Promoting Kansas Worldwide

This week I have the honor to promote Kansas’ growing economy and our role in the global aerospace market at the Farnborough Air Show in England. For the third year in a row, Kansas has set a record in our exports totaling more than $10 billion. One of our largest exporters is the aircraft and aerospace industry. More than 50 percent of the airplanes flown in the world are made right here in Kansas, and we are working to make sure that we remain a leader in this field. With our Economic Revitalization and Reinvestment Act, we’ve continued to grow and support the aerospace industry and I look forward to promoting Kansas’ strength in the global marketplace. And, with the positive news that the United States Air Force is reopening their bid for the tanker contract, Boeing will finally have a fair and equal opportunity to keep those jobs in America – and in Kansas. Last month, we saw new jobs created, tens of thousands more open across the state and our unemployment level remaining well below the national average. All of these things have kept our economy out of the recession which so many states are facing. Recently, CNBC named Kansas the 11th business friendliest state in the nation citing our low cost of doing business, availability of good schools and prepared workforce. Although state revenues have begun to slow, so long as we continue to create jobs and invest in our communities, our state will continue to keep moving forward.