The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee notified aviation groups that House leadership has delayed floor consideration for the FAA Reauthorization Bill until September. As a result, the aviation groups feel the bill may not be released until closer to the floor time. The bill was expected to be presented by Committee chairman, Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), in July. If the deferment stays, Congress would have little time to pass a bill before the FAA’s current authorization expires on September 30.
While the bill has not been fully detailed publicly, in mid-July Shuster did outline some points of a proposed bill that included the creation of a privatized ATC system that would be funded through aviation user fees. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen noted that both of these standpoints run contrary to longstanding positions held by the business aviation community.
“The potentially dire consequences from such actions cannot be overstated,” Bolen wrote in his personal appeal to NBAA Members. “Without Congress to ensure that our nation’s air traffic system safeguards the aviation needs of the entire public – including the people and companies that rely on general aviation in small and mid-size towns – such sweeping authority would instead be granted to a group of self-interested parties.”
In March of this year, Bolen submitted written testimony to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation outlining nine “guiding principles” NBAA and its Members consider fundamental for ensuring that proposals offered in conjunction with FAA reauthorization support business aviation, which helps generate over a million American jobs and more than $200 billion in economic activity each year.
“The U.S. today has the best air transportation system in the world, but in order for us to be able to make that statement a decade from now, changes will be necessary,” Bolen’s testimony stated. “How we accomplish those changes is at the heart of the reauthorization debate. NBAA and its Members are committed to the changes needed to make NextGen a reality, but we will not support changes that fail to preserve business aviation’s access to airspace and airports in a safe, predictable and affordable manner. The debate over how to get from where we are to where we want to go is one NBAA believes should be undertaken in the context of data, facts and guiding principles.”
Bolen outlined those guiding principles as follows:
Make NextGen a reality. The business aviation community supports a continuing transition to a Next Generation, or “NextGen,” aviation system, but recognizes that the transition will continue to be met with significant challenges, and for America to retain its world-leadership position in aviation, change will be necessary. “Make no mistake about it: no one is content with the clarity, pace or cost of the transition to NextGen to date,” Bolen’s testimony noted. “We need to do better.”
Keep congressional control over taxes, fees and charges. In the FAA reauthorization debate, proposals are being offered that would put authority over the aviation system in the hands of structures consisting of non-elected officials. While a dialogue about finding a new governance structure is appropriate, the composition and scope of its authority remains a critical consideration. Congress must retain authority over taxes, fees and charges.
No user fees. All of general aviation, including business aviation, pays for its use of the aviation system through a fuel tax, which is the most efficient, effective payment system. Congress has repeatedly written to current and former White House Administrations in opposition to per-flight user fees, and should continue to oppose them.
Ensure predictable, affordable access to airspace and airports. The inherent value of business aviation is the ability of companies to fly where they need to, when they need to. Business aviation must have continued access to the nation’s airports and airspace.
Protect the privacy of those in flight. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, a cornerstone of the FAA’s satellite-based NextGen system, does not currently include needed protections for operators’ privacy and security. Congress has agreed with NBAA that people should not have to surrender their privacy and security just because they travel on a general aviation aircraft. In past FAA reauthorization measures, Congress has included language requiring the FAA to provide an “opt-out” for those who do not want their aviation movements broadcast in real time, and lawmakers need to address this issue in the pending 2015 FAA reauthorization bill.
Protect the nation’s airport system. In some parts of the country, attempts are being made to close important airports. NBAA supports giving the Secretary of Transportation sufficient discretion to allow an airport to remain open for the purposes of protecting or advancing the civil aviation interests of the United States, if standard conditions become unenforceable.
Improve the certification and approval process. The approval process for new aviation technologies and other products can be cumbersome, unnecessarily taking up time and resources. The FAA should constantly look for ways to keep or improve safety, while adopting more efficient, effective business-like processes.
Ensure the safe introduction and integration of new aviation technologies. NBAA urges Congress to work closely with the Department of Transportation,
FAA and the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry to integrate UAS into the national airspace system in a thoughtful, deliberative process focused on safety and security.
Ensure continuity of government aviation services. Aviation aircraft and parts cannot be produced, financed, bought or sold without the written approval of the federal government. NBAA urges lawmakers to include language in FAA reauthorization legislation to ensure that the important aviation safety and security functions of the FAA Registry Office are protected from future government shutdowns.
After Committee chairman Shuster’s comments revealing some of the details of the proposed Reauthorization Bill, NBAA called upon its more than 10,000 Member Companies to make their voices heard in strong opposition to any legislative proposal that would strip congressional oversight of the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) network in favor of a private entity funded through user fees.
Similar to past instances when legislative proposals represented potential threats to the freedom and mobility provided through business aviation, NBAA issued this latest call to action to inform NBAA Members about the implications of Shuster’s remarks.
Bolen’s message also advised how members of the business aviation community may encourage their elected representatives to oppose any legislation that would enact user fees, and take away the focus on the public interest that comes with congressional oversight of the nation’s aviation system.
NBAA’s Contact Congress online resource provides a quick, convenient means for people in NBAA’s Membership to inform their elected officials that they oppose ATC privatization and user fees. “Members of Congress are most attentive to their constituents, who live and work in the states and districts they are charged with representing,” Bolen noted in his call to action.
NBAA has also established a way for the business aviation community to use social media to make its concerns understood. NBAA Members with Twitter accounts can alert their lawmakers to the concern over that social media venue using NBAA’s Twitter advocacy tool.
“Our industry cannot be silent or complacent against these threats,” Bolen added. “We must once again make our united voice of opposition heard on this issue.”
For more information and guidance on how you can contact Congress regarding the FAA Reauthorization Bill, go to www.nbaa.org/advocacy/contact/.
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