FAA Funding Debate

The home stretch

An FAA funding bill favorable to all of aviation has moved much closer to reality. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2881 – the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007 – Sept. 20. The very next day, the Senate Finance Committee significantly changed the tax provisions of S.1300, taking the Senate's version of the FAA funding bill much closer to something general aviation can support.

Except for that $25 user fee, the House and Senate FAA funding bills are now very similar in how they tax both general aviation and the airlines. That user fee is significant, because more than 100,000 AOPA members either fly, or are on a path to fly, turbine-powered aircraft. And AOPA believes that the imposition of user fees on any segment of aviation would inevitably lead to user fees for all.

Meanwhile, the administration is still pushing for its ideas of how the FAA should be funded. The White House has threatened to veto an FAA funding bill if it doesn't contain many of the provisions that were included in the FAA-drafted bill (S.1076, H.R. 1356). While the bill was introduced as a courtesy to the president, it was never considered seriously by either the House or Senate.

The issues:

• Does the FAA need more money?
• Is the current tax system "broken"?
• Who should pay how much towards FAA costs?
• Who controls the airspace system—Congress or the airlines?

The players:

The FAA and Department of Transportation...

...want user fees to "match revenue to costs," to eliminate congressional controls on what they spend, and to charge pilots directly for FAA services.

The big airlines...

...want to shift some of the costs to support the FAA onto GA, and they want to control the air traffic control system and access to "their" airspace.

The White House...

...wants to take FAA funding "off budget" by charging user fees to free tax revenue for nonaviation uses

General aviation...

...wants to preserve a robust aviation system that is the envy of the world and that serves all citizens, not just the wealthy.

The timeline:

Congress must take action by October 2007, as the existing authority to collect aviation taxes on fuel, passenger tickets, and air cargo waybills will expire.

Learn More:
Who pays for all of this? >>
Next:
AOPA's Position >>