Sat, Sep 13, 2003
NATA has urged Congress to pass H.R. 2115, Vision 100 - The
Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (CARA), without delay.
"This is a classic situation of not
being able to see the forest for the trees," commented NATA
president James K. Coyne. "The overall benefits of CARA are
far too great for Congress to simply discard the entire conference
agreement over one provision that does not enjoy universal
support."
The benefits of the bill are enumerated in a letter sent today
to all members of the United States House of Representatives and
Senate by Coyne and other aviation association CEOs. Those
benefits outlined in the letter include:
- $14 billion for the Airport Improvement Program;
- $100 million in relief assistance to general aviation companies
devastated by the terrorist attacks; and
- $2 billion to install explosive detection systems used to scan
passenger baggage.
The $14 billion for airport funding,
which will be used to enhance safety and capacity at airports
around the country, will create 665,000 direct and indirect jobs
over the life of the bill. In total, the FAA reauthorization
bill includes $60 billion for safety, security and other aviation
programs.
As for the debate over the Air Traffic Control privatization
provision, the association heads state, "The bill prohibits
privatization of the overwhelming majority - 94 percent - of FAA
controller jobs, while leaving open just the theoretical
possibility of adding some of the FAA-staffed visual flight rule
towers to the highly successful contract tower program - an option
that exists today. We believe the underlying bill is too
important to be caught up in a theoretical labor-management tug of
war."
With AIR-21 expiring on September 30, it is critical that Congress
approve and the President sign CARA now. "Too many critical
areas of the aviation industry stand to suffer if this measure is
not law by September 30," stressed Coyne. "It's time for
opponents of CARA to recognize that the needs of the many outweigh
the needs of the few."
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