In a “Dear NATA Members” letter dated April 22, National Air Transportation Association president Jim Coyne asked a broad spectrum of general aviation businesses to “be a part of the NATA stimulus plan.”
Coyne wrote:
For nearly 70 years, NATA has worked with Congress to build programs to support aviation, or to seek relief from destructive, delusional, or simply dumb federal decisions. This is what America’s Founding Fathers expected when they enshrined in the First Amendment the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. But these days it takes more than a petition — it takes personal face-to-face contact with Congress!
And yes, there are plenty of grievances to deal with: a leaderless FAA, the stalled FAA reauthorization bill, chaos and confusion in FAA regions, a lack of standardized rules, backdoor rulemaking, threats of new taxes and user fees (again!), impractical and impossible new security regulations, more limits to airspace access, confusion and delays in the NextGen modernization program, draconian new environmental proposals, and the spectacle of government hypocrites condemning private aviation as an excessive luxury even as they depend on it more and more for their own travel.
That’s why we need you to join us at NATA’s “Day on the Hill” on May 13th.
The government says our country needs stimulus. Perhaps, