Fri, May 27, 2005
Opposition To User Fees Tops The Agenda
AOPA President Phil Boyer and Sen.
Conrad Burns During a meeting Tuesday with Sen. Conrad Burns
(R-MT), chairman of the Senate aviation subcommittee, AOPA
President Phil Boyer reiterated AOPA's dedication to helping reduce
the cost of providing critical FAA services and steadfast
opposition to user fees.
"The FAA needs to look at its cost structure and get that under
control before we even get into a discussion of raising taxes or
imposing user fees," Boyer told Burns. "AOPA has supported the
FAA's efforts to lower the costs of FSS services and eliminate
redundant NDB approaches, and we're anxious to work with Congress
and the FAA to find other ways to bring costs in line without
compromising general aviation safety."
Boyer reminded Burns that GA currently pays for FAA services
through fuel taxes -— a system that is transparent to pilots,
efficient for the government to collect, and is the appropriate
method for the government to collect revenues from aviation users.
Most important, the current system promotes GA safety by ensuring
that vital services, like air traffic control and weather
briefings, are available without additional fees, which could deter
some pilots from using them.
The two also discussed general aviation security, including
recent incursions into the restricted airspace around Washington,
DC. Despite the incursion that led to the evacuation of the White
House and the Capitol two weeks ago, most pilots stay well informed
of airspace restrictions and conscientiously abide by them. Even
so, Boyer pointed out, the Metropolitan Air Defense Identification
Zone (ADIZ) creates significant problems for pilots, making it
difficult for individuals and companies to conduct business in the
greater Washington area.
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