Government Advocacy

Livingston Emerges as Front-Runner to Replace Gingrich
Appropriations Chairman Has Good Record on General Aviation

Nov. 9, 1998 — House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston (R-La.) is now the leading candidate to replace Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House. Livingston would continue Gingrich's policies in support of general aviation.

Only hours after Livingston announced his formal candidacy for Speaker last Friday, Gingrich said he would not run for Speaker again. Over the weekend, several possible rivals for the job declined to run, making Livingston the likely successor.

Gingrich, former ranking minority member of the House aviation subcommittee, was a friend of general aviation pilots throughout his career as Speaker, and AOPA lost an ally when Gingrich announced he had dropped out of the race for Speaker. But judging from his performance as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Livingston — a consistent foe of aviation user fees — would bring a similar attitude of friendliness to the concerns of GA pilots.

Livingston's committee has repeatedly rejected requests by the Clinton administration to give the FAA the power to collect user fees.

But the committee went further: At the urging of AOPA Legislative Action, Livingston's committee included in the FY98 and FY99 bills a provision that states that no funds can be used by the FAA "to plan, finalize, or implement any regulation that would promulgate new aviation user fees not specifically authorized by law after the date of enactment."

With Livingston at the helm, the Appropriations bills also included other measures favorable to GA pilots, including healthy increases in Airport Improvement Program grants.

Congress Rejects Aircraft Forcedown Power for Coast Guard
Major Victory for AOPA Legislative Action

Oct. 22, 1998 — Congress has passed a Coast Guard reauthorization bill without making it a crime to disobey an order to land as part of anti-drug smuggling efforts.

At the insistence of House conferees, members of a House-Senate conference committee dropped the order-to-land provisions, which were added to the Senate version of the bill by the Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). The House passed the bill Oct. 15; the Senate passed it the day it adjourned, Oct. 21.

AOPA Legislative Action faced the order-to-land issue in three different bills this year. Though we did not oppose the Coast Guard's drug interdiction efforts, AOPA Legislative Action was concerned that certain parts of the order-to-land provisions were too broad. The most disturbing issue was that the provisions could have allowed random forced landings. The provisions would have imposed a prison term of up to three years for failing to heed an order to land by the Coast Guard.

AOPA Legislative Action fought vigorously to add language to the Coast Guard bill explicitly requiring the Coast Guard to have reasonable suspicion before ordering an aircraft to land. We also sought an "innocent owner" provision to assure that aircraft owners whose aircraft were seized by the government, but who are innocent of wrongdoing, could get their property returned.

Thanks to the support of the thousands of AOPA members who contacted their elected representatives to urge them to add the reasonable suspicion requirement and innocent owner provision, AOPA Legislative Action succeeded in stripping this provision from the bill. The pilots responded to a Western Union mailgram sent to pilots in the states and congressional districts of the House and Senate negotiators who wrote the final Coast Guard bill.

"The response of AOPA members clearly made an impression on Congress," said Phil Boyer, AOPA Legislative Action president. "Their reasoned explanations of why this bill would have been detrimental to safety helped persuade Congress to remove the provision." When time grew short and congressional offices became flooded with letters from general aviation pilots, the negotiators decided to delete the controversial provision from the bill outright rather than consider any modifications.

In addition to the Coast Guard reauthorization bill, the order-to-land provisions appeared in the Senate's tobacco bill and the House GOP's anti-drug package. The tobacco bill died in the Senate, and the House took no action on the drug bill.

The issue may come back again next year, but for now it is a clear victory for general aviation.

Congress Drops the Ball on FAA Reauthorization
Wrangling Over Airline Competition Kills Bill

Oct. 22, 1998 — In the waning weeks of the 105th Congress, House and Senate aviation leaders failed to find common ground over proposals to expand airline service at a few major airports. Their failure doomed a major aviation bill that included provisions to help protect general aviation airports from closure and also jeopardizes the record amounts of funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds.

The controversy over the FAA Reauthorization Bill (H.R. 4057, S. 2279) centered on efforts to add additional capacity at the nation's four slot-controlled airports, among the busiest in the United States, and to expand the maximum flight distance from Reagan National Airport. Reagan National's "perimeter rule" limits flights to within 1,250 miles.

