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News Index
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Massachusetts Looks to Gain in Defense (Boston Globe)
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Massachusetts could get a boost if the new Congress shifts some Pentagon funding from the war in Iraq to research and development, lawmakers and industry officials said yesterday.
"We've wasted billions of dollars in Iraq," said Representative Marty Meehan, Democrat of Lowell, who is line to chair the House Armed Services subcommittee overseeing defense research. "We've had a lack of investment in research. That's one thing I hope we can turn around."
Massachusetts contractors, research-oriented military bases, and university labs draw more Pentagon research dollars per capita than their counterparts in other states. But defense appropriations fell 1.4 percent in fiscal 2007 for science and technology, and 3 percent for advanced technology development, key areas for state research. "Now we may see the emphasis back on research spending," suggested Pat Larkin , director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's John Adams Innovation Institute in Westborough, a state-chartered group focusing on the knowledge economy.
Pentagon dollars not only fund research organizations like MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, and the Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, but also defense contractors like Raytheon Co., General Dynamics Corp., and Textron Inc., which design and build advanced defense products in the state.
Defense stocks tumbled yesterday, however, with investors fearing the shift in Washington could signal spending cuts.
With the Democrats taking the majority in the House of Representatives, Meehan stands to become the chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on terrorism, unconventional threats, and capabilities, which oversees defense-related research. If the Senate turns over as well, Senator Edward M. Kennedy would be the second ranking majority member on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Both moves would increase the clout of the Massachusetts delegation, suggested Alan Macdonald , executive director of the Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative, a Waltham group representing state defense contractors and research sites.
"Looking at the dynamic right now, with technology becoming the key strategy in our war fighting capability, there's a tremendous opportunity to think about what are the technologies that need additional funding," Macdonald said.
ROBERT WEISMAN
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Hanscom Could Be Site of Cyber Command Center (3/20/08)
Bay State Officials Target Air Force Cyber R&D Dollars (1/4/08)
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Base Realignments Lead Tech Firms to Ocean State (11/20/07)
Amid Bio Push, Older Tech Firms Look for Love (11/16/07)
Collaboration is Critical to Mass. Defense Sector (9/7/07)
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