Press Releases
Senator Roberts Continues Fight For General Aviation;
$9 Billion Impact on Kansas Economy At Stake
Sep 21 2007
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) today announced the Senate Finance Committee on which he serves approved the American Infrastructure Investment and Improvement Act by a 13-0 vote, which will significantly affect the General Aviation industry in Kansas.
“We have come a long way from where this proposal stood six months ago,” Roberts said. “At the time user fees were the main option for funding the Air Traffic Control system and would have greatly burdened General Aviation. Thankfully today, the Committee passed a bill that invests in modernization while allowing citizens who own and fly their own planes to continue to do so without additional bureaucracy and red tape.”
In Wichita and the surrounding counties about 40,000 employees make their living building planes, manufacturing parts or servicing the aviation industry. By 2010, the economic impact of the aviation industry on the state of Kansas is expected to reach $9 billion.
“This bill is a solid investment in the future of America’s infrastructure,” Senator Roberts said. “It not only addresses concerns about highway funding, but also invests in the future of our Air Traffic Control system.”
The modernization fund created under this bill will help reduce future congestion and airport delays by updating the Air Traffic Control system from radar to satellite based technology. Senator Roberts led efforts to defeat an amendment that would have given commercial airlines a tax break at the expense of General Aviation. Under this provision, the General Aviation fuel tax would be 237 percent of the current rate.
The legislation also fills an estimated $5 billion gap in the federal Highway Trust Fund without raising the gasoline tax. “I think that is a key point,” Roberts said. “Now is not the time to increase gas taxes on Kansas consumers.”
The bill now goes to the full Senate for debate and a vote.
Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Finance Committee and a longtime champion for General Aviation.
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“We have come a long way from where this proposal stood six months ago,” Roberts said. “At the time user fees were the main option for funding the Air Traffic Control system and would have greatly burdened General Aviation. Thankfully today, the Committee passed a bill that invests in modernization while allowing citizens who own and fly their own planes to continue to do so without additional bureaucracy and red tape.”
In Wichita and the surrounding counties about 40,000 employees make their living building planes, manufacturing parts or servicing the aviation industry. By 2010, the economic impact of the aviation industry on the state of Kansas is expected to reach $9 billion.
“This bill is a solid investment in the future of America’s infrastructure,” Senator Roberts said. “It not only addresses concerns about highway funding, but also invests in the future of our Air Traffic Control system.”
The modernization fund created under this bill will help reduce future congestion and airport delays by updating the Air Traffic Control system from radar to satellite based technology. Senator Roberts led efforts to defeat an amendment that would have given commercial airlines a tax break at the expense of General Aviation. Under this provision, the General Aviation fuel tax would be 237 percent of the current rate.
The legislation also fills an estimated $5 billion gap in the federal Highway Trust Fund without raising the gasoline tax. “I think that is a key point,” Roberts said. “Now is not the time to increase gas taxes on Kansas consumers.”
The bill now goes to the full Senate for debate and a vote.
Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Finance Committee and a longtime champion for General Aviation.
-30-
