Provision Included In DOT Appropriations Bill
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen issued a statement Monday
praising inclusion of language in a congressional appropriations
bill that would preserve the Block Aircraft Registration Request
(BARR) program. Rep. Tom Latham (R-4-IA), who chairs the House
Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing
and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, included a provision
to preserve the BARR in the annual appropriations bill for the
Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban
Development.
The legislative language, which appears on page 16 of the bill,
states in part:
"...None of the funds made
available under this Act or any prior Act may be used to implement
or to continue to implement any limitation on the ability of any
owner or operator of a private aircraft to obtain, upon a request
to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, a
blocking of that owner's or operator's aircraft registration number
from any display of the Federal Aviation Administration's Aircraft
Situational Display to Industry data that is made available to the
public, except data made available to a government agency, for the
noncommercial flights of that owner or operator."
Bolen thanked Rep. Latham and others on the subcommittee for
including the language in the appropriations measure. "Chairman
Latham and other leaders in congress recognize that the
government's move to severely curtail the BARR program represents
an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of aircraft owners and
operators, a threat to the competitiveness of U.S. companies and a
potential security risk to persons on board general aviation
aircraft," Bolen said. "We are pleased to see this recognition
reflected in the Subcommittee's bill."
The decade-old, congressionally enabled BARR program was
established to provide aircraft owners and operators an ability to
"opt-out" of having their aviation movements tracked by anyone,
anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. In March 2011,
the FAA formalized its intent to limit availability of the BARR
program to only parties who could prove a "valid security concern."
NBAA and other general aviation groups have been joined by
individuals and organizations in and outside the aviation industry
in expressing alarm over the move, which represents an unwarranted
invasion of the privacy of aircraft owners and operators, a threat
to the competitiveness of U.S. companies and a potential security
risk to persons on board.
Congressional lawmakers have also opposed the government's
limitations to the BARR program.
Last month, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) introduced a stand-alone
bill to preserve the program. The senator's opposition to the
government's curtailment of the BARR has been echoed by a
bipartisan, bicameral group of congressional representatives. In
July, 33 House lawmakers sent a letter asking Department of
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to set aside his plans for the
BARR. In June, a similar letter was sent by 26 senators.
Earlier in the year, the House passed legislation preserving the
BARR as part of its version of a reauthorization package for the
FAA. The House legislation awaits reconciliation with the FAA
reauthorization measure passed by the Senate.
Separately, NBAA and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
(AOPA) are challenging the government's plan in court. The
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) also has filed a friend of
the court brief supporting the suit. A full hearing on the matter
has yet to occur, but is expected in the coming months.