NATA Hosts a 'Day on the Hill' Webinar ...

April 7, 2010
… which turns out to be a really good idea, building on the successful 14-year effort that the association has had in more closely connecting its members to those in Congress. The intent of the webinar is to educate members who will be attending committee meetings on April 21-22 and will be taking part in the Day on the Hill event to personally lobby their representatives. As National Air Transportation Association president Jim Coyne (webinar host) points out, the fall 2010 elections could be the “most contentious” in years. Congress wants input, he says. The genesis for the Day on the Hill concept came with the hiring of Coyne, a former U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania. The NATA search committee at the time consulted with the other committees and it was determined that more visibility at federal levels was a primary goal for the association; thus, a former U.S. Representative was hired. That was followed by the Day on the Hill format and – it should be noted – increased visibility for NATA in Washington. Hiring Coyne indeed had an impact. Among the top priorities to discuss with Congress, says Coyne, are … FAA reauthorization (“It’s really embarrassing as a former member of Congress” to report that this has not been passed to date.) … promoting general aviation (It’s important for Congress and the Administration to “get back in the business of helping general aviation instead of hurting it.”); and the … General Aviation Jobs Act (Needed: “depreciation relief” thereby amending the IRS code.). Regarding FAA reauthorization, Coyne says “the odds are very, very high” that the conference committee currently resolving the differences in the House and Senate bills will accomplish its task. “If I had to put a percentage probability to it, I’d say the odds are over 95 percent,” says Coyne, adding he would be “shocked” if the bill once again stalled. A few other issues of note … … Coyne says the reauthorization bill will afford fixed base operators relief from the fuel fraud tax, which has been diverting tax revenues from aviation to highway coffers; … the FedEx/UPS component, which possibly could be shelved to get the bill passed; and … emerging environmental regulations – Coyne sees this as a hot topic for 2010, possibly driven more by members of Congress than the Administration. Thanks for reading. jfi