Senate’s FAA bill offers reprieve from user fees

A bipartisan group of senators introduced an FAA reauthorization act last month that carries provisions to speed up implementation of the Next Generation A

By AIN Staff • AIN Staff

July 27, 2009

A bipartisan group of senators introduced an FAA reauthorization act last month that carries provisions to speed up implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) while retaining the current mechanisms for paying for the ATC upgrades. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the measure a week later.

The Senate bill (S.1451), the “FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act,” provides for agency funding for two years, meaning that, at least for now, general aviation will continue to contribute to the FAA through fuel taxes, rather than through a system of user fees that the Obama Administration has signaled that it wants in the near future. The White House has an ally in Sen. John Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, who said in a teleconference with reporters, “I still feel very strongly that general aviation has to pay [its] fair share.” Rockefeller has long backed additional user fees for general aviation, in particular business jets, and has been a leading advocate for a $25-per-leg surcharge for all turbine-powered aircraft.

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