Aviation subcommittee chairman says 'no' to user fees

Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.)

The Chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) says he will oppose President Obama on general aviation user fees. “These concepts are stale leftovers from the Bush administration that are not supported in Congress,” said Costello.  “We should not be wasting time rehashing bad ideas. 

“Consensus was reached on financing issues last year and we need to move forward quickly to pass an FAA reauthorization bill. I look forward to discussing this issue with the administration, but let me be clear, user fees on general aviation are a non-starter,” Costello said.

Costello issued the statement March 13 in response to an Aviation Daily report that the Obama administration is considering GA security and user fees.

Costello has consistently, adamantly, and successfully opposed previous attempts to write GA user fees into FAA funding (reauthorization) legislation.