NC Gov. Bev Perdue Wants no Budget Cuts

The Governor met with aerospace and defense industry leaders to discuss the upcoming sequestration crisis at a roundtable briefing at LORD Corporation headquarters.
 
Sequestration includes $500 billion in cuts to military and defense priorities, plus an additional $500 billion in cuts to NASA, FAA and other domestic priorities. Economists predict these cuts will eliminate 2.14 million U.S. jobs in 2013, including 29,329 in North Carolina and shrink America’s 2013 GDP by $215 billion.
 
“Military installations and defense-related businesses are thriving in North Carolina - together they have an impact of more than $23 billion on the state’s economy,” Gov. Perdue says. “We need to protect this vital area of the state’s economy, so Congressional leaders should work together to avoid the impact of sequestration by crafting a comprehensive, balanced debt reduction package that preserves jobs, protects schools, and addresses our long-term security and budget needs.”
 
LORD Corporation chairman, president and CEO Rick McNeel explained the danger that sequestration poses to employers in North Carolina. “Businesses need to know what they are dealing with before they can make investments and hire new workers,” he explained. “Sequestration is a giant question mark hanging over North Carolina businesses. It is hurting the economy and North Carolinians every day it remains unanswered.”

 
Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Marion C. Blakey pressed Congress to move quickly.  “Everyone in Congress says they want to grow jobs. Sequestration is the biggest threat to jobs and the economy in this country right now and repealing sequestration and developing an alternative is the single most important thing Congress can do for jobs this year.” 
 
“The cloud of uncertainty from the threat of sequestration has had a profound impact on the way our industry deploys its capital and invests in facilities, jobs and new product development,” said John Suttle, senior vice president of Communications for BAE Systems. “If we stand by and let sequestration occur, it will be harder for defense and aerospace companies to invest in new jobs like the ones created by BAE Systems here in North Carolina at the Charlotte-based resource center.”
 
Lance DeSpain, executive director of the N.C. Military Foundation observed that “defense makes up less than 20 percent of the federal budget, but it bears half the brunt of sequestration cuts. Our Military's leaders are committed to responsible cuts commensurate with drawing down from a long campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan, but this sequestration process forces cuts on our military that are too large and not tied to any real strategy, which ultimately puts our National Defense in an intolerably compromised position."
 
Ray Jones, president of the North Carolina Aerospace Alliance also addressed the event. “It is not just military aviation that is at risk,” he warned. “Cuts to the FAA will put our civilian aerospace economy at risk, including the Next Generation air traffic upgrade that will finally take our airports into the digital age and save billions along the way. Sequestration means a 30% to 50% whack to NextGen, costing billions more in the long run than we could ever save up front.”