Opposes House Bill That Would Restrict Money Available To Veterans For Flight Training

HAI president and CEO Matt Zuccaro has released a statement opposing H.R. 475, a bill pending before Congress that includes language to severely restrict the amount of money the Veterans Administration (VA) will pay for a veteran to attend a flight-training degree program at a public college or university. Veterans using these programs represent one of the best prospects for rebuilding a declining pilot population, Zuccaro says.

"The GI bill was there for me after my service in Vietnam," Zuccaro said in the statement, released on the HAI website and on YouTube. "Now HAI is committed to making sure it’s there to meet the needs of today’s veterans.

"Lax enforcement of existing VA regulations coupled with liberal policies allowed some flight schools to charge the VA far more than was the intent of the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The bill is intended to train a veteran in any course of study to a point that he or she can enter the civilian workforce. In the aviation industry, that generally means a commercial pilot with flight instructor and flight instructor-instrument certificates.

"House bill 475 would impose an annual cap of just over $20,000 per year for a flight-training degree program at public schools. No other public collegiate degree program faces such a cap. Moreover, the $20,000 annual cap is inadequate, and student loans to make up the difference are nonexistent.

"Congress must not single out our industry based on a few isolated incidents caused by inept VA management of college flight-training programs. And it should order a Government Accountability Office study on the true costs of training veterans to be commercial pilots."

Zuccaro invites veterans and flight schools who may be affected by the bill to submit their stories to the organization.

"I also urge you to contact your representative in Congress," Zuccaro said. "He or she needs to know that if this bill passes, it will harm veterans and the entire aviation industry by making it too expensive for veterans to become pilots at a time when the industry desperately needs them.

(Image from HAI YouTube video)

FMI: Video