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Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2310 - Airport and Airway Improvement Amendments of 1987

September 28, 1987

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House Rules)
(Mineta (D) California and 7 others)

The administration strongly supports the reauthorization of the Airport and Airway programs. However, the President's Senior Advisors will recommend that the President veto H.R. 2310 if it is amended to remove the Airport and Airway Trust Fund from budget totals and statutory budget limitations. Specifically, the Administration opposes H.R. 2310 unless it is amended to:

— Eliminate the penalty provisions that restrict the recovery of air traffic controller workforce salaries and other Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operational expenditures from the Trust Fund. Past penalty provisions have only resulted in shifting the cost of aviation programs from the aviation user community to the general taxpayer, and, unless eliminated, this inappropriate shift of expenses will continue, with the strong likelihood of ever increasing Trust Fund balances;

— Eliminate the requirement that aviation taxes be reduced if certain appropriations are more than 10 percent below authorization levels and if the uncommitted balance in the Trust Fund is above $2.0 billion, since this would reduce our ability to meet future year operational and capital requirements from the Trust Fund;

— Authorize appropriations of $5.1 billion for fiscal years 1988-1992 for airport grant funding (instead of $8.6 billion);

— Eliminate the provision that would prevent the use of sealed bids and preclude the consideration of price in procuring architectural and engineering services;

— Eliminate the provisions setting aside 10 percent of grant funds for specific categories of businesses.

Further, the administration opposes the addition of any extraneous subjects to the bill that would interfere with swift renewal of FAA programs critical to aviation safety and needed capacity enhancements or that would extend the Essential Air Service air carrier subsidy program.

Ronald Reagan, Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2310 - Airport and Airway Improvement Amendments of 1987 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/328549

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