Concerted community effort convinces Congress to award valuable federal funds
Dennis Eckart, president and CEO of the
Greater Cleveland Growth Association, announced today that Congress has
allocated nearly $70 million in federal funds for the NASA Glenn Research
Center — $18 million more than the proposed cut.
The approval came from a
House and Senate conference committee working on a consensus appropriations
bill.
Solid support from Ohio Congressional leaders and a community-wide call
to action led by the Greater Cleveland Growth Association were vital to this
outcome.
Key participants in the effort include the Cleveland AFL-CIO,
Cleveland Tomorrow and the Ohio Aerospace Council (OAC).
“This clearly demonstrates the power of our collective voice — NASA Glenn
is critically important to the region’s economy and its work is of the utmost
importance to our nation,” said Eckart.
“We owe a particular debt of
gratitude to Senator Mike DeWine, Congressman David Hobson and Congresswoman
Marcy Kaptur who carried the torch for Northeast Ohio and NASA Glenn.
They
heard our case, understood the imperative need and used their positions of
influence to achieve this result.”
The initial threat of a $52 million cut to the NASA Glenn budget
galvanized the community-wide lobbying effort.
NASA Glenn is vital to Ohio’s
economy with a total economic impact of $1 billion and more than 12,000 jobs
statewide, with 9,300 of those jobs in Northeast Ohio.
“Today’s announcement represents a significant investment in our region,
yet it is only a first step in securing NASA Glenn’s future,” said OAC
Chairman John Lewis. “We must work to ensure that the Glenn Research Center
remains on the cutting edge of economic development so it can continue to spin
off new technologies and businesses that positively impact employment
opportunities and help to continue the growth of Northeast Ohio.”
“While today’s announcement is excellent news, it is vital that we all
support the ongoing mission of the NASA Glenn Center over the long haul, and
not just during a particular crisis,” said Eckart. “The Center is Northeast
Ohio’s most important piece of research and technology development as we re-
invent our region’s economy.”
The nearly $70 million in funding goes to the following programs at NASA
Glenn:
* International Space Station Utilization – Microgravity & Fluid
Combustion $55,000,000* Ultra-Efficient Engine Technology – $10,000,000
* Glennan Microsystems Initiative – $1,425,000
* Polymer Energy Rechargeable System – $2,850,000
Eckart underscored the pioneering research that NASA Glenn has completed,
leading to advances in medicine, transportation and pollution reduction.
“Working together with our Congressional representatives, we can leverage
the Center’s history of innovation into an even larger and more pivotal role
within the space agency and our country’s economic development,” added Eckart.
The Greater Cleveland Growth Association is the nation’s largest
metropolitan chamber of commerce with more than 16,500 members.
Its mission
is to serve as a catalyst for economic growth and jobs creation in Northeast
Ohio.
The Growth Association is committed to enhancing Greater Cleveland’s
competitive advantage through leadership, collaboration and innovation.
( www.clevelandgrowth.com )
