J

jtrusso

Well Known Member
I just saw this article from the AP on Yahoo news, "Traveler Taxes Awarded to Small Airports". The first paragraph sets the tone....GA pilots are ripping you off!

We have to get out there and do our part....the airline lobby is doing thiers!

Write letters to your representatives, get the local news out to the airport, invite your local reps to your EAA or Flying Club meetings...all great ideas which have been posted here before.

We are going to need all the help we can get!


http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070415/ticket_taxes.html?.v=12

-John
Planning to build an RV....someday
 
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User Fees & FAA Reauthorization

smoore said:
Ouch. Balanced media at it's finest.
Man, I hope our proponents can kill it.
Click to expand...

The opponents are working overtime but we need your help!

Those who care about the Aviation Industry ? or their favorite hobby should join the Alliance for Aviation Across America: www.aviationacrossamerica.org.

Its charter is:
?The Alliance for Aviation Across America (AAAA) is a new diverse coalition of aviation enthusiasts and professionals, local airports, civic organizations representing rural and agriculture voices, city, county and state officials, economic development entities, non-profit organizations, small and mid-size businesses and others dedicated to protecting small and rural communities.
The Alliance for Aviation Across America is dedicated to properly modernizing America?s air traffic control system to enhance safety, promote efficiency and expand capacity in order to ensure ALL Americans have access to air transportation.?

Please join the alliance as an individual and if you are able as a company regardless of its direct association with aviation.

If you haven?t written your elected officials, please do so. If you have, do it again. The following are additional resources:
http://www.aviationacrossamerica.org
http://web.nbaa.org/public/govt/action/
http://www.eaa.org/govt/index.html
http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/

Dan B.
N671DJ, F70
 
Here is the text from the letter that I sent to my Rep as an example:

To: Senator Jim DeMint
Re: Aviation User Fees


Dear Senator DeMint,

I wanted to write a short note to you to express my concerns about the upcoming vote on the Nelson/ Sununu amendment which would eliminate user fees from the Senate?s FAA funding bill. As a private pilot, any user fees would have a serious impact on my ability to continue to afford flying. Flying is already almost out of reach for people of modest means, and more user fees and fuel taxes would push us over the edge. The general aviation community does not subscribe to the commercial aviation viewpoint that fees will make flying safer. General aviation has little to do with the FAA. The commercial segment of aviation requires the FAA for their safety?general aviation could continue on if the FAA were to go away. (Not an unpleasant thought?  ) The airlines, though vital to our economy, have been the benefactor of the taxpayer?s largess over and over through repeated bailouts and are once again on the hunt for another bailout, this time on the backs of private pilots. As a private pilot, I can fly across the country and never speak to an air traffic controller. I am responsible for my own safety when flying and do not legally need FAA assistance en route. The entire FAA air traffic control system was built for commercial aviation.

I am part of the grass roots segment of aviation. I am currently building my own aircraft and am part of the community of experimental aviation folks that represent the best that the US has to offer. We all hope that we are able to remain in the air without having to carry the financial weight of the airlines on our wings. I would love to show you around my shop and arrange for you to go flying in a real aircraft if you have an interest. We are a vanishing breed and are hanging on by our nails. Please do not vote in favor of user fees.

Regards,

Don Alexander
 
The good news is that the two "ticket tax" Porterfield articles were written and published several weeks ago (24 and 31 days), and most readers won't remember them today.
 
User Fees

AOPA has e-mailed it's members today asking that we phone our senators to ask for their support of the Nelson / Sununu amendment, which would strike all user fees from the FAA funding bill. This is our chance; phone TODAY, the vote is scheduled for TOMORROW, Wednesday the 16th.

Doug
-4, wings
Seattle area
(yes, I called her office)
 
Stomp on the Ugly Head of User Fees!!!

I view this as just one part of a multi-headed demon sticking its head(s) out of a box. We must kill each part of it!
Here's today's posting on the AOPA web site about tomorrow's Senate Commerce Committee vote:

"Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and John E. Sununu (R-N.H.) are taking action to gut user fees from the Senate FAA funding bill. But they're going to need help from AOPA members in certain states before Wednesday afternoon.

That's when the Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to vote on the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 (S.1300), which includes a $25 per flight user fee to go into an air traffic control modernization fund. Sens. Nelson and Sununu have prepared an amendment that would eliminate that user fee from the bill.

"Even though piston-engine aircraft would be exempt from this fee, AOPA is still adamantly opposed to it on principle," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "We know, based on our experience from around the world, that this small fee will ultimately expand and include all segments of aviation. Our members have emphatically told us we cannot allow a user fee precedent to be established."

And that's why it is critical that AOPA members in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, or Washington contact your senators. The senators are members of the Commerce Committee. Urge them to vote for the Nelson/Sununu amendment:

"Please call or fax right now," said Boyer. "Your fellow pilots are counting on you. And if you can't get through, please keep trying. Use your redial button until it wears out!"

You guys and gals in the states shown above have senators who will be voting on this amendment tomorrow! The previous post has the links to the Senators' phone numbers for each state.

I count 19 Senators on the list. We may not sway some of the Senators' votes, but at least we can let them know how we feel about it...before they vote!
 
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Well, something is going on----------

It took a couple of attempts to get a call in, finally got to the music machine-----------15 minutes later, a real person.

