Each year at the closing banquet of AOPA Expo, your association bestows the coveted Hartranft Award upon a politician who has made a significant contribution to general aviation. The award is named after the first employee of AOPA, and the association's first leader, Joseph B. (Doc) Hartranft. On October 21, the award was presented to Representative Jim Lightfoot (R-IA) for his role in spearheading efforts that have led to the introduction of H.R.2276, "The Federal Aviation Administration Revitalization Act of 1995." This well-crafted bill is commonly referred to within the aviation industry as the Duncan-Lightfoot bill. In addition to Representative Lightfoot, it is named after the other principal sponsor, House aviation subcommittee Chairman John Duncan (R-TN). Like many of our friends in Congress, Lightfoot is a pilot and AOPA member.
The bitter debate over new user fees in the Senate has drawn attention away from this very positive effort to reform the Federal Aviation Administration, which is quietly proceeding in the U.S. House of Representatives. AOPA Legislative Action is enthusiastically supporting this legislation. Of great importance to our efforts is that this important bill has bipartisan support. In addition to Chairman Duncan and Representative Lightfoot, H.R.2276 is supported by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-PA), Government Reform Committee Chairman Bill Clinger (R-PA), senior transportation committee Democrat Jim Oberstar (D-MN), and senior aviation subcommittee Democrat Bill Lipinski (D-IL). The bill also enjoys the bipartisan support of 39 other co-sponsors.
AOPA Legislative Action was among the first organizations to endorse the Duncan-Lightfoot bill. The legislation incorporates the major elements of the five-point FAA reform proposal we presented to Congress earlier this year. Lightfoot drew heavily from our ideas to develop the legislative proposal that he introduced in the House on April 4. His legislation quickly attracted widespread interest among the aviation industry and on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Representative Duncan was hard at work on other innovative ideas. Seeing that their separate reform proposals shared many common themes, these two skilled legislators soon teamed up in a cooperative effort to build the comprehensive FAA reform plan now known as the Duncan-Lightfoot bill.
The Duncan-Lightfoot bill does everything necessary to make the FAA the first-class service organization that it must be. The bill makes the FAA independent of the Department of Transportation, as it was until the 1960s. It frees the FAA from burdensome federal procurement and personnel rules. It establishes a common-sense management structure for the FAA. And it frees the $6 billion surplus in the aviation trust fund. It does all this without the drastic and radical user fees proposed in the Senate's FAA reform bill, S.1239, the "Air Traffic Management System Performance Act of 1995." House legislators are proving that it is possible to reform the FAA without raising aviation taxes.
Last month in this column I discussed the troublesome user fee proposal included in S.1239. Since that was written, S.1239 was passed by the Senate Commerce Committee (See " AOPA Action," page 6). What concerns us about this legislation is that it is supported by the Clinton administration and was introduced by senators John McCain (R-AZ), Wendell H. Ford (D- KY), and Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC).
In addition to the major differences in content between the Senate bill and the Duncan-Lightfoot bill, the contrast in the way the two bills are proceeding is remarkable. In the Senate, tempers are boiling over, staff members are confused and angry, and individual senators are jittery about being asked to cast yet another vote in favor of a tax increase. The aviation industry is in complete turmoil over the Senate bill, with airlines pitted against general aviation, big airlines fighting with small airlines, and individual airlines maneuvering to gain an advantage over their competitors. The debate has sparked fierce internal warfare that threatens to derail the early signs of economic recovery enjoyed by every segment of the aviation industry during the past year.
Compare this to the atmosphere in the House, where the Duncan-Lightfoot bill was unanimously approved by the aviation subcommittee on October 26 and was passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee just six days later — again by unanimous vote. The bill now awaits action in the full House, where we expect it to be approved once the crowded House calendar allows time for consideration on the floor.
Why such a marked difference between the House and the Senate? The answer lies partially in the substance, of course, with the Senate bill calling for substantial new user taxes. Throw a tax increase into any debate and the temperature goes up fast. But it's more than that, because taxes aren't the only controversial issue raised by the debate. It's also a difference in style. House leaders such as Duncan have sought to build consensus on the issue, and they've succeeded.
We've come a long way in the FAA reform debate since the administration proposed in 1992 to corporatize the ATC system. If we're going to succeed in reinventing the FAA, however, it will take the kind of calm leadership demonstrated this year by representatives John Duncan and Jim Lightfoot. They have a vision for the FAA and the industry, and they're taking us where we need to go. AOPA Legislative Action continues to work with Congress on this important legislation. When it appears that these two critical bills will come to the Senate or House floor, you can be assured that your association will call on the general aviation pilots of this country to encourage their elected officials to vote in support of the Duncan-Lightfoot bill in the House, and against S.1239 in the Senate.
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