Several House leaders from Virginia and Illinois, home of slot-controlled airports Reagan National and Chicago O'Hare, respectively, objected to the airline service expansions and perimeter rule expansion. The other slot-controlled airports are La Guardia and John F. Kennedy airports in New York.

The failure of the bill means protections for small airports, which were supported by AOPA Legislative Action and included in the reauthorization bill, will not pass this year. They include a requirement for public involvement before any airport that used AIP grants to buy land may close or sell the land.

The bill's failure also puts at risk $950 million of the $1.95 billion in AIP funds provided for FY99. For a complete list of provisions of interest to general aviation that failed to pass due to the wrangling of the reauthorization bill, see AOPA's chart of final action on issues affecting general aviation.

In lieu of the failed bill, House and Senate leaders agreed to add a stripped-down six-month extension of the FAA's current authorization to the omnibus funding bill (H.R. 4328). The House passed the mammoth bill Oct. 20, and the Senate passed it the next day just before it adjourned. President Clinton signed the bill Oct. 21.

FAA Reauthorization Bill Faces Rush to Adjournment
Congress Preoccupied With Last-Minute Bills, Elections

Oct. 1, 1998 — The Senate passed its version of legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and its programs, including the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), Sept 25. This cleared the measure for a House-Senate conference committee to write a compromise between the Senate and House versions (see the comparison of bills). But before the FAA bill becomes law, the conference must complete its work — and the compromise bill must pass both houses again — while Congress rushes to adjourn.

In addition to the FAA reauthorization bill, Congress is grappling with numerous other bills, including 11 of 13 appropriations bills for fiscal year 1999, which began today. Congress has already passed a stop-gap measure extending the current spending bills through Oct. 9. The impeachment issue could also add to the work load, though its likely effect is still unclear. On the other hand, the House and Senate hope to adjourn with plenty of time to campaign before Election Day, Nov. 3.

Before passing its bill (S. 2279), the Senate voted down an amendment offered by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), an AOPA member. Sen. Inhofe's amendment would have given pilots the right to appeal the emergency status of FAA emergency certificate revocations to the National Transportation Safety Board within seven days. The amendment failed, 46-51. Sen. Inhofe has vowed to continue his quest to pass this legislation, and AOPA Legislative Action will continue to support his efforts.

AOPA Legislative Action Calls for a Check on Emergency Certificate Actions
Emergency Suspension, Revocation Power Subject to FAA Abuse

Aug. 6, 1998 — AOPA Legislative Action Counsel John Yodice urged the House aviation subcommittee today to pass legislation to give pilots the right to appeal the emergency nature of airman certificate suspensions and revocations.

Aviators can currently appeal a certificate action to the National Transportation Safety Board, but if the FAA uses its emergency power to suspend or revoke an airman's certificate on the spot, the pilot is grounded until the NTSB overturns the decision — a process that can take months.

Yodice urged lawmakers to approve H.R. 1846, a bill introduced by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), which would give the NTSB appellate power over the emergency nature of certificate actions. A pilot could appeal to the NTSB, and the board would issue a decision within five days of the emergency action. If the board overruled the FAA, the revocation or suspension would proceed under normal procedures, but the pilot could fly in the meantime.

Yodice told the subcommittee that recent changes in FAA policy and cases of abuse of emergency power — such as the famous Bob Hoover case — were the impetus for this bill. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), GA pilot and AOPA member, has introduced similar legislation in the Senate.

Endnote: The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4057, the FAA Reauthorization Act, by voice vote last Tuesday. The bill now awaits action by the Senate.

AOPA Legislative Action Supports Veteran's Tax Relief
IRS Retroactively Taxed Flight Training Benefits

July 28, 1998 — AOPA Legislative Action is supporting H.R. 3942, a bill introduced by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), which would allow certain veterans who had to repay their tax deduction for flight training expenses, and whose claims were not settled due to legal time limits or were settled unfavorably, a one-time opportunity to file for a refund.

The Internal Revenue Service ruled in 1980 that veterans' flight training benefits were not tax deductible and applied the decision retroactively to charge veterans who had taken the deduction in prior years. In 1985, taxpayers won a lawsuit overturning the retroactive decision, but only some taxpayers were covered by the court's decision.

Rep. Tauscher's bill would allow any taxpayer whose claims were settled unfavorably with the IRS, or whose claims the IRS never considered due to legal time limits, the right to file for a refund.

House Subcommittee Approves FAA Spending Bill
Measure Increases Airport Funding

July 17, 1998 — The House transportation appropriations subcommittee approved a fiscal year 1999 transportation spending bill yesterday that includes $9.5 billion for the FAA. The total includes $1.8 billion for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants.

The AIP figure is up from this year's $1.7 billion but less than the Senate version of the bill, which would provide $2.1 billion for AIP. During the subcommittee's work on the bill, the panel's chairman, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), noted that the huge highway funding bill Congress passed earlier this year constrained his subcommittee's ability to fund FAA and other programs at higher levels.

The Senate's transportation bill has reached the Senate floor for action. The full House Appropriations Committee is expected to approve the bill next week. This is how the two bills look to date on aviation spending (addition errors due to rounding):

Once the House and Senate each pass their versions of the bill, a House-Senate conference committee will work out the differences between the two.

Aviation Spending Bill Crosses First Senate Hurdle
Includes Record $2.1 Billion for AIP

The Senate transportation appropriations subcommittee has approved a fiscal year 1999 transportation spending bill that would provide $9.9 billion for the FAA, including a record $2.1 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The full Appropriations Committee is expected to take up the bill next week.

The bill would enact the following spending levels:

Senate Begins Work on FAA Reauthorization
No User Fees, No PBO in First Draft

On July 9, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee began its markup of a bill (S. 2297) to reauthorize the FAA and its programs. The draft bill would not convert the air traffic control system to a "performance-based organization" (PBO) funded by user fees as the Clinton administration and some senators have sought.

In addition to preventing radical ideas like the PBO, AOPA Legislative Action is working on issues such as funding of GA and reliever airports.

The committee, which is chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), will continue its work next week. Issues such as regulation of airline competition and increasing operations at the nation's busiest airports have slowed the process.

House Subcommittee Snubs Administration's Plan
No User Fees, No PBO in Draft FAA Bill

June 18, 1998 — The Aviation subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation today to reauthorize FAA programs. Notably absent is the Clinton administration's plan to convert the air traffic control system into a separate "performance-based organization" funded by user fees.

The reauthorization bill, which the subcommittee is writing under the leadership of Chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.), would continue FAA and the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) for another year.

The draft contains language requested by AOPA Legislative Action to establish a public process before an airport is allowed to sell land purchased through the AIP program. The bill would increase the AIP state entitlement for GA airports to 20 percent from 18.5 percent. It would require the FAA to fully maintain loran C systems until transition to GPS/WAAS is complete. And it would require an independent analysis of the FAA's cost allocation system — a system the agency is now developing. The FAA has been roundly criticized for asking for cost-based user fees when it has no cost accounting system in place.

Look here for more information about the reauthorization bill as it develops.

Senator Pledges to Change Aircraft Forcedown Powers
Provisions Appeared in Tobacco Bill Drug Smuggling Amendment

June 13, 1998 — In a statement on the Senate floor June 11, Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) pledged to make changes recommended by AOPA Legislative Action to anti-drug smuggling provisions of the tobacco bill under debate in the U.S. Senate (S. 1415).

The provisions, which the Senate added to the tobacco bill June 9, give law enforcement officers enhanced powers to order aircraft to land without reasonable suspicion, and could force aircraft owners to spend thousands of dollars to recover a seized aircraft even if the owner is innocent of criminal wrongdoing.

The Senate added the aviation provisions as part of Sen. Coverdell's amendment to the tobacco bill intended to fight drug smuggling. In his floor statement, Sen. Coverdell agreed to help in response to concerns raised by AOPA Legislative Action and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a pilot and AOPA member.

The Senate is expected to resume debate on the bill next week.

Key General Aviation Candidates Victorious in Primaries
Pilots, Avionics Businessman Win With AOPA Legislative Action PAC Support

June 6, 1998 — Pilot candidates for Congress supported by AOPA Legislative Action PAC, all non-incumbents, have won their primary races, earning the right to carry their party's banner this fall.

California State Treasurer Matt Fong won the Republican Senate primary yesterday by defeating car-alarm magnate Darrell Issa, despite Issa's generous use of his personal wealth to far outspend Fong's campaign by several million dollars. AOPA Legislative Action PAC's support helped Fong keep up with Issa. Fong is an AOPA member and Air Force reservist. He will face Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in the general election.

