Scott Murray, mechanical lead technician at Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Boulder, rotates one of the optical mirrors for the new James Webb Space Telescope. Ball executive Fred Doyle says, "If we had clarity on sequestration, we would be hiring more people to meet the demands of our customers." (Denver Post file)

The budget agreement passed by the U.S. Congress and supported by President Barack Obama to avert the "fiscal cliff" provides tax-rate clarity for individual Americans, yet failed to find a solution to the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration leaving Colorado's large aerospace industry in limbo.

Congress pushed back the deadline to March 1 from the Jan. 1 deadline set in place by the Budget Control Act of 2011. This is neither good news nor bad for an industry facing huge cuts should Congress default on a decision.

"The plan did add some certainty to citizens, but nothing to industry," said Fred Doyle, vice president and group leader of defense and intelligence at Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Boulder. "If we had clarity on sequestration, we would be hiring more people to meet the demands of our customers."

Aerospace leaders applauded Washington's agreement for coming to some semblance of a tax compromise and for temporarily preventing the sequester from occurring. However, they are now pleading for a comprehensive solution that allows certainty for their industry as well.

"Until sequestration is permanently eliminated, there will be an overhang on our industry that stifles investment in plant, equipment, people, and future research and development essential to the future health of our industry," said Lockheed Martin in a statement to The Denver Post.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta released a statement regarding the sequestration delay on Wednesday. He began by thanking Congress and the Obama administration for stalling the cuts, but then turned around to warn those same leaders that they "cannot continue to just kick the can down the road."

"Congress has prevented the worst possible outcome by delaying sequestration for two months," Panetta said in a news release. "Unfortunately, the cloud of sequestration remains."

That cloud includes hiring freezes or slowdowns, budget-planning uncertainty and stalled growth.

"As nimble as companies like to be, it is still difficult for them to plan in a federal environment that is not taking a long-term view," said Patty Silverstein, an economist at Colorado-based Development Research Partners.

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Sequestration deal delayed, leaving Colorado aerospace industry up in air