As a Senator from Washington state, I have been sounding the
alarm about a declining domestic aerospace industry for years. I am committed to ensuring
the U.S. remains the world leader in the aerospace industry by maintaining
national security, improving American aerospace infrastructure and investing in
research and development.
I strongly believe that Congress must
act to renew the emphasis on our aerospace industry and ensure academia, industry, and the U.S. government is consistent with
programs and policies that will support a robust aerospace economic sector
within our economy.
Priorities
- Ensuring the American aerospace
workforce has the skills and training that are vital to the aerospace industry
by promoting education and workforce development programs that prepare
Americans for careers in the aerospace industry.
- Ensuring the U.S. aerospace industry maintains its industrial base
competitiveness with the international community.
- Investing in the necessary research, development, and
commercialization of next generation technologies and materials to support the
U.S. aerospace industry.
- Ensuring the U.S. aerospace industry is competing on a level
playing field with their foreign competitors.
- Investing in Washington state aerospace
companies to promote economic growth and job creation.
Accomplishments
- Founded the bipartisan United States
Senate Aerospace Caucus to ensure a strong, secure and competitive American
aerospace industry.
- Consistently demanded
a halt to illegal subsidies from the EU to EADS (Airbus). I pushed the Bush Administration to take on
Europe within the World Trade Organization (WTO) over illegal subsidies to
Airbus. And I will continue to work with
President Obama to ensure that the WTO ruling against Airbus on this issue is
enforced.
- Worked with the
aerospace industry to create jobs in Washington state through my work as Chair
of the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.
- Encouraged the development of programs
that train the next generation of aerospace workers, such as the Aerospace Worker Joint Apprenticeship Training
Committee.
- Supported innovative projects in the aerospace
industry including the High Energy Matter Space Propulsion Initiative at
Washington State University and the Next
Generation Solar Electric In-Space Propulsion for Satellites at Aerojet in Redmond, Washington.
- Worked
to enhance educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics.
- Supported
ongoing composite and advanced material research at the Advanced Materials in
Transport Aircraft Structure Center (AMTAS) in Seattle, WA. The work of
AMTAS will continue to provide leading research and cutting edge materials to
advance aerospace design and construction in the United States.