Ohio’s Brook Park Following a push earlier this year to recruit NASA’s headquarters and the additional employment that would accompany it, business leaders in northeast Ohio are now attempting to do all in their power to keep the positions that NASA Glenn now has.
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts could result in the loss of up to 1,200 jobs at NASA Glenn and among local contractors, according to leaders of the regional chamber of commerce and the region’s leading organization for economic development. They encouraged federal officials to reevaluate their plans.
In the joint release, Baiju Shah, president and CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership, stated that the choices made in Washington over the coming weeks will determine whether America continues to lead in the areas of air, space, energy, and communications or voluntarily cedes it to others.
We must not jeopardize our future. Let’s give NASA all the money it needs to maintain and grow NASA Glenn.
Trump’s planned cuts to NASA would total $6.3 billion, or roughly 24% of the agency’s budget. According to local officials, NASA Glenn would be disproportionately affected by these changes, potentially losing 40% of its employment.
In an interview, Shah stated that the predictions of possible employment losses in the area were based on those being made by different groups that keep a careful eye on agency expenditure. Location-specific details have not yet been made public.
J.P. Nauseef, the president and CEO of JobsOhio, and Matt Dolan, the CEO of TeamNEO, joined Shah in the plea.
Less than three months have passed since Shah and Dolan joined Gov. Mike DeWine, Sen. Jon Husted, and Rep. Max Miller in Cleveland to fight for the expansion of NASA Glenn by luring the potential relocation of the agency’s headquarters from Washington, D.C.
We felt it was important to voice our concerns, even if the executive budget is only the beginning of a budget, Shah added. Hearings before (Congress) will begin shortly and continue for several months.
As members of the small Republican majority in the House and Senate, Miller and Husted have the potential to be influential figures who Trump would probably need to win over for his budget proposals. Both of them voted in favor of the latest bill that increased spending on defense and border security while reducing taxes, Medicaid, and food stamps. The bill passed without any Democratic votes.
Their offices have been contacted by Cleveland.com for comment.
According to Shah, the possibility of funding cuts for the nearby NASA facility calls for Ohio’s bipartisan congressional delegation, state representatives, and local leaders to take decisive action in order to preserve and expand the center rather than destroy it.
Last month, about 80 demonstrators showed up in downtown Cleveland to express their disapproval of the proposed changes.
According to business executives, the economy would suffer if NASA Glenn were shut down.
According to Dolan, reducing NASA Glenn’s capability has an effect on our business community, STEM professions and talent pipelines, our competitiveness, and the nation’s economic leadership and security. In addition to continuing our efforts to bring more of NASA here, we must support NASA Glenn and NASA.
NASA was founded in Cleveland in 1941 as a division of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NASA’s forerunner. In 2001, Brook Park purchased the property from Cleveland, which was trying to find land for a potential airport expansion. Additionally, NASA Glenn has a test site in Sandusky.
If NASA decides to relocate, Ohio has competition. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has expressed his desire to see it in his state, and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has urged relocation to the Kennedy Space Center.
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