NATA has urged Congress to pass H.R. 2115, Vision 100 - The Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (CARA), without delay.

"This is a classic situation of not being able to see the forest for the trees," commented NATA president James K. Coyne. "The overall benefits of CARA are far too great for Congress to simply discard the entire conference agreement over one provision that does not enjoy universal support."

The benefits of the bill are enumerated in a letter sent today to all members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate by Coyne and other aviation association CEOs.  Those benefits outlined in the letter include:

• $14 billion for the Airport Improvement Program;
• $100 million in relief assistance to general aviation companies devastated by the terrorist attacks; and
• $2 billion to install explosive detection systems used to scan passenger baggage. 

The $14 billion for airport funding, which will be used to enhance safety and capacity at airports around the country, will create 665,000 direct and indirect jobs over the life of the bill.  In total, the FAA reauthorization bill includes $60 billion for safety, security and other aviation programs.

As for the debate over the Air Traffic Control privatization provision, the association heads state, "The bill prohibits privatization of the overwhelming majority - 94 percent - of FAA controller jobs, while leaving open just the theoretical possibility of adding some of the FAA-staffed visual flight rule towers to the highly successful contract tower program - an option that exists today.  We believe the underlying bill is too important to be caught up in a theoretical labor-management tug of war."
 
With AIR-21 expiring on September 30, it is critical that Congress approve and the President sign CARA now. "Too many critical areas of the aviation industry stand to suffer if this measure is not law by September 30," stressed Coyne.  "It's time for opponents of CARA to recognize that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

FMI: www.nata-online.org