NBAA Keeps The Pressure On
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen told
members of Congress that the GA community remains committed to
continued progress toward a NextGen system.
"For years, general aviation has been at forefront of our
nation's modernization effort," Bolen noted. "At NBAA, we believe
that general aviation will be every bit as fundamental to America's
future as it has been to its past, and we are prepared to work with
the Senate to continue to build that future."
Bolen's testimony came before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on
Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security at a hearing focused on
the future of the nation's air transportation system and a
"reauthorization" package for the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). He noted that the business aviation community had been
severely affected by the economic downturn. Yet, in spite of the
challenges faced by the industry, support remained steadfast for
FAA reauthorization legislation, including an adjustment to the
general aviation (GA) fuel tax to help pay for aviation system
modernization.
"Aviation plays a critical role in driving economic growth and
investment across the country," Bolen told members of the
subcommittee. "We strongly support your work to improve our
nation's aviation system, which will also significantly contribute
to economic growth and job creation. In these challenging economic
times, the importance of a robust transportation system cannot be
overemphasized."
Bolen reiterated the value of a modernized system for the entire
nation, pointing out that accelerating the transition to NextGen
will advance important national objectives like expanding system
capacity and reducing congestion, reducing long-term costs to the
FAA, enhancing safety, and even reducing the industry's
environmental footprint. He also underscored how the industry has
already expressed full support for legislative solutions to
facilitate modernization.
"Business aviation has long been working to make NextGen a
reality," Bolen said. He told the subcommittee that those in
business aviation were early adopters of GPS navigation systems and
supporters of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), a
technology that is now the cornerstone of the modernization effort.
"Just as we have supported forward-looking technologies, we will
continue to support forward-thinking policies for achieving our
shared goal of leading the world in aviation," Bolen continued.
"Make no mistake about it, these are very difficult times and
projections are that things will get worse in 2010," Bolen
said.
"However, in spite of all the challenges faced by the business
aviation community, one thing has remained constant - our continued
support for comprehensive FAA reauthorization legislation and
modernization of the nation's air traffic control system."