National Pilot Alert
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
421 Aviation Way
Frederick, MD 21701-4798
Dear MPA Member:
On only a handful of occasions in our 60 year history AOPA has sent an individual letter to our almost 360,000
members asking for help. In fact, only twice in the last ten years have we asked each and every one of you to become
personally involved in an issue that will affect the future of general aviation. You may remember our last call
to action over product liability reform. We won that battle, but we are now faced with another that is just as
daunting.
I'm writing to you and your fellow AOPA members today to ask for your special assistance with our efforts to see
that aviation in America finally receives the funding it so rightly deserves-instead of new user fees or a tax
increase. For decades Congress has used the aviation trust fund to hide the billions of dollars of pork-barrel
spending increases it passes each year. As you know, this constant desire to spend more money will make it tougher
and tougher to fight user fees every year.
Last year, with your help, Chairman Shuster and Rep. Oberstar were able to guide legislation, H.R. 1000, to "unlock"
the aviation trust fund, through the turbulent waters of the House of Representatives. In fact, it passed by an
overwhelming margin of 316-110. However, when the bill got to the Senate things suddenly went wrong.
The Senate's bill was dramatically different from the legislation that passed the House. Not only did the Senate's
bill not "unlock" the aviation trust fund, it proposed to completely eliminate the $3.4 billion in annual
funding from the U.S. Treasury's general fund that supports 30% of the FAA's budget. Should the Senate bill be
adopted we would again be left with systems and programs that are outdated and unfunded improvements at general
aviation airports.
Furthermore, the Senate's measure practically guarantees either the implementation of new user fees or a tax increase.
I am asking you to immediately write to your members of the Senate listed below. Urge them to support the FAA Reauthorization
bill, H.R. 1000, as it was passed in the House of Representatives. Insist that they not cut the general fund contribution
that supports 30% of the FAA's budget. Tell them to "unlock" the trust fund so the $57.3 billion dollars
sitting inside can be used to modernize our aging airway system. Demand that they start spending the aviation trust
fund on what it was designed for: Aviation!
This is not a unique concept. Almost all Senators fully supported a similar 1998 decision to fully spend gas taxes
on highways and transit systems. Why are highways and bus lines more important than aviation safety? So far, most
of the same Senators have said no to modernizing our aviation system, but with your help we can still win this
issue.
The key ingredient for our success this time will be our ability to generate mail, and lots of it. The grassroots
level is where we are going to win this fight, and it is going to be the effort that you and I put forth that is
going to put us over the top.
Before writing, read about the details of H.R. 1000, the FAA Reauthorization bill, which are described inside.
Then, please write to the Senators listed below and tell them that now is the time to ensure that aviation receives
proper funding for decades to come.
The addresses for your Senators are:
The Honorable John Ashcroft
The United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Christopher Bond
The United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Sincerely,
Phil Boyer
P.S. Please send me a copy of your letter to AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, MD 21701-4798
Why do your senators think highways are more important than runways?
What we are up against ...
The Senate refuses to fully spend the taxes that pilots and aircraft owners pay every year to support aviation.
While the FAA Reauthorization (H.R. 1000), to "unlock" the trust fund, received overwhelming support
in the House of Representatives the proposal has received stiff opposition from members of the Senate.
In fact, Senators who voted in 1998 to change the way the Nation's highways and transit systems are funded now
oppose a similar model designed for aviation. Why?
The Senate took away $3.4 billion of general taxpay-er funds that since 1970 have traditionally been used to
fund the government's use of ATC services. Should their proposal pass, a tax increase or user fees will be inevitable.
If we do not "unlock" the trust fund the Admin-istration will once again try and force user fees down
the throats of the general aviation community, a goal it has had since 1995.
Some airlines now want to privatize the air traffic control system and fund it through user fees. That way they
can wield power over it and squeeze out the general aviation pilot. Not using the trust fund for what it was designed
for enhances their argument and almost guarantees a tax increase or new user fees. We need your help in contacting
your Senators now!
How this helps you ...
If the Senate accepts the House version of the FAA Reauthorization bill the Aviation Trust Fund would finally
be "unlocked" and a total of $57.35 billion could be spent on the FAA over four years.That's $14.3 billion
more than Congress would have approved had the trust fund not been taken off budget.
The House version would also continue the annual $3.4 billion general fund contribution to the FAA, thereby eliminating
the need for user fees or a tax increase.
The Aviation Trust Fund is partially funded by taxes AOPA members pay on aviation fuel. This bill would assure
the money is spent after it is collected instead of sitting in the Trust Fund unused.
The long overdue modernization of Flight Service Stations, improvements to general aviation airports and greater
use of GPS for navigation and preci-sion approaches could finally be implemented.
Unlocking the trust fund would put an end to the annual drumbeat for user fees, stop the proposals of some airlines
to take over the air traffic control system, and halt other proposals designed to squeeze more money out of pilots.