$25 User Fee Narrowly Misses Defeat

An uphill effort to completely eliminate user fees from an FAA funding proposal came within one vote of succeeding, according to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), which said opposition to user fees is strong and growing. Such a fee threatens small regional airlines. Related Story Members of the Senate Commerce Committee voted on an amendment introduced by Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and John Sununu (R-NH) that would strike proposed language calling for a per-flight user fee as part of the FAA Reauthorization proposal. The tally on the anti-user fee amendment was tied 11-11 before a final vote was cast. The National Air Transportation Association(NATA), along with other organizations including the Regional Airline Association, has opposed the fee because it is a dangerous precedent. NATA noted Congress can easily raise the fee well above the proposed $25 rate in the future, and this fee will undoubtedly spread to all aviation operations as the FAA continues to plead for additional funding. Furthermore, user fees will also place an extraordinary administrative burden on the FAA, which will be responsible for collecting and assessing the millions of bills expected to be generated each year under this plan.