Contact: Dan Hubbard, (202) 783-9360, dhubbard@nbaa.org
Washington, DC, April 8, 2013 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today applauded the 223 members of the U.S. House of Representatives – a majority of Congress – who recently delivered a resounding, bipartisan message to President Obama in opposition to his repeated calls for aviation user fees.
A staple of the administration’s past two budget proposals, a $100 per-flight fee on general aviation aircraft is considered likely to again be part of its fiscal year 2014 budget, to be unveiled later this week. In an April 5 letter to the president, House lawmakers termed imposition of aviation user fees “the wrong approach” for reducing the deficit, and called on the president to “abandon this idea once and for all.
“Commercial and general aviation, including aviation manufacturing, are vital industries in our nation, providing millions of jobs and making important contributions to our economy,” the letter states. “We should work together to support policies that encourage job growth and strengthen U.S. economic activities.”
In response to the letter, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen stressed the importance of such strong congressional opposition to the administration’s desire for user fees, adding that support has proven vital to defeating past efforts by both Democratic and Republican administrations to impose similar levies.
“This isn’t the first time Congress has rejected user fees, or sent a letter in opposition to user fees to the president,” Bolen noted. “It is, however, the first time that a clear majority of members of Congress has signed onto the letter. Clearly, the opposition to user fees in Congress, which has always been exceedingly strong, is becoming overwhelming.”
The letter was circulated by House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-2-NJ) and Ranking Subcommittee Member Rick Larsen (D-2-WA), along with House General Aviation (GA) Caucus Co-Chairs Sam Graves (R-6-MO) and John Barrow (D-12-GA.)
# # #
Founded in 1947 and based in Washington, DC, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. The Association represents more than 9,000 companies and provides more than 100 products and services to the business aviation community, including the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, the world’s largest civil aviation trade show. Learn more about NBAA at www.nbaa.org.
Members of the media may receive NBAA Press Releases immediately via email. To subscribe to the NBAA Press Release email list, submit the online form.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.