President-elect vows to keep flying affordable for GA pilots in exclusive pre-election address to AOPA members

President-elect vows to keep flying affordable for GA pilots in exclusive pre-election address to AOPA members

President-elect George W. Bush, a former pilot in the Texas Air National Guard, has told AOPA he will work to keep flying affordable. In an exclusive video address taped earlier this year, he provided unique insight to AOPA members on how his administration will address issues affecting general aviation pilots. President-elect Bush vowed to make sure that the nation's airport and airway system "remains affordable to the hundreds of thousands of private pilots" who use it every year. He stated that he believes that "air safety regulation is a federal responsibility and should be funded out of general revenues." Citing his extensive use of general aviation to visit Texas cities not served by commercial airlines, President-elect Bush signaled his strong support for GA by noting that as governor he oversaw several budgets that increased state funding for Texas airports by 500 percent. In addition, he said he supports "congressional action to increase Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding" to assist GA and ease congestion at the nation's airports.

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December 14, 2000