flight delay or cancellation that saps your time, money and patience. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 20% of domestic flights were delayed in 2010, and each month thousands of regularly scheduled flights are either canceled or chronically delayed 70% of the time or more.¶ Now consider that the United States, for all its power and wealth, is dependent upon an outdated air traffic control network that relies on radar rather than satellite-based technology. And further consider that the solution has been a political football, and the punting has continued for years now, ever since a new methodology was proposed in 2003.¶ Benefits abound ¶ It's called the Next Generation Air Transportation System - better known as NextGen -- and by employing satellite and data technologies it's designed to reduce flight delays 35% by 2018. The Federal Aviation Administration site provides more background information—in both text and video formats—than most air travelers would ever need.¶ For consumers, the simple fact is the FAA promises that modernizing the nation's antiquated air traffic control system would bring immediate and lasting advantages. Here are the top five benefits for air travelers:¶ 1. A more efficient airline network with fewer flight delays, both in the air and on the ground¶ 2. Fewer flight cancellations, providing passengers with savings in both money and time¶ 3. Less time en route from Point A to Point B, aided by more direct flight paths, thus reversing the "padded flight times" trend I wrote about here in 2009¶ 4. An enhanced level of safety "to better predict risks and then identify and resolve hazards"¶ 5. Fuel savings and a reduction in aviation's carbon footprint, not just by lowering fuel emissions but also by curbing noise¶ What's more, these efficiencies and economic benefits would also flow to airlines, corporate customers and communities as well, thereby strengthening the nation's economy.¶ So the only pressing question concerning NextGen would seem to be: What's holding it up? The answer, of course, is funding, and neither the U.S. Government nor the airline industry has quite resolved this issue. In the meantime, the traveling public keeps waiting for NextGen.¶ Footing the bills ¶ Support for NextGen crosses party lines and transcends political ideologies. As far back as 1997, Vice President Al Gore was calling for air traffic control modernization that would "make the notion of 'highway lanes in the sky' as obsolete as the bonfires that used to guide early fliers." The Reason Foundation points out that "the technology the (FAA) uses to navigate $200 million jets is less advanced than the GPS technology drivers use to navigate $20,000 cars."¶ A key roadblock has been Congress. Critics on both sides of the aisle complain that the lack of long-term and sustained funding for the FAA is crippling big-picture capital improvement projects such as NextGen. Last summer, Congressional bickering prevented an extension of funding for an FAA Reauthorization bill and led to a temporary "shutdown" of non-essential FAA funding. That incident underscored that the FAA has been working without a long-term reauthorization since 2007, and has been temporarily funded more than 20 times in five years.¶ Such dysfunction only serves to keep all of us flying through a technological time warp while other nations modernize their own air traffic systems. Little wonder the National Air Traffic Controllers Association has called for "clarity and accountability" and states: "Right now, NextGen is little more than a very ambitious research and development project."¶ But the airlines bear responsibility as well. The industry's largest trade group, the Air Transport Association, has repeatedly called for more NextGen funding from Congress. Of course, the stickier issue is the investment the airlines themselves need to make by equipping their own aircraft. This dance between government and industry has been playing out for years now; in 2010, for example, US Airways CEO Doug Parker was quoted in news reports as saying, "Our position is so long as we have to pay for [new equipment], we prefer not to have it."¶ Yet in February, the U.S. Department of Transportation found $4.2 million to help JetBlue equip 35 of its aircraft with NextGen capabilities. JetBlue CEO David Barger happens to be the Chair of the NextGen Advisory Committee, serving alongside FAA representatives. But clearly not all domestic airlines will see Uncle Sam pick up the tab for their NextGen equipage investments.¶ Of course, there is strong support from the DOT itself. Last year when I served on the DOT's Future of Aviation Advisory Committee, NextGen was the only issue addressed by all five subcommittees—Competition, Environment, Financing, Labor and Safety. In fact, among our final 23 recommendations, five were devoted to NextGen, asserting that NextGen will provide tangible benefits to travelers.¶ MCGEE: What I learned serving on the government's Future of Aviation panel¶ However, earlier this month, the Government Accountability Office told Congress that the FAA needed to improve its efforts to manage and govern NextGen, and to ensure the environmental benefits are certain. So challenges remain.¶ What about passengers? ¶ For years now it has struck me how little interest NextGen has developed with consumer media and the public. I suspect it is because NextGen is a rather monolithic beast, involving thousands of upgrades to equipment on the ground, on board airplanes and even in space. It's long and tedious work, not conducive to ribbon-cutting or champagne-popping. Unlike President Kennedy's clarion call for a moon landing, the goals of NextGen are diffuse and varied, and spread out over time and distance.¶ But the irony is that improving America's air traffic control system will provide direct benefits for so many of those who have never even heard of NextGen. For now, airline passengers will continue to wait. And much of that waiting will take place onboard commercial flights. 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