NBAA Commends Sen. Murkowski for Calling on President to Set Aside User Fees

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) commended Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for her recent letter to President Obama opposing general aviation user fees.

In her November 28 letter, Sen. Murkowski takes issue with the Administration's recent proposal to impose a $100 per-flight fee on general aviation aircraft, writing, "The negative impacts associated with the user fees you have proposed would obstruct the Alaskan transportation system and negatively impact the U.S. economy."

"This issue is of the utmost importance to Alaskans because in Alaska, aviation is the foundation of our transportation system," wrote Murkowski. "The majority of our communities cannot be reached by rail, auto or marine modes and the ability to carry people and goods to and from these communities by air is the lifeline of our nation's biggest state. The effects of new user fees on the Alaskan economy and our way of life would be devastating."

NBAA has long been unified with the rest of the general aviation community in opposing user fees, and has repeatedly spoken out against the president's per-flight user fee proposal since it was introduced last summer, warning that it would prompt the creation an onerous new administrative burden and necessitate the creation of a costly new fee-collection bureaucracy.

"We thank the senator for her letter to the president opposing user fees," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "User fees are a bad idea for the businesses in Alaska that rely on general aviation, and for thousands of similar businesses all across the U.S. We are committed to working with the senator and others in the Senate and House to defeat the president's ill-conceived user fee proposal."

In September, NBAA joined with 26 leading aviation and labor associations representing virtually the entire U.S. aviation industry in opposing new or increased taxes and fees on aviation. Earlier this month, a bi-partisan group of 23 senators also sent a letter to President Obama opposing general aviation user fees.

View a copy of Senator Murkowski's November 28 letter.