It’s a wonderful time of year to be a pilot. There’s nothing quite like summer flying when long days, clear skies, and warm temperatures make for great opportunities to climb into the airplane after work or on the weekend and enjoy the adventure of your choice. Aviation events nationwide give pilots the chance to meet and to share their love of flying with friends and family members. But there are gray skies on the horizon for the general aviation community. And although the coming storm may seem distant now, we need to prepare for the rough weather ahead.
After the November elections, Congress faces a monumental task—agreeing on ways to cut the federal deficit before January 1 or face the prospect of automatic and indiscriminate budget cuts that will affect almost every sector of government. The second option, known as sequestration, was designed to slash $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit in a way that is so harsh and unacceptable that Congress would be spurred to act quickly, take a deliberative approach to cuts, and reach agreement on moving forward. If Congress doesn’t reach agreement this fall, sequestration will automatically take effect January 1, 2013.
The prospect is a painful one for general aviation. At the FAA, sequestration could mean laying off 2,000 air traffic organization employees, including 1,200 air traffic controllers and 900 technicians. Another 600 aircraft certification and safety personnel would be lost through attrition and not replaced; approximately 200 contract towers would close; and the NextGen initiative to modernize our air traffic system could be cut by up to $160 million.
With those kinds of cuts in the offing, the government will be seeking ways to raise revenues as well. It should come as no surprise that European-style user fee proposals are likely to find their way into all kinds of legislation—proposals that could cripple general aviation if they succeed.
The GA community is fortunate to have garnered strong and consistent support in Congress. The congressional GA caucuses—with 186 members in the House and 39 members in the Senate—are among the largest on Capitol Hill. Caucus members have consistently opposed user fees and responded to numerous other threats to GA. But with so much at stake, these stalwart lawmakers may not be able to protect GA from damaging cuts and misguided attempts to raise revenue by setting fees GA cannot pay.
There’s a dangerous storm brewing, and we must prepare. The aviation community needs to stand united, and we need to support the lawmakers who support us. We need to remind decision makers that GA is a vital economic engine—one that shouldn’t be compromised.
At AOPA, we are spreading that message far and wide, and engaging in the political process in new ways. In cooperation with the National Business Aviation Association, we’ll be hosting events at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions to honor decision makers who have supported GA. We’ll also be asking you to get involved when the time is right.
This is the calm before the storm—a time for us to gather our resources and make ready for the turbulence ahead. It’s also a time for us to show just how strong GA is. So keep training, keep flying, and tell your own political representatives that GA matters and must be protected.
We’ll do our best to keep you informed as the situation evolves, and you can count on AOPA to fight for our freedom to fly. I hope we can count on you, too.
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