Answer: FAA's New Plan Would Incur Debt; Current System Doesn't

It's a clear-cut case of the government attempting to "fix" a problem that isn't broken... and we've seen before how those efforts often turn out. That's the message Phil Boyer, President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, had for government officials this week, during a hearing on the Bush administration's proposed FAA funding reauthorization plan.

In Thursday's hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on FAA reauthorization, Boyer pointed out the Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation says as long as Congress continues to pay for part of the FAA out of general tax funds, the current system can fully fund modernization efforts.

Furthermore, according to AOPA the managing director of physical infrastructure for the Government Accountability Office says the proposed funding plan, which also calls for general tax fund contributions, can't fund NextGen without incurring debt.

Boyer's message came down to one simple point: the current system of funding the Federal Aviation Administration works. The proposed system doesn't... and the government itself says so. "So which funding system is 'broken?'" Boyer asked.

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has spent the last two years pushing for a radical change in how the agency is funded, claiming that the current system is broken and unable to pay for the modernization of the air traffic system that everyone in aviation agrees is necessary.

"We now know the Bush Administration's proposal is to increase taxes on general aviation and impose user fees on every segment of aviation," said Boyer. "Airlines will pay fees to talk to air traffic control; general aviation will pay to access 'congested airspace;' airframe manufacturers will pay higher fees to certify their aircraft; and pilots will pay much more for medical and pilot certificates.

"And still, the proposed scheme falls hundreds of millions of dollars short of what the current system would raise each year."

AOPA conducted detailed financial analysis of the FAA's current funding structure, using figures from the Administration's Office of Management and Budget and assuming a 21.5 percent contribution from general tax revenues -- in line with historical levels and just two-and-a-half percent more than the FAA's assumption.

The result? The analysis determined the current system could provide some $20 billion over the next five years to pay for the Next Generation Air Traffic System, as the modernization project is known.

"Once again, AOPA's analysis has been verified by the federal government," said Boyer. "This is just more proof that the way we pay for the safest, most efficient air transportation system in the world works. There is no need to shift to a system that starts us down the road toward privatizing an inherently governmental function."

Sadly, common sense and logic hasn't always stopped the government from "improving" things before...

FMI: www.aopa.org, www.faa.gov