AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 12

AOPAACTION

COMPILED BY KATHY DONDZILA

What AOPA is doing to keep you flying

NextGen and AIP funding, but no user fees, in president’s new budget
he White House budget avoids user fees, provides funding to advance NextGen modernization, and sets aside money for improvement projects at GA airports. “Our initial reading indicates that the president has recognized the need to modernize our aviation system while maintaining critical infrastructure—all funded by a tried-and-true system of excise taxes and general fund contributions,”said AOPA President Craig Fuller. The budget sets aside $1.24 billion for NextGen modernization, an increase of $370 million over 2010. At the heart of NextGen is the transition from a groundbased to a satellite-based air traffic control system, as well as new in-cockpit technologies that will help pilots improve their situational awareness of everything from traffic to weather. The budget preserves Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for smaller airports—money that provides federal matching grants for critical infrastructure improvements such as runway resurfacing and extensions, taxiway construction, and airport lighting. The budget reduces overall AIP funding from $3.5 billion to $2.4 billion, but it specifies that the cuts are to come from large and medium hub airports, preserving monies for smaller commercial and GA airports that do not have alternative means of raising outside capital. The budget frees those larger airports to raise
AOPA PILOT •

T

passenger facility charges, increasing their flexibility to generate their own revenue. The budget also apportions $50 billion for “roads, railways, and runways.” Of that money, $250 million would be in the form of mandatory general fund contributions to advance NextGen and make nearterm improvements in air traffic control infrastructure. Of that, $200 million would be used to accelerate research, advance development, and implement engineering solutions for NextGen technologies, applications, and procedures. The remaining $50 million would be used to upgrade FAA infrastructure such as power systems and air traffic control centers. The budget provides a one-time boost of $3.1 billion to the AIP for runway construction and other improvements “We are grateful to the bipartisan action of the House of Representatives in telling the president that user fees are not an acceptable funding option,” said Fuller, referring to a letter to President Barack Obama signed by 116 members of the House. That letter stated that user fees “would be a step backward in our efforts

to modernize our air traffic control system and fund FAA operations.” Much of the proposed budget looks positive for GA; however, the availability of guaranteed low-interest loans to help aircraft operators equip for NextGen, remains in doubt. “For NextGen to really work, the industry needs to ensure that the maximum number of aircraft are participating,” said Melissa Rudinger, AOPA senior vice president of government affairs. “Mixed equipage

will diminish the value of NextGen for everyone, so it’s imperative that all types of system users get the help they need to invest in the necessary technology. I can think of no other initiative whose success has depended so heavily on investment by the end users—and that can be a heavy burden for individual operators who have no means to offset their investment.” “This 2012 budget proposal comes even as we are looking at revisions to 2011 spending plans now being developed in the House and Senate, where both bodies are seeking ways to be responsive to voters who expect spending reductions. In this environment, a great deal can change between now and the time a final budget is approved,” said Fuller.

NATIONAL

Committee to advise on avgas transition

F

AA Administrator Randy Babbitt has signed a charter establishing an aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) to advise the agency on the move toward an unleaded fuel. The ARC will be a joint government/industry committee tasked with identifying key issues relating to, and providing recommendations for, the development and deployment of an unleaded avgas. The move comes in response to a request by the General Avia-

tion Avgas Coalition, which includes AOPA, the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA). “This is a much-needed step in the process that will ultimately determine how the aviation industry reaches an unleaded fuel solution,” said Rob Hackman, AOPA vice president of

12 •

APRIL 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011

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