Page 38 - Volume 16 Number 4

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NBAA Applauds Efforts Combating Latest User Fee Proposal
Latest $100 Per-Flight Turbine Fee Soundly Rejected by Industry
The ever present threat of user fees looms over general aviation as a recurring and ominous issue. On February 13, as part of his fiscal 2013 federal budget proposal, President Barack Obama proposed - for the third time since his election - a $100 per-flight fee for general aviation pilots operating turbine- powered aircraft. As in times past, the business aviation community immediately mobilized to fight against the latest proposal.
Within days of the President’s announcement, Representative Mike Pompeo (R-4-KS) spoke out against the per-flight user fee before his fellow House members and a nationwide audience on C-SPAN. Pompeo used his time to explain the harm those fees would do to the entire industry, including business aviation. “The general aviation industry is an industry this president has been assaulting ever since he took office,” said Pompeo. “It has become a bit of a political punching bag for our president.”
Pompeo also cited several examples of the potential threat such fees would pose to aviation businesses, noting that the business aviation industry supports 1.2 million jobs, contributes about $150 billion annually to the U.S. economy, and remains “a manufacturing jewel in this country.”
That was only the beginning of the House response. Officials on the House Aviation Subcommittee joined with leaders of the General Aviation Caucus to send a strongly- worded letter to President Obama in opposition to the $100 per-flight user fee. A total of 195 House Representatives signed the March 1 letter circulated by Reps. Jerry Costello (D-12-IL) and Tom Petri (R-6-WI), along
with Reps. Sam Graves (R-6-MO) and John Barrow (D-12-GA). They expressed strong Congressional opposition to the latest aviation user fee proposal, and reminded the President that “Congress has repeatedly and overwhelmingly rejected” past efforts to make the issue stick.
Lawmakers on the other side of Capitol Hill have weighed in to support the industry as well. For example, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), a long- standing general aviation champion, recently took to the Senate floor to underscore the importance of GA to citizens, companies and communities. “This industry [general aviation] contributes over $150 billion to the national economy each year, and has created over 1.3 million jobs,” he said. “If anyone wants to talk about job creation, this is the outfit that does it – across a broad range of disciplines. And it allows companies the ability to access all facilities all across the globe.”
As of this writing, a letter opposing user fees is also circulating among members of the Senate General Aviation Caucus, co-chaired by Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) and Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE).
NBAA Rallies Members to Join User Fee Fight
The National Business Aviation Association strongly supported these latest efforts to reject user fees. NBAA has encouraged its Members and other concerned citizens to use the association’s Contact Congress initiative, a web-based form allowing Members to share their concerns with their representatives in Washington, D.C. Twin & Turbine readers can access the Contact Congress resource at www.nbaa.org/advocacy/contact/.
36 TWIN & TURBINE APRIL 2012