Republicans And Democrats Say The Measure Is A Solid
Compromise
The committee leaders responsible for the long-term FAA funding
measure passed Monday by the full Congress have been universal in
their support for the compromise conference report which is headed
to President Obama for his signature. It's a sharp contrast to the
finger-pointing and accusations that flew last summer when the FAA
was forced to partially shut down.
Senators Rockefeller (L) and Hutchison
(R)
“This bill is a huge win for America’s economy, for
passenger safety, and for the aviation industry,” Senate
Commerce Committee Chair Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said in a
statement. “From the start, our goal was preserving the
safest, most efficient, and modern aviation system in the
world. And we know a healthy and growing aviation industry is
fundamentally important for the economic future of our country.
I’m proud that Congress has passed comprehensive, bipartisan
legislation that will support jobs and consumers.”
In remarks on the Senate floor, the Commerce Committee's Ranking
Republican, Kay Bailey Hutchison, acknowledged that the bill was
difficult to pass, but was worth the work. "What is good about the
bill that is before us today is the major principals have been
addressed, and the people who were most affected by those have been
able to see the big picture that we needed to address in this
bill," she said. "The bill will give our airports the ability to
grow, expand, and repair with the aviation trust fund, and it will
be in a stable environment because we have four years after this
bill is passed. So I do want to thank the Chairman and all who have
worked on this bill.”
On the House side of the Capitol, Transportation Committee Chair
John Mica said in a statement that one of the major sticking points
was Essential Air Service ticket subsidies which he calculated at
as much as $3,720 per ticket.
“Cutting outrageous ticket subsidies helped bring
negotiators to the table to finally complete this long-term FAA
bill,” Mica said. The House-Senate agreement includes further
reforms to the small community airline ticket subsidy program by
prohibiting new communities from joining, further eliminating
subsidies to airports that have fewer than 10 passengers each day
that are within 175 miles of a large or medium hub, and reducing
federal taxpayer funding for the program.
“For nearly five years, federal policy for this industry that
accounts for as much as 11% of the nation’s economic activity
was left behind,” Mica said. “This legislation sets the
blueprint for modernizing our air traffic control system from
pre-WWII technology to the GPS-based NextGen system. This will
reduce air traffic delays, cut down on emissions and pollution, and
lower costs for consumers."