San Antonio area leaders said they received assurances Tuesday that
aerospace work by private contractors at Port San Antonio was not under
threat by Tinker Air Force Base.

Pentagon: Aerospace jobs to stay
By Gary Martin
San Antonio Express-News
3/23/2010

WASHINGTON — San Antonio area leaders said they received assurances Tuesday
that aerospace work by private contractors at Port San Antonio was not
under threat by an Oklahoma facility.

City and business leaders also were told that the construction of a
National Security Agency data center is ahead of schedule and under budget,
giving hope that its future expansion in the Alamo City would be seen
favorably.

Richard Perez, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce president, said
he was optimistic even as NSA officials remained guarded about any future
expansion plans.

“If there is anywhere they are going to expand, it is San Antonio, because
it is going so well,” he said.

The San Antonio chamber and its sister organization, the San Antonio
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, were in Washington for their 32nd annual trip
to lobby for federal funds for pet projects.

More than 145 people — a record number — participated in this year's
pilgrimage.

Mayor Julián Castro and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff accompanied
business leaders on a four-day swing through the corridors of the Capitol,
Pentagon and federal agencies.

San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley and Tommy Adkisson, a Bexar County
commissioner, also helped spearhead lobbying efforts for a variety of
aerospace, biomedical, education and military programs.

Port San Antonio officials have voiced concern that it could lose some of
its $4 billion-a-year aerospace industry activity if the government moves
more work from private contractors to public maintenance depots like those
at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma.

Tinker received federal funds last year to build an engine facility that
could compete with private contractors in San Antonio.

But Pentagon officials assured San Antonio officials that the new facility
in Oklahoma won't threaten private workloads in the Alamo City, said Wayne
Alexander, Port San Antonio chairman.

“My paranoia level has dropped — a little,” Alexander said.

Meanwhile, San Antonio leaders pressed the Air Force to make its cyber
command headquarters fully operational as fast as possible and argued for
an expansion on top of that: a $37 million cyberconsortium that would link
military, education and private businesses, including classes on
cybersecurity at St. Mary's University and the University of Texas at San
Antonio.

“We fought hard to get the cyber command in San Antonio. There has been a
ripple effect. It's going to continue to grow,” said Bill Mock, executive
vice president for the Greater San Antonio Chamber.

City leaders also spoke with officials about the new ambulatory hospital
being built at Lackland AFB. President Barack Obama included $289 million
for its construction in his proposed budget for fiscal year 2011, which
begins Oct. 1.

Participants in the lobbying trip also heard about ongoing efforts to
present American culture and character at the upcoming Shanghai World Expo
2010 by Jose Villarreal, a San Antonio lawyer tapped by Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton to raise funds for the U.S. Pavilion.

The pavilion will include a display by San Antonio, “an unmatched
opportunity to get on the map in China,” said Villarreal, the U.S.
commissioner general for the expo. “The opportunity for San Antonio is
immense.”

About a dozen San Antonio participants lobbied lawmakers on education
issues, including reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, which includes
changes to strengthen accountability.