Also in California, Magellan Systems founder Randy Hoffman won the GOP primary in the Malibu-area 24th congressional district. Hoffman will challenge Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman for the seat this fall.

Earlier, Pat Toomey, an AOPA member who owns and operates several restaurants in the Allentown, Pennsylvania, area, won the GOP nod in the 15th district race. The seat is being vacated by Democrat Paul McHale.

Longtime AOPA member Robin Hayes is expected to win the GOP nomination for the central North Carolina seat of retiring Democrat Bill Hefner in the 8th District. North Carolina's primary, scheduled for May, was postponed until Sept. 15 due to a court challenge of the state's congressional district borders.

Congress Ready to Move Bills Affecting General Aviation
AOPA Legislative Action Working on Budget, FAA, Spending Measures

May 15, 1998 — Congress will begin work on three measures in the coming weeks that will affect general aviation.

House lawmakers are expected to put the finishing touches on the budget resolution, which sets overall spending goals and policy outlines for the coming fiscal year, next week. House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich (R-Ohio) wants his panel to adopt an ambitious plan for cuts of $100 billion over five years.

The budget resolution will contain non-binding suggestions for policy changes, and some may affect aviation.

The massive highway spending bill now in a House-Senate conference committee could be an iceberg threatening Kasich's plans, though. The final version of the bill is likely to call for over $200 billion in highway and transit spending over five years. Reconciling the highway bill with Kasich's plan could be difficult, and new budget wars could break out.

Before Memorial Day, the House aviation subcommittee is expected to mark up (amend and vote on) a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and its programs, which expire this year. The Clinton administration has proposed a reauthorization that would convert the air traffic control system to a "performance-based organization" funded by user fees based on the recommendations of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission. AOPA Legislative Action is fighting to convince the committee to reject this proposal and reauthorize the FAA with only minor changes. Phil Boyer testified before the subcommittee March 18 and urged lawmakers not to make radical changes to the FAA.

The Senate transportation appropriations subcommittee plans to mark up a spending bill that includes funding for FAA operations and the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) in the next few weeks. The Clinton administration has called for spending $1.7 billion for AIP grants to airports in FY99, which is the same as the current year's level. AOPA Legislative Action has joined other aviation groups in pushing for a $2 billion AIP level this year. The administration did not request new FAA user fees for FY99, canceling a repeat of last year's battle over user fees in the appropriations committees. The President asked for $300 million in user fees last year, but AOPA Legislative Action successfully defeated the proposal in both chambers of Congress.

Clinton Administration Releases User Fee Bill
Plan Draws Heavily on NCARC Report

April 24, 1998 — The Clinton administration released its long-awaited FAA reauthorization bill this week, and as expected, it would charge billions of dollars in user fees to fund a new "performance-based organization" (PBO) to run air traffic control.

The bill draws heavily on the recommendations of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC), which called for setting up a PBO funded by user fees. The bill adopts the NCARC's recommendation to allow general aviation to continue to pay the fuel tax instead of user fees — for now.

The bill differs from the NCARC in a few key areas, though. The administration's bill gives the secretary of Transportation more power over the new PBO. It does not grant a tax break won by Part 135 charter operators in the NCARC report. And it does not continue to fund a portion of the FAA's expenses from the federal government's General Fund to supplement the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Loss of the General Fund contribution would amount to a tax hike for aviation users to cover the difference.

AOPA Legislative Action President Phil Boyer blasted the bill, criticizing it for adding new layers of bureaucracy and decreasing accountability (see "Independent FAA is what's needed, says AOPA, not two DOT-controlled aviation organizations"). He renewed AOPA Legislative Action's call for making the FAA an independent agency. AOPA Legislative Action staff are busy examining the bill line-by-line to assess its full impact on general aviation and are already meeting with key members of Congress and congressional staff to discuss the bill.

Administration Calls for Aviation Users to Pay 100% of System Costs

March 24, 1998 — The administration has confirmed AOPA Legislative Action's analysis of the Clinton budget proposal that it wants aviation users to bear the burden of the FAA's entire budget, replacing the share of the agency's expenses now funded by all taxpayers.

