The release of the Defense Department assessment of the implications of normalizing export controls on satellites and related components gives decision makers in Congress crucial information on how reform can strengthen both our national security and space industrial base.

The report, required under section 1248 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, has long been sought by the Aerospace Industries Association and its member companies because satellites are the only widely available commercial technology singled out for restrictive export controls under current law.

AIA's recent report, Competing for Space: Satellite Export Policy and U.S. National Security, outlines the devastating impact these draconian controls have had on the U.S. space industrial base.

We estimate that U.S. manufacturers lost $21 billion in satellite revenue from 1999 to 2009, costing about 9,000 direct jobs annually.

At a time when the budget request for national security space is already slated for a 22 percent reduction, Congress needs to act to ensure the U.S. space industrial base remains viable and stays second to none.

These companies, many of them small and medium sized enterprises, can only sustain our technological edge if they are no longer over-regulated out of legitimate commercial markets.

AIA urges Congress to move quickly on the recommendations to strengthen the U.S. space industrial base.

Competing for Space: Satellite Export Policy and U.S. National Security