Report May Come In Handy On Capitol Hill Next Week
With Congress set to examine Federal Aviation Administration
financing and the Aviation Trust Fund next week, the National Air
Traffic Controllers Association says its report on the fund
provides a fact-based framework for policy discussions on financing
and explains why current budget proposals represent a major shift
in government priorities.
As ANN reported earlier this month, the NATCA
report concludes that the Aviation Trust isn't as bad shape as the
Bush administration would have pilots and airport operators
believe. NATCA contends the trust will remain solvent -- as long as
the FAA doesn't change the ratio of operational to capital expenses
in trust outlays.
"Our nation's aviation system benefits the entire country, not
just the people who fly," said NATCA Executive Vice President Ruth
Marlin, who authored the report, entitled, "Understanding Air
Traffic Control Financing." "It is an economic engine that drives
more than $900 billion in Gross Domestic Product every year. As you
wake up and listen to the traffic report, open your mail, order
products online or put flowers in a vase, aviation touches our
lives, even if we never board an airplane."
However, the President's 2006 budget for the FAA charts a future
that even his own FAA administrator warns could lead to service
cuts, reduced inspections and delays in equipment modernization.
Regrettably, this "crisis" grows out of a conscious policy decision
by the administration to cut the amount of public financing for our
nation's air traffic control system in half and dramatically
increase the money drawn from the Trust Fund to pay for the FAA's
daily operations.
Marlin's report shows that,
according to FAA figures, the revenue from aviation specific taxes
into the Trust Fund generated by the growing levels of air traffic
is increasing and the FAA's own projections forecast a steep growth
in Trust Fund income for the foreseeable future. But some public
officials are proposing a radical change in how the FAA is
funded.
"The Trust Fund has run decades of surpluses. This buffer
allowed us to weather the post Sept. 11 storm until traffic
rebounded as it has," Marlin stated. "This success has led some
policy makers to look to the Trust Fund as a way to shift the
burden of public funding for aviation away from the general
treasury."
Marlin's report examines the major structures in place for
providing air traffic services in North America, Europe and
Australia. She asserts that in order to ensure that a national
economy is able to maximize the benefits provided by a vigorous
aviation industry, a reliable and robust air traffic control system
is necessary as it is a critical component of the infrastructure.
As air traffic control modernization in particular requires long
term planning, a stable and predictable funding mechanism is
required.
Reducing the contribution made by the public through the federal
government's general fund, Marlin argues, "will degrade the system,
reduce its efficiency and could compromise safety."