Town Hall Meeting Update

Congressman Posey’s Statement on Today’s Space Workforce Town Hall Meeting in Orlando
“Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) released the following statement in regards to this morning’s town hall meeting conducted by Commerce Secretary Locke, NASA Administrator Bolden and Democrat Members of Congress on the future of the space workforce. Administration officials removed Space Coast Congressman Rep. Posey from the invitation list. “I’m disappointed that the Administration chose to inject partisanship into what really should be a serious and non-partisan effort to help address the needs of Florida’s aerospace workforce.”
Transcript: Space Industry Task Force Update
Commerce Secretary Locke: “I know that for many people here in Central Florida, that promising future might seem very, very distant right now. The region has endured some of the worst of the economic crisis that has afflicted the entire nation has to offer. A lot of homes have been lost. Businesses have closed their doors. The unemployment rate has been running at some 2 percentage points higher than the national average, and, of course, the region is now facing the impending retirement of the Space Shuttle program, which will cause even further job losses and hardship. The Space Shuttle retirement, of course, was announced many, many years ago, even before President Obama even announced his candidacy for the United States Presidency, but that doesn’t make it any easier on the NASA workers and their families or the businesses that depend on those NASA families for work. Before I leave here today, I hope all of you will walk away with one unambiguous message. We are committed to this region, and the measures that President Obama took to restore our national economy are beginning to work, and we’re developing a very ambitious and targeted plan to revitalize the Space Coast region.”