Under current law, the federal government's General Fund, derived from income and other taxes, pays for about 30% of the FAA's budget. The rest comes from aviation excise taxes, including the GA fuel tax, through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Even the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC) recommends keeping the General Fund contribution because "non-aviation users benefit economically and socially from a safe, efficient, and effective air transportation system."

"We...believe that the entire FAA should be supported by a combination of cost-based user fees and other user charges," the administration said in a statement to the House aviation subcommittee. "This contrasts with the NCARC proposal to fund certain FAA activities from the General Fund."

The statement confirms the suspicions that emerged from President Clinton's budget proposal released Feb. 2 — the administration wants to increase taxes on aviation users to free up money for spending increases on other domestic programs included in the budget.

Testifying at the same hearing, AOPA Legislative Action President Phil Boyer reiterated the importance of the General Fund contribution. He said user fees are at the least premature for the FAA, because the agency does not have a cost accounting system in place and has not fully calculated the cost of modernization.

Powerful Committee Chairman Opposes Aviation Tax Increase in Clinton Budget

March 5, 1998 — Rep. Bill Archer (R-Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has come out against the $6 billion tax increase on aviaiton contained in President Clinton's budget request. Archer's committee enacted a 10-year extension of the existing aviation excise taxes, including the tax on avgas, with the support of AOPA Legislative Action.

"Last year's budget agreement provided a long-term, stable resolution to this thorny issue, yet the administration now wants to collect more money from the traveling public," said Archer. "This provision is an old-fashioned tax hike on millions of traveling Americans, and I oppose it."

President's Budget Asks for Tax Hike, User Fees
Billions Could be Spent for Non-Aviation Purposes

Feb. 5, 1998 — The FY99 budget request the Clinton administration released Monday calls for a big tax hike and a 100% user fee-funded FAA.

The administration wants to replace the excise taxes paid by aviators and airline passengers — including the avgas tax — and replace them with user fees. But it doesn't stop there. The budget calls for an additional $1.7 billion in user fees beginning Oct. 1, 1999, with no explanation for why it is needed or how it would be spent.

There's not even a promise that the additional funds would be spent for aviation purposes. Currently, aviation excise taxes go into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is reserved for aviation use. The additional user fees would go to a "Transportation Fund for America." No explanation of its purpose is given. Only $600 million in new spending is shown in 2003, which leaves $1.1 billion diverted for non-aviation purposes.

Even a senior Department of Transportation official couldn't explain.

In the short term, the administration's budget looks good. The administration is seeking a record $9.75 billion for the FAA — a 7% increase — which includes $5.6 billion for FAA operations and the hiring of 185 additional air traffic controllers. The FAA's facilities and equipment budget would increase 14% to $2.1 billion, while research, engineering, and development would get a 46% increase to $290 million. Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants would stay at the current $1.7-billion level set by Congress last year.

See the AOPA Legislative Action news release on the budget.

AOPA FY99 Budget Preview
Budget Issues in an Era of Surplus

January 29, 1998 — The President's State of the Union Address Tuesday night kicked off the annual process leading to the funding of the federal government's operations for fiscal year 1999 (FY99). This year, the Transportation Department has so little clout within the Clinton administration it was virtually the only the cabinet-level agency without any mention in the President's address.

As the Clinton administration's budget proposal is rolled out next week, AOPA will analyze its effect on general aviation and develop its own alternatives for Congress to consider. However, your association is already tracking issues that will no doubt play a part in this year's budget debate.

More Aviation User Fee Proposals Expected

Despite the fact that over 5,000 proposals currently exist on Capitol Hill for spending the budget surplus, federal budget rules will make it very difficult for Congress to spend that money, or to cut taxes. In fact, federal budget laws — Gramm-Rudman, the Budget Enforcement Act, and the Taxpayer Relief Act — simply never envisioned an era of surplus spending. So under the agreement reached in 1997, domestic discretionary spending, which includes spending for aviation, will only rise by one percent this year.

The President included several new spending initiatives in his State of the Union Address, but the budget that will be presented to Congress February 2 tries to get around budget rules by "assuming" the new programs will be paid for by a settlement with tobacco companies. For other spending, in July of this year the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed the cabinet to look for new user fees and offsetting collections, which technically evade the spending limits in last year's budget deal, as the way to finance other funding increases.

