AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2012 - 32

Election 2012

GENERAL AVIATION’S SUPPORTERS IN CONGRESS
THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE on November 6 isn’t the only contest that could affect general aviation. Every seat in the House of Representatives and approximately one-third of the Senate also is up for election. AOPA’s Legislative Affairs team is very active in

both houses of Congress and as a result, the GA caucuses in both the House and Senate have grown to record levels. In fact, AOPA’s leadership was instrumental in the creation of the caucuses—and GA has never had so many supporters in Congress.

REP. JOHN BARROW (D-GA.-12)
depreciation rule changes that would harm GA’s struggling manufacturing base. He also has supported avgas agency stakeholder decisions, the Blocked Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program, a robust general fund contribution, the right to fly vintage aircraft purchased from the Department of Defense, and returning to the aviation trust fund jet fuel tax money that has erroneously gone into the Highway Trust Fund. It is no surprise that he signed up as a co-chair of the House GA Caucus and has worked side by side with Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.6) in growing the GA Caucus to a record 185 members. Through the Caucus, Barrow has worked tirelessly to educate his fellow members of Congress about the value of general aviation. He is running for his fifth term in Congress and because of redistricting is running a very hard campaign.

REP. CHARLES BASS (R-N.H.-2)
interference. He signed letters opposing the $100-per-flight user fee in the president’s budget proposals and user fees that were included in the Obama Administration’s deficit reduction plan. Bass also wrote to the chairman of the FCC, urging him to not allow a company called LightSquared to build a mobile satellite network that interferes with GPS reception, which would have a safety impact on general aviation. Bass earned his private pilot certificate in 1971 and his instrument rating in 1976. He has experience in aerobatics, and has owned a Citabria and a Maule, which he currently flies out of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. He clearly understands the importance of GA airports and the need to fully fund the AIP.

Since being elected to Congress in 2004, Rep. John Barrow has been one of GA’s staunchest supporters on Capitol Hill. Although he isn’t a pilot, the size of his large rural district has encouraged him to use single-engine piston aircraft to fly from one remote area to the next. He joined AOPA in 2006 because he saw the value it brings to general aviation and the nation’s freedom to fly. Barrow has been at the helm of every congressional GA effort AOPA has undertaken, including opposition to user fees, an FCC decision that would have caused GPS interference, and aircraft

A pilot and an AOPA member since 1977, Rep. Charles Bass is on his second tour of duty in Congress, having served from 1995 to 2006 before being elected again in 2010. He is a strong supporter of general aviation and quickly joined the GA Caucus. In his first two years back in Congress, Bass has expressed his strong opposition to user fees and publically questioned the FCC’s decision as it relates to GPS

32 | AOPA PILOT October 2012

AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2012