US defense industry in late surge to stop spending cuts
week, the Aerospace Industries Association, the industry's chief trade group, hosted a conference call with 200 executives from about 150 defense companies to map out plans for a final stand against the cuts, spokesman Chip Sheller said.
The group has been warning against sequestration for months but now is using direct marketing on Facebook and LinkedIn.
It is urging individuals who may be hurt by job losses to write protest letters, and BAE's push is part of this plan.
"These latest gloom and doom messages from the Hill about sequestration are fueling our efforts to turn up the volume," Sheller said. He said the industry had generated 17,000 new letters to Congress and the White House since Monday.
AIA President Marion Blakey and a handful of top industry executives have also been meeting members of Congress, including the leaders of defense committees, to underscore the potential impact cuts would have on jobs.
Blakey pointed out this week that the 0.1 percent contraction of the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter was partly caused by government spending that has already been reduced, primarily in the defense sector. A fresh wave of cuts would "overwhelm our floundering economic boat," she said in a statement.
'BEST WE CAN HOPE FOR'
Defense lobbyists who have been sounding the alarm about sequestration say they fear they may not succeed. Some saw as particularly unsettling comments by Republican Representative Paul Ryan this week that he thought the automatic spending cuts "will probably happen".
"How can you maintain a firm line when the Republicans have
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