Representative Hal Rogers Honored With Hartranft Award
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association paid tribute to US Congressman Harold ‘Hal’
Rogers (R-Ken.) for his dedication to general aviation (GA),
awarding him the prestigious J.B. Doc” Hartranft Award for
2006 at the AOPA Expo closing banquet Saturday night.
“Hal has been a longtime supporter of GA,” said AOPA
President Phil Boyer. “We have always found him willing to
listen to our concerns and our ideas. His steadfast support and
commitment to general aviation programs have strengthened the
aviation community across the country.”
Congressman Rogers is the longest serving Kentucky Republican
ever elected to federal office and has a reputation as a skillful
insider with significant influence over federal budget policy in a
wide range of areas, including appropriations for general aviation
projects.
As Chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland
Security, Rogers is responsible for funding and oversight of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He has been an advocate for
reasonable approaches to general aviation security and supported
AOPA’s 2002 petition to require pilots to carry a government
issued picture ID calling it, “a commonsense approach to
addressing the security needs at our GA airports as an inexpensive
and simple security enhancement that could be implemented
immediately.”
Rogers has been a staunch supporter of the Airport Watch
Program. He recognizes that to continue the progress of homeland
security, tools need to be provided and that Airport Watch is one
of those tools. He understands that the industry itself can develop
appropriate ways to address the security issue.
Prior to his position overseeing DHS spending, Rogers served as
Chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, which
supports the FAA. During this time, he held the FAA accountable for
it’s spending, and defended the federal Airport Improvement
Program grants to airports.
As a senior member of the full Appropriations Committee, Rep.
Rogers has been tenacious in ensuring that much-needed resources
paid into the aviation trust fund reach general aviation airports
across the country – especially important this year, as over
$400 million of funds targeting GA airports were at risk for
airports across the country under the president’s budget
proposal.
Chairman Rogers understands that
improving our transportation network is one of the most effective
ways to promote economic growth and prosperity. In fact, earlier
this year, AOPA was pleased to join Chairman Rogers in celebrating
the grand opening of Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport (W38)
located in his congressional district. A wonderful addition to
aviation, W38 provides southeastern Kentucky with the necessary
infrastructure for economic growth.
Coming from a state served by many general aviation airports,
Congressman Hal Rogers understands the value of general
aviation.
The J.B. “Doc” Hartranft Award is named for
AOPA’s first employee and president of the association for 38
years. It is awarded annually to the federal, state, or local
government official who has done the greatest good on behalf of
general aviation.