Reiterates Commitment To Opposing ALL User Fees

Reacting to Wednesday's news reports about user-fee based aviation legislation under consideration by Congress, the Alliance for Aviation Across America released the following statement to ANN:

"When the Alliance was formed, a key unifying principle was our total opposition to user fees for aviation system funding. As we have reiterated, the Alliance opposes user fees in any form for several reasons. First, they needlessly replace the current, efficient aviation excise taxes with a system that presents a significant administrative burden for operators. Additionally, user fee funding mechanisms can erode Congressional decision-making authority. Furthermore, the introduction of aviation user fees could put the United States on the path to privatization of the Air Traffic Control system, something the Alliance opposes."

"Unfortunately, recent news reports have indicated that Congress may be considering legislation that includes a user fee for aviation system funding. While we have not seen actual legislation, we know that if a bill is introduced that includes any type of user fee, the Alliance will oppose it, and urge Congress to remove it from any legislation under consideration.

"We look forward to working with the Senate on a bill for funding the Federal Aviation Administration and modernizing the aviation system that is in the best interests of all aviation users, including those in small towns and rural areas across America."

FMI: www.aviationacrossamerica.org, www.faa.gov