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Speaker-elect Kirk Cox and Delegate Richard Anderson team up to implement VASEM Study recommendations 

Speaker-elect Kirk Cox and Delegate Richard Anderson held a press conference on September 18th to announce the General Assembly’s response to the VASEM study: Aerospace in Virginia, An Opportunity for Economic Growth.  As the Chairman of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, Delegate Anderson suggested that VASEM recommendations to grow the aerospace industry in Virginia should be considered in the economic development strategy going forward. ​

“We needed to go to the subject matter experts (VASEM). That’s what we did.” – Delegate Anderson

Here are the key findings:

(1) Pursue initiatives to grow Virginia’s commercial space enterprise and operation of unmanned aerial systems as key economic development initiatives

(2) Create a high-level aerospace economic development position in Virginia state government

(3) Attract new aerospace investments to Virginia

(4) Market current aerospace assets in Virginia’s government, commercial, and academic sectors

(5) Coordinate elements in Virginia’s aviation and space sectors to grow and diversify the economy

(6) Search for new opportunities in the financially-constrained federal sector for investment in the Commonwealth

 

“The challenge for the members of the legislative body is to have a conversation about what is doable, what is affordable, and how to move forward with some sort of roadmap. Particularly once we get past the November elections and have the players in place for the next number of years, we can then go through the collaborative process that we will need to do.” – Delegate Anderson

Listen to the Virginia Politics on Demand Podcast discussing the study here.

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Andrew Densmore is the Executive Director of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

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