AOPA President Phil Boyer has served the association, currently 390,000-plus members strong, since 1991.
In the coming months you will be reading and hearing many details of transportation bills working their way through the 108th Congress. While aviation magazines, Web sites, and other media will detail the action and content of this legislation, when it comes to general aviation, ask yourself who is behind all this work. Sections of bills, amendments to bills, and support for GA in Congress don't just happen; rather, they're the result of hard work, lobbying, and making the business case for why Congress needs to change existing conditions. Your association commits the most people, financial resources, and time to work issues through Congress — more than almost all other general aviation organizations combined!
Past history demonstrates the effectiveness of AOPA's lobbying activities, from product liability reform through reopening Class B airspace to VFR flight after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. In between were victories like stopping the privatization of the nation's air traffic control system (an ongoing battle), taking the Airport and Airway Trust Fund off-budget, and continually focusing federal Airport Improvement Program dollars on general aviation airports. In many cases your association has prevented legislation from being introduced that would be detrimental to lightplane pilots and owners. Following the John F. Kennedy Jr. accident there was a move afoot to prevent night VFR flying. We stopped that by presenting the House aviation subcommittee with facts and demonstrations as to why this was not needed.
Important issues for GA are now working in both chambers of Congress. Earlier in the year I personally spoke with Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) about the lack of due process in the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) new pilot certificate revocation rules. Since that time the staff of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has been working on a fix for what we have termed the "Pilot Insecurity Rule." The legislation to repair the rule calls for an administrative law judge in the Department of Transportation to hear any appeal after a pilot's certificate has been revoked for security reasons. As it now stands, the appeal process goes back to the TSA, the same agency that orders the original revocation. In this case AOPA did significant legal work on the solution, and AOPA Legislative Affairs (AOPALA) in Washington, D.C., has been working closely with the Air Line Pilots Association.
Since the Meigs Field devastation by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, AOPALA has placed emphasis on getting some guarantees in this year's bill to prevent or strongly discourage this from happening again at an airport near you. Dubbed the "Meigs Field Legacy language," it prevents closure of an airport without providing sufficient notice. There would be a $10,000-a-day fine. This is only one of several remedies AOPA will seek over the next sessions of Congress.
Through AOPA efforts, legislation is currently working to remedy airspace restrictions imposed after September 11 — restrictions that we can't seem to convince the regulators should be removed. Section 436 of the House bill calls for the FAA to involve our elected officials and their oversight in any Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) that has been in effect for more than 60 days, and to make a report in 30 days on any ADIZ in effect upon the passage of the act. This language, sponsored by AOPA member and Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), was facilitated by John Glaser in AOPA's D.C. office and is similar to that proposed when Class B airspace was closed to VFR flight. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) has draft amendment language that will be introduced in the Senate, eliminating the need for a conference, since it would match the House bill.
Remember, the power of almost 400,000 members who elect our officials is an asset when dealing with Congress, rather than appointed regulators. Rachel Carr in our AOPALA office is working with Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) on airspace restrictions in the Puget Sound area. This measure calls for the FAA and Department of Defense to evaluate the need to continue these temporary flight restrictions (TFRs). It also expands the call to take similar action with all the security TFRs established after September 11, which would open up pockets of restricted airspace in many parts of the country.
Section 431 has been the task of AOPA's Julia Krauss, working with the air traffic controllers union. It continues the ongoing battle to make sure our air traffic system remains "inherently governmental," words stricken from a Clinton executive order by President Bush.
I am only mentioning a few of the clauses your association is seeking in the upcoming legislative session. We will achieve success on a majority of these initiatives through the hard work of your legislative affairs staff and the strength of a large GA membership. It also should be noted that AOPA members contribute to the most effective and financially strong political action committee (PAC). Contributing to the campaigns of our friends in Congress gets us important access to discuss our needs and gain support. The next time you read about some action pending or passed by Congress that affects general aviation, keep in mind it was probably your association behind these moves.
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