A compromise bill on FAA budget reauthorization is meeting swift --
and predictable -- opposition from the aviation sector it hits
hardest. The National Business Aviation Association has come out
swinging against the bill proposed by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.,
and Trent Lott, R-Miss., that would shift all of the burden of
general aviation user fees to smaller turbine aircraft. "It is
regrettable that at a critical point in our transformation to the
Next Generation Air Traffic System, the bill is proposing a sharp
pivot away from a proven funding structure toward the foreign-style
user fees that have been so harmful to small aircraft operators
outside the U.S," NBAA President Ed Bolen said in a news release.
AOPA was more conciliatory, but nonetheless opposed to the principles
involved in the bill. In a news release, AOPA President Phil
Boyer said that while the bill addresses many of the aviation
community's concerns about the combination of increased fuel taxes
and user fees proposed by the FAA, it misses a fundamental point.
"This bill is a lot better than the FAA's proposed legislation," said
Boyer. "Our thanks to Senators Rockefeller and Lott, as they intend
to keep piston-powered general aviation taxes right where they are
today. But we have real concerns about the precedent-setting
introduction of user fees and the impacts on our members who fly
turbine aircraft." Under the bill, piston aircraft would be exempt
from any increases but turbine-powered aircraft flying IFR would be
subject to a fee of $25, ostensibly to pay for airspace
modernization. The bill also proposes doubling the tax on jet fuel
from 24 cents to 49 cents a gallon.
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A compromise bill on FAA budget reauthorization is meeting swift --
and predictable -- opposition from the aviation sector it hits
hardest. The National Business Aviation Association has come out
swinging against the bill proposed by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.,
and Trent Lott, R-Miss., that would shift all of the burden of
general aviation user fees to smaller turbine aircraft. "It is
regrettable that at a critical point in our transformation to the
Next Generation Air Traffic System, the bill is proposing a sharp
pivot away from a proven funding structure toward the foreign-style
user fees that have been so harmful to small aircraft operators
outside the U.S," NBAA President Ed Bolen said in a news release.
AOPA was more conciliatory, but nonetheless opposed to the principles
involved in the bill. In a news release, AOPA President Phil
Boyer said that while the bill addresses many of the aviation
community's concerns about the combination of increased fuel taxes
and user fees proposed by the FAA, it misses a fundamental point.
"This bill is a lot better than the FAA's proposed legislation," said
Boyer. "Our thanks to Senators Rockefeller and Lott, as they intend
to keep piston-powered general aviation taxes right where they are
today. But we have real concerns about the precedent-setting
introduction of user fees and the impacts on our members who fly
turbine aircraft." Under the bill, piston aircraft would be exempt
from any increases but turbine-powered aircraft flying IFR would be
subject to a fee of $25, ostensibly to pay for airspace
modernization. The bill also proposes doubling the tax on jet fuel
from 24 cents to 49 cents a gallon.
