Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010, Part II

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Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5611, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010: Part II. This Act would extend the funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund as well as extend authorizations for the airport improvement program. The Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) provides much needed funding to assist in our Federal commitment to the Nation's aviation system. Such funding is necessary for the development of our nationwide airport and airway system as well as for investments in air traffic control facilities to meet the current and future projected growth in aviation.

The Trust Fund provides 100 percent of the funding for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airport grants, facilities and equipment, and research, engineering, and development. Allocations are also provided to the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), and Facilities and Equipment, (F&E) and funding from the Trust Fund also helps support basic FAA operations.

I would like to emphasize that the AAFT trust fund was not created solely to finance aviation infrastructure. Throughout its history, it has financed a wide array of operations including administrative expenses, attributable to the administration of the airport improvement program and research and development, as well as general FAA operations. It is very important that this funding be continued.

While the trust fund pays a large share of the bills for the FAA to operate the national airspace system, a troubling gap has grown between the revenue that comes in and what it costs to govern the FAA. This has sharply driven down the Trust Fund's uncommitted balance; its surpluses from previous years. If this trend continues in our poor economic state where airlines are cutting benefits and increasing prices, the future of American aviation is grim.

Mr. Speaker I am concerned for the future of American aviation--especially for the future of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport located in my home district of Houston, Texas. Current airport standards are not only threatened by decreased FAA funding but also by the proposed merger of Continental and United Airlines, the former of which is based in Houston. Should this merger be allowed, the future of American aviation in regards to customer satisfaction, safety standards, and general flight, would slowly decline. We cannot add to such destruction by denying the FAA appropriate funds through the AATF. As the airline industry continues to grow and serve more and more Americans, it is our duty to the American people to ensure that the future of airport security, infrastructure and improvement, research and development, continue to develop to better serve our needs.

For these reasons Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 5611, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010: Part II.

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