Agency Was Encouraged To Establish A Loan Program To Assist Owners In Equipping Their Airplanes.

Part of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 gave the FAA the authority to establish a Private-Public Partnership that would guarantee loans of up to 90 percent to assist operators of both commercial and GA airplanes to purchase and install the required equipment. It has been nearly three years since the law was passed, but no such program has yet been established, and Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) (pictured) wants to know why.

Graves wrote a letter dated July 29 to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta asking about the status of the program following the Administrator's testimony before the House Committee on Small Business focusing on the 2020 mandate. "When asked about the delay at the hearing on June 11, it was discouraging to hear you cite a lack of appropriations language as a reason for the failure to pursue this funding mechanism, particularly when this issue was addressed in the legislation passed by congress and signed into law," Graves wrote to the Administrator. "Since the program can be operated at zero cost through premiums and fees, it is not clear why the agency believes authority to establish the program and further appropriations are necessary for starting such a program. I am curious as to why the FAA or Department of Transportation did not include a request for such language in the President's budget for fiscal years 2014 and 2015."

Graves urged Huerta to "reach out to the SBA, an agency that successfully operates multiple loan-guarantee programs," for assistance in setting up the program.

So far, only a few thousand of the over 150,000 GA aircraft that are required to upgrade their equipment have been brought into compliance. The industry estimates that the cost of equipment and installation will run as high as $10,000 per airplane, according to Graves.

FMI: http://graves.house.gov