News Archive

United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-2102

November 1, 2001

The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing to urge you to make a portion of the $40 billion provided to the Office of the President available to small businesses affected by the closure of Class B airspace throughout the United States.

I believe that the National Security Council and Federal Aviation Administration have acted appropriately in instituting new security precautions regarding general aviation (GA) in the wake of September 11. I also understand the clear national security reasons for limiting GA activity over many cities and for the continued closure of Class B airspace over New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston. However, it is obvious that many small businesses—banner advertisers, flight school owners and countless others—have been seriously impacted as a result of the closures. Although visual flight rules have been reinstated in much of the nation's Class B airspace, banner-towing airplanes, blimps, and others remain grounded.

While these businesses may be eligible for loans through the Small Business Administration, I am concerned that many GA-related businesses that are prohibited from flying will not be approved for these loans because it is unclear when they will be able to resume operations. In order to ensure that these businesses remain viable during the continued closure of Class B airspace, I hope that you will make emergency aid available immediately to these small businesses who have had their places of work effectively closed by the federal government.

Thank you for giving this matter your full attention. I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry