Urge House Members to Protest ATC Fees at GA Events

[dholly 718]

This Isn't Over! Urge House Members to Protest ATC Fees at GA Events

 

June 20, 2013 - Two weeks ago, EAA members and others sent more than 19,000 emails and letters went to U.S. Senate offices urging senators to sign a letter opposing FAA's effort to charge air traffic fees at aviation events, including AirVenture. This is costing events hundreds of thousands of dollars or forcing them to cancel.

Now it's time to turn our attention to the House of Representatives, where a bipartisan group of GA Caucus members is angry that the FAA has ignored the congressional directive against user fees and unilaterally forced aviation events to pay up or shut down.

This bipartisan group in Congress is asking its colleagues to sign a letter to the FAA Administrator in support of GA and opposed to putting a price tag on GA safety. The best way to help convince lawmakers to join their colleagues is hearing from their state's constituents. That's what we need you to do right now.

Go to EAA's Rally Congress site and click the "Sign the Petition" button to send a letter to both of your congressional representatives, urging them to sign the letter. Don't wait - do it now. It's quick and easy. Don't let the FAA hold GA hostage - your support is needed!

Sincerely,

Jack J. Pelton

EAA Chairman of the Board

[SuberAvid 617]

Thanks Doug, that was easy and worked great!  Now hopefully we can turn another one of the encroachments on our freedoms.

[dholly 718]

I was not pleased to see EAA cave to the last minute FAA demand and agree to pony up $500,000 (IIRC) for ATC at Wittman during this years AirVenture at Oshkosh. Really, at this late date, what other recourse do they have though? Absolutely none if the FAA is allowed to simply ignore the congressional directive against user fees. I hope everyone here takes a moment to sign the petition

[Av8r_Sed 82]

Thanks Doug,  Letter sent.  Easy Peasy.

[Av8r3400 1179]

I'm in, too.

[Russ. 7]

Done .

[C5Engineer 1170]

Completed

[High Country 69]

got my .02 cents in

[dholly 718]

Thought you might be interested in reading the form letter 'response' rec'd from my state Senator... more than 4 months after I emailed her office. And, no, she was not one of the 28 Senators signed a letter and sent it to FAA Administrator Huerta.

 

Not surprisingly then, her canned response appears fabricated to spark outrage at Sequestration rather than answer the REAL question... why the FAA is allowed to ignore a Congressional directive against user fees and demand additional payments for items that have already been budgeted for (FAA sends 64-80 controllers to AirVenture each year, selected by FAA management at the Central Service Area. These are all full-time FAA  controllers/supervisors, so the selected employees would be paid anyway, if they were not temporarily reassigned to AirVenture. Thus, the $500K FAA demanded from EAA was not for controller salaries, but for the added expenses related to working at AirVenture, such as lodging, per diem, and overtime.).

 

No response from my House Reps to date. Curious if anyone else who took the time to send their protest letter rec'd a response from their elected Congressional representatives?

 

 

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

To Me

 

Oct 22 at 3:44 PM

 

 

 

 

October 22, 2013

 

 

Dear Friend,

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding the decision by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to change a fee for air traffic control services for major aviation events around the country.  I understand your concerns.

 

As you may know, the FAA's policy change was a result of budget sequestration.  This law has forced federal agencies to make significant cuts, in addition to the FAA budget, reducing services across the nation.  Sequestration put in place draconian cuts to numerous programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Head Start, and the Women Infant and Children programs.  I voted against this unbalanced approach.  While I agree that we need to return to a path of fiscal responsibility, I do not believe this is the way to do it.

 

Safe and efficient air travel is critical to New York's economy, providing an essential mode of transportation for hundreds of thousands of people every day.  We need a well-balanced approach to our budget to ensure that that our skies are safe without placing the costs on the backs of American families.  

 

Thank you again for writing to express your concerns, and I hope you keep in touch with my office regarding future federal legislation. For more information on this and other important issues, please visit my website at http://gillibrand.senate.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.

 

 

Sincerely,

Kirsten E. Gillibrand
United States Senator

 

[Av8r3400 1179]

Typical democRAT bullshit.