Urges Administration To Take Action On Key GA Issues

During a November 24 meeting with President-elect Barack Obama's Department of Transportation transition team, AOPA President-elect Craig Fuller wasted no time letting the incoming administration know that aviation needs to be a top priority.

Fuller met with Mortimer Downey, head of the DOT transition team; Duane Woerth, former president of the Air Line Pilots Association ( and a top contender for new FAA Administrator); and Jane Garvey, former FAA administrator, to present five key priorities on behalf of its 414,000 members.

These priorities include naming a strong FAA administrator with deep technical and people management and labor relations skills; investment in critical aviation facility infrastructure through robust federal airport grant programs; engaging in environmental leadership to address proposed policies, regulations and standards that target aviation gasoline, greenhouse gas emissions and aircraft noise; modernizing the Air Traffic Control system in a way that doesn't place undue burdens on general aviation aircraft owners; and enacting long-term financing using adjusted aviation taxes as the means to pay for the FAA and its associated programs.

Those initiatives were also highlighted in a congratulatory letter Fuller sent to President-elect Obama that explains the value of general aviation to the economy and its key role in the country's infrastructure.

"Aviation is an integral part of this country's infrastructure and economy and I can assure you that AOPA is ready to work with you on the pressing issues facing the aviation industry," Fuller wrote.

In the letter, Fuller also pledged to work with the Obama administration to ensure that the United States has the "largest, safest, most efficient air transportation system in the world."

FMI: www.aopa.org, Read Fuller's Letter