Off subject but of interest to all!!

    07.14.07 Edition: Sens. Rockefeller, Lott Say GA Will Pay If S.1300
    Fails "There
    Are Ways To Do That, And We Will Find Those Ways"

    Two US Senators openly
    threatened the general aviation community Thursday, stating if
    GA pilots refuse to accept a blanket user fee for filing an IFR
    flight plan... there will be consequences.

    "Commercial airline passengers shouldn't continue to subsidize
    corporate jets," said aviation subcommittee Chairman John D.
    Rockefeller (right)during Thursday's Senate Finance Committee
    hearing. "If we don't restore equity, then as chairman of this
    aviation subcommittee, I will address the equity issue by looking
    for ways to limit general aviation access to congested
    airspace."

    "There are ways to do that, and we will find those ways," the
    West Virginia democrat added ominously.

    Mississppi Senator Trent Lott joined his colleague across the
    aisle in threatening general aviation, if the Senate's FAA funding
    bill (S.1300) is changed or disapproved.

    "We're going to have a fair bill or no bill, and I'm prepared to
    go to the mat," the Republican said.

    As ANN reported, the two
    senators introduced the Senate's proposed funding plan for FAA
    reauthorization in May. The plan would phase out a 4.3 cent per
    gallon tax airlines pay for fuel, and introduces a new per-trip fee
    for piston and turbine general aviation pilots who fly under IFR
    flight plans.

    Rockefeller and Lott say their plan restores 'fairness' to
    funding the FAA. But that can be in the eyes of the beholder, notes
    the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association -- and several other
    senators maintain airlines already receive sizable breaks.

    "We've had preferential tax treatment for the airlines,
    particularly in pensions," notes Kansas Senator Pat Roberts.

    And, Roberts notes, there are also more equitable ways to insure
    all users of the nation's air traffic control system pay their fair
    share. "The general aviation community is not unreceptive to an
    increase in the gas tax," said Roberts. "They're for modernization
    as well."

    Rockefeller sneers at those opposed to the $25 IFR fee, saying
    it "isn't exactly a backbreaker," and that "90 percent of general
    aviation aircraft are excluded" from paying.

    "It's not the fee, it is the structure," Senator Roberts
    replies. "All of general aviation is opposed to the fee, even the
    90 percent that are exempt."

    Plus, Roberts adds, "I don't
    think that giving the airlines a tax break is the best way to start
    modernization."

    Eliminating the fuel tax for airlines also struck New Mexico
    Senator Jeff Bingaman a bit oddly. Given all the FAA is hoping to
    accomplish with its proposed Next Generation Air Traffic Control
    System, "why would you eliminate the fuel tax on the airlines?" he
    asked.

    Bingaman also pointed out the ATC user fee would likely
    discourage flights to smaller communities. Witness Gerald
    Dillingham of the Government Accountability Office agreed, noting
    that regional air carrier profits are so slim that "the $25 fee
    could put them over the edge."

    Dillingham restated his contention from previous hearings,
    saying that the current excise tax-based funding system "could
    support all FAA activities, including NextGen." He added forecasted
    revenues to the aviation trust fund could support increased FAA
    spending.

    Peter R. Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office,
    said that with a forecast 7 percent annual growth in aviation tax
    revenues, the trust fund would bring in some $158 billion over the
    next 10 years, versus an inflation-adjusted FAA budget baseline of
    $135 billion.

    Even FAA Administrator Marion Blakey -- one of the most vocal
    advocates for user fees, alongside Air Tra nsport Association
    president James May -- came close to admitting the FAA takes in
    enough money already, reports the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
    Association.

    "We [the FAA] don't feel starved for funds," Blakey responded,
    to a question posed by New York Senator Charles Schumer during
    Thursday's hearing.

    "I can't begin to tell you
    how strongly Sen. Rockefeller feels about the $25 ATC modernization
    surcharge or user fee," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "And we
    have tried to explain to him how dead set we are against any user
    fee on any segment of aviation, regardless of the amount.

    "But general aviation is willing to contribute more toward
    system modernization through the fuel. That's why we have endorsed
    H.R.2881, the House FAA funding bill. We would ask the Senate to
    give fair consideration to the taxing and funding concepts in that
    bill."

    The funding authority for the FAA and the government's abili t y
    to collect aviation taxes will expire at the end of September. If
    an FAA funding bill (called a "reauthorization bill") is not
    approved before then, the FAA could be forced to stop
    operations.
    FMI: www.senate.gov <http://www.senate.gov/>, www.aopa.org
    <http://www.aopa.org/>, www.faa.gov <http://www.faa.gov/>