With that much of a wait, I am a bit encouraged that most of the calls were from "our side".

As they say on late nite "Infomercials", dont wait: make the call now.

Mike
 
Whoops, I let this deadline pass. I'll send a fax anyways, but I believe it's too late. I've been hearing so much about user fees that I'm tired of it and sort of skipped things about them. :eek:
 
amendment failed

I read on AOPA forums that the amendment failed 12-11. bummer :mad:

The bill can still be changed by the full Senate and then the House-Senate reconciliation comittee (or whatever) makes more changes so it's not over...
 
Only 1 of More to Come

I'm no expert on this subject by any means. But I probed around a bit yesterday and it appears the bill this ammendment was targeted at (s.1300) was one of at least 3 bills regarding the reorg of FAA funding (they don't make this stuff easy). In other words, the bigger bills outlining the more radical changes (and more numerous user fees) are still to come. So please don't give up yet guys. We're just now getting to the important part!
 
This was just an amendment to the big bill, but good old Boxer screwed us again. I never voted for that... *stopping here*
 
My senator, Amy Klobuchar, also voted against GA. I didn't contact her because my job prevents me from taking part in politics, but I guess I'm not surprised by her vote -- Northwest Airlines is based in Minnesota and they've been the main cheerleader for user fees. The economic benefit of GA is a tough argument in a state where one of the main employers is an airline. Oh, and NWA is a heavy political contributor

They're bankrupt now, but that didn't stop them from giving Doug Steenland, their CEO, a $20 million bonus this month.

Anyway, it was a close enough vote, I think, that it'll have a hard time overall.
 
My two (bought and paid for) Senators - Hutchison and Cornyn - were probably getting lots of calls. The kids answering the phones were aware of the issue. But they don't care - we don't contribute MILLIONS to election campaigns like Southwest (Dallas) and American (Ft Worth).

Sorry guys, between crude prices, enviro whackos attacking fossil fuels and these new Big Business taxes, I believe GA is very short for this world.
 
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But I think that's the problem facing the GA argument here. Jobs always win out over everything else. Heck, I still remember our first Gulf War when then Sec. of State James Baker was asked what the war was about. He could've toed the party line and said liberating Kuwait, but he was honest and said, "it's about jobs." I think it was the last time anyone in Washington was honest, although I'm not sure he meant it to be.

In that context, though, I think how we approach these senators -- who, I actually think ARE voting in the interests of their constituents when they vote on the basis of jobs -- has to be somewhat different from how we approach lawmakers who don't have airlines' headquarters in their districts.

The trick there is to try to convince them that it's really *not* about jobs.
 
Bob Collins said:
The trick there is to try to convince them that it's really *not* about jobs.
Click to expand...

Then again, if GA takes a big hit, there are a number of jobs on the line.

Kent
 
Low Pass said:
My two (bought and paid for) Senators - Hutchison and Cornyn - were probably getting lots of calls. The kids answering the phones were aware of the issue. But they don't care - we don't contribute MILLIONS to election campaigns like Southwest (Dallas) and American (Ft Worth).

Sorry guys, between crude prices, enviro whackos attacking fossil fuels and these new Big Business taxes, I believe GA is very short for this world.
Click to expand...
Didn't KBH vote for the amendment = voting to remove the $25 fee?

The whole thing just amazes me. $25 per flight will kill GA (and yes, I know, "it's just for turbines" - yeah, right, just like income tax originally was never to go above 10%, etc. The State never asks for less money in the long term). $25 is more than one hour of gas for me!
 
Friends and enemies

This is our first glimpse of who in Congress are our friends. Of course, I've been around long enough to know a politician can vote differently later, so there may be some temporary friendships at best. Looking over the list of how they voted,

http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2007/070516list.html

I could have predicted some of them, but for others, I didn't have a clue. I'm not gonna single out any one of the Senators here, for this is just the first skirmish in a long battle.

We all believe us little guys will be paying more to fly in a few years. How much more will depend on how this legislation evolves. By the end of this year, we will probably have a pretty good picture of how ugly it will be.

Kinda makes me want to go flying (a lot) this weekend. Forecast for Saturday in North Alabama is Severe Clear the whole weekend! Moontown, here I come!

Don
 
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the_other_dougreeves said:
Didn't KBH vote for the amendment = voting to remove the $25 fee?

The whole thing just amazes me. $25 per flight will kill GA (and yes, I know, "it's just for turbines" - yeah, right, just like income tax originally was never to go above 10%, etc. The State never asks for less money in the long term). $25 is more than one hour of gas for me!
Click to expand...
KBH cares about no one but herself and large corporate interests (US and foreign). Whether or not she supported the $25 fee, I have no faith that she would do what's best for the United States over what's best for her Country Club GOP friends. Ala a Spanish company owning toll roads in Texas (NAFTA highway), uncontrolled illegal immigration, etc, etc.

I would bet my next paycheck that KBH would take user fees/higher fuel taxes under the advice of SWA/AA, etc. over *any other option*.

She is the epitome of a Country Club Republican who has sold out the United States for $$$$$. and I voted for her the first few times she ran.
 
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So much for the development of small turbines for light and sport aircraft. If nothing else killed it, this will. This is depressing. But I guess it's incentive to get my plane finished before I'm priced out of the air.
 
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