Boyer Cautions Not To Pop Champagne Corks Just Yet
From his lips, to a
higher power's ears. Florida Senator Bill Nelson had a succinct
message for the over 400 pilots attending a recent AOPA Pilot Town
Meeting. In his opinion, "user fees are dead," Nelson told the
audience in Fort Lauderdale, according to the Aircraft Owners and
Pilots Association.
Nelson updated those in attendance with the latest news from the
Senate floor... where S.1300, the Senate Commerce Committee's take
on the FAA reauthorization bill, is still under debate. As ANN reported, in May 2006
the senator co-sponsored an amendment to the bill, with New
Hampshire Senator John Sununu, to strip user fees from the
legislation.
That amendment failed by a single vote... but Nelson told the
crowd in Fort Lauderdale it "signaled that user fees are dead and
it signaled that they are going to be out of the final FAA
reauthorization bill. When this bill gets to the floor, I
don’t expect that I'll have to offer the amendment
again."
When the Senate returns to work January 22, Nelson added, among
its top priorities will be reconciling S.1300 -- which includes a
$25-per-leg fee for turbine-equipped aircraft that file IFR flight
plans -- and a companion bill from the Finance Committee, S.2345.
The latter does not include the trip fee.
The House of Representatives passed its version of FAA
reauthorization, H.R. 2881, last September. That bill includes
increases to the costs of pilot certificates, airworthiness
certificates, and aircraft registrations, as well as to the
per-gallon costs of avgas and jet-A. The House and Senate plans
would have to be reconciled before a final bill is sent to the
White House.
AOPA President Phil Boyer, himself no stranger to the political
process, said he appreciates Nelson's optimism, but cautioned a lot
of work still remains.
"While it's encouraging to hear Sen. Nelson's assessment, in
politics it isn't over until the final vote," said Boyer. "The
airlines haven't given up on user fees and more taxes on general
aviation, and you can bet their lobbyists will be buttonholing
senators as soon as they're back in Washington. AOPA will be
working even harder on Capitol Hill, and when the timing is right,
we'll be asking all of our members to weigh in with their
senators."
As its last funding plan officially expired September 30 of last
year, the FAA is currently funded through an extension of the
agency's previous budget and aviation excise taxes until February
29.
AOPA is holding another Pilot Town Meeting on Saturday, at St.
Augustine Airport (SGJ.)