Senator Points Out “Devastating” Potential Impact
On Alaska Infrastructure, Economy
Senator Lisa Murkowski has written a letter to President Obama,
taking issue with the Administration’s recent proposal to
impose a $100 fee per flight on general aviation aircraft, as a way
to reduce the nation’s growing deficit. “I write to
voice my opposition to your Administration’s recent proposal
to impose user fees on general aviation aircraft,” Murkowski
(pictured) wrote. “While I agree that our
nation’s debt must be reduced, increasing taxes on general
aviation aircraft through new user fees could stifle economic
recovery.”
“In Alaska, aviation is the foundation of our
transportation system,” she continued. “The majority of
our communities cannot be reached by rail, auto, or marine modes
and the ability to carry people and goods to and from these
communities by air is the lifeline of our nation’s biggest
state.”
Based on the Alaska DOT Division of Statewide Aviation’s
most recent numbers, the aviation industry contributes:
- $3.5 billion to the Alaskan economy (8 percent of the
state’s economy)
- 47,000 jobs in Alaska (10 percent of the workforce)
"This issue is of the utmost importance to Alaskans because in
Alaska, aviation is the foundation of our transportation system,"
wrote Murkowski. "The majority of our communities cannot be reached
by rail, auto or marine modes and the ability to carry people and
goods to and from these communities by air is the lifeline of our
nation's biggest state. The effects of new user fees on the Alaskan
economy and our way of life would be devastating."
The NBAA commended Senator Murkowski (R-AK) for her recent
letter. NBAA has long been unified with the rest of the general
aviation community in opposing user fees, and has repeatedly spoken
out against the president's per-flight user fee proposal since it
was introduced last summer, warning that it would prompt the
creation an onerous new administrative burden and necessitate the
creation of a costly new fee-collection bureaucracy.
"We thank the senator for her letter to the president opposing
user fees," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "User fees are a
bad idea for the businesses in Alaska that rely on general
aviation, and for thousands of similar businesses all across the
U.S. We are committed to working with the senator and others in the
Senate and House to defeat the president's ill-conceived user fee
proposal."
In September, NBAA joined with 26 leading aviation and labor
associations representing virtually the entire U.S. aviation
industry in opposing new or increased taxes and fees on aviation.
Earlier this month, a bi-partisan group of 23 senators also sent a
letter to President Obama opposing general aviation user fees.
Bolen Gives Congress a Rare Thumbs-Up
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