AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 12

AOPAACTION

COMPILED BY KATHY DONDZILA

What AOPA is doing to keep you flying

Congressmen urge no backtracking on aviation user fees
years and there is no reason to reconsider it. I will not support a budget or an FAA reauthorization bill that includes user fees.” The two lawmakers waged a similar campaign in 2009 that received strong bipartisan backing, with 118 House members—more than one-quarter of the full House—signing on to a letter urging against user fees. Petri and Costello argued then that reopening the debate on user fees for the FY 2011 budget would take Congress’s attention away from addressing the Next Generation air transportation system modernization (NextGen). No user fee proposal was included in that year’s budget. “The message from the House of Representatives to the White House is unmistakable. We appreciate the members staking out their position so unequivocally,” said AOPA President Craig Fuller. In announcing their new letter, Costello reiterated support for “maintaining the current mechanism of using fuel taxes to support the aviation trust fund.” “Once again, congressmen Petri and Costello have taken the lead against imposing user fees on general aviation,” said AOPA Vice President of Legislative Affairs Lorraine Howerton. “The last bipartisan letter spoke volumes and we applaud the congressmen for circulating a letter in the new Congress, and we will urge other members to sign the letter to the president opposing user fees.”

eps. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) and Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), senior members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who are both known for strong statements against general aviation user fees, are championing a no-new-user-fee letter to President Barack Obama, to reject any user fee

Reps. Jerry Costello (left) and Tom Petri.

proposals in his fiscal year 2012 budget. “We want to reiterate that a user-fee proposal would be a step backward,” Costello said in a recent statement. “This is an issue that we have had bipartisan agreement on in recent

Reauthorization pushed to March

NATIONAL ACTION
GA to the economy and the importance of maintaining the proven system of funding for aviation programs. The House and Senate passed reauthorization bills that would have preserved that funding system without imposing user fees, but contentious issues not related to GA kept a final bill from reaching the president’s desk. Short-term extensions allow for continued collection of taxes and authorize programs, such as the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, to continue. Longer-term FAA reauthorization sets priorities for the FAA and development of the NextGen air transportation system.

ongress passed a measure that extended FAA programs through March— the seventeenth short-term extension since the FAA reauthorization expired in 2007. “The new dynamics in Congress could produce a completely different bill, which is why it’s important to share the value of general aviation to America with new members of Congress and to recruit new members for the GA caucuses,” said AOPA Vice President of Legislative Affairs Lorraine Howerton. AOPA worked during the 111th Congress to educate lawmakers about the value of 12 • MARCH 2011

Searching for the new avgas
2010 brought ‘new urgency’; 2011 brings new outreach he effort to switch the general aviation pistonengined fleet to a lead-free fuel is a marathon, not a sprint, AOPA is reminding pilots and aircraft owners. And, the association encourages pilots to keep in mind the project’s overarching threefold mission. First, the effort must ensure that a continuous supply of the existing aviation fuel is available, assuring the utility of the piston-engine fleet. Second,

a process must be established that, working with the FAA, develops and implements a comprehensive program to facilitate the qualification of an unleaded avgas replacement for 100LL. Finally, a timeline must be established that allows adequate time for transitioning to an unleaded solution. AOPA will champion members’ interests in all phases of this ambitious undertaking, protecting existing fuel supplies and making sure that a solution works for the industry and provides aviation with a fuel for the future.

AOPA PILOT •

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011