A Capitol View Continued from page 7 and the bad. We also found time to re- but the contention made at the hearing on the legislation that charter opera- tions were largely high-end passenger jets like G5s or G6s and their paying user fees was “fair.” The AIRR Act survived the com- mittee and vote — barely. The vote was along party lines and two pilot members, Republicans Sam Graves (R-MO) and Todd Rokita (R-IN), joined all Transportation Democrats in opposition. The next step in the Transportation Committee’s legislative blitz, a vote on the House floor was slated to occur shortly after committee consideration. That was when, with your help, the proposal started taking flak from all sides. The general aviation community, particularly NATA mem- bers, weighed in with their elected rep- resentatives through our special web- page (www.nata.aero/nocorporation). Facing united Democratic opposition, concerns from other major House committees impacted by the proposal, and conservatives with grave suspicions about whether such a proposal was really just an open-ended invitation to increase travel costs through user fees— the House Leadership chose, at least for the moment, to shelve the proposal and turn to other priorities. As Tom mentioned in his column, the shame in all this is: absent the air traffic control corporation pro- posal, the remainder of the AIRR Act represents a serious, bipartisan effort to help the FAA operate in a more efficient manner. Thanks to the help of NATA’s committees, we proposed to policy makers a number of ideas that have, in fact, been incorporated in the legislation. However, the good in this case does not outweigh the threat the legislation poses to aviation businesses and, indeed, to all of general aviation. Though the AIRR Act appears bottled up for the moment, know that corporation proponents will not just walk away, they have sunk too much time and energy into the effort. So if you have not already, I urge you to go to our website (www.nata.aero/ nocorporation) and engage with your Congressman and Senators on this issue. FCC / FAA LICENSE ASSISTANCE ASRI provides complete management of aeronautical en route and other aviation- related radio licenses including: • UNICOM • Land Mobile • Aviation Terminal Use • Aeronautical Utility Mobile In dynamic environments, it is easy to lose track of radio station license expiration dates, construction deadlines, and tower regulations— that could result in a violation of FCC rules. ASRI handles all aspects of radio licensing so that you can focus on your business Aviation Spectrum Resources Inc. 180 Admiral Cochrane Drive Suite 300 Annapolis, MD 21401 410-266-6030 [email protected] www.asri.aero 8 Contact us today to arrange a consultation with our multi-state AIRPORT LAW & AVIATION SERVICES PRACTICE GROUP P: (516) 364-1095 F: (516) 364-0612 [email protected] www.mcbreenkopko.com AIRPORT & AVIATION LAW Our experienced attorneys represent FBOs, MROs, flight schools, aircraft sellers and buyers, avionics suppliers, ground handlers, as well as Part 91, Part 121, Part 125, Part 135 and Part 145 operators on a broad range of regulatory, commercial, business, and technical matters at airports throughout the U.S. and internationally. We assist clients with acquisitions and divestitures, aircraft sales transactions, negotiations with airports, insurance defense matters, Part 13 and 16 matters, corporate and commercial matters, trademark issues, litigation (including FAA, DOT, and TSA enforcement actions), bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, and government relations. Aviation Business Journal | 1st Quarter 2016
