Reps urge president to reject new aviation user fee proposals
January 12, 2011, 04:31 pm
Representatives Tom Petri of Wisconsin and Jerry Costello of Illinois are continuing to urge President Barack Obama against looking into proposals that recommend the creation of new user fees for general aviation pilots, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
The representatives, who are both senior members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee, have stated that any proposal to initiate fees would be a "step backward" and could result in conflict, since the Republican and Democratic parties have mutually agreed upon the current laws.
This is not the first time that the two representatives have teamed up for such an effort. They also waged a successful campaign in 2009 against the administration of new user fees and wrote a letter to the president that received the signatures of over a quarter of the full House of Representatives.
Many in the general aviation field are ecstatic about Petri and Costello's continued effort to advocate against new user fees, including the president of the AOPA who stated that the organization's members "applaud the Congressmen for circulating a letter in the new Congress," and will "urge other members to sign the letter to the president."
Pilots already incur many expenses and the money that they would be contributing to user fees could go to more important resources, such as pilot insurance or other safety precautions.
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