In addition, next week OMB will propose, as part of the budget request, a technical change in the scoring of transportation spending, which would result in the weakening of the aviation trust fund. In the long run, this could diminish some of the incentives for keeping transportation funding at high levels.

No Consensus Exists on Capitol Hill

Although strong support exists in Congress for increasing transportation spending, no consensus has yet emerged about budgeting in an age of surplus. Three strong camps exist on the Hill:

1. Those who favor increased spending.
2. Those who favor tax cuts.
3. Those who favor paying off some of the debt.

The last is the one of the least noticed but possibly most intriguing. Paying off even some of the national debt could lower interest rates even further, perhaps translating to mortgages as low as 6-6.5 percent for 30 years. For pilots, that could mean attractive financing for new aircraft or avionics.

Whatever approach to the surplus Congress takes, AOPA will work to protect the interests of general aviation pilots in the budget process.

Mineta Makes NCARC Case to Aero Club

Norm Mineta, chairman of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC), told members of the prestigious Aero Club of Washington Jan. 27 that every part of the commission's recommendations is essential to the delicate compromise it created. But Mineta's repeated attempts to woo general aviation made it clear a consensus doesn't exist.

Mineta, formerly chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, stressed the unique contribution of general aviation and said the NCARC did not call for a tax increase on GA.

However, while the report does not use the words "tax increase," it does say that "the current level of tax payments does not cover the costs general aviation imposes," and "fuel taxes imposed on general aviation should be re-evaluated based on — the costs of providing ATC and related services to them." And the commission staff went so far as to propose doubling the tax on aviation gasoline.

With no general aviation representative on the NCARC, the support of general aviation has become a missing piece of the puzzle for the commission. See our NCARC issue brief for AOPA's position on the report.

AOPA Legislative Action Prepares for Challenges
User Fees, NCARC, FAA Spending Top Agenda Again

January 16, 1998 — The second session of the 105th Congress opens in Washington on January 27. This is a preview of the issues AOPA Legislative Action is likely to confront. Look in this space frequently for regular reports on the activities of AOPA Legislative Action and the PAC, as well as insider information on Congress and elections nationwide.

National Civil Aviation Review Commission

Once again, the Clinton administration will push to fund the FAA with a system of user fees. But this time, user fees come with the backing of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC), the panel that Congress charged with recommending changes to the FAA's financing system. Backed with the commission's report, user-fee supporters in Congress will press hard this year for a 100% user fee-funded FAA, presenting AOPA's toughest challenge yet.

AOPA Legislative Action's message to Congress is that the NCARC report is flawed because the panel consisted mostly of airline and airport interests and no general aviation representative (see our NCARC issue brief), and that user fees are unworkable, inefficient, and unfair. AOPA's alternative to the NCARC is to make the FAA an independent agency.

Fiscal Year 1999 Budget

The battle over user fees spilled over into the appropriations committee rooms last year when the White House proposed allowing the FAA to collect $300 million in user fees in the FY98 budget. AOPA Legislative Action convinced appropriators not to allow for user fees, but it remains to be seen if the President's budget request will contain user fees again this year. The President's budget is due to be released February 2.

The Office of Management and Budget reportedly has proposed funding the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) at $500 million — a 70 percent cut from the FY98 level of $1.7 billion. However, the latest intelligence is that White House intervention will restore the level to $1.7 billion.

FAA Reauthorization

Congress must reauthorize the FAA this year — renewing the law that establishes the agency's authority and programs. The reauthorization bill is a magnet for policy proposals, but most are likely to fine-tune rather than make drastic changes in FAA operations or regulations. In the last FAA reauthorization bill, passed in 1996, Congress gave the FAA freedom from federal personnel and procurement rules to give the agency the flexibility to do its job quicker and more efficiently.

AOPA Legislative Action PAC

The PAC will experience increasing demand for its resources as Election Day 1998 approaches. Based on past experience, the PAC expects to provide about $300,000 this year to help candidates for the House and Senate who support general aviation. Many candidates supported by the PAC are pilots and AOPA members.

AOPA Legislative Action PAC is the instrument by which AOPA members can support candidates for federal office who are sympathetic to the concerns of general aviation pilots. All funding for the PAC is provided by voluntary donations; no dues money is used for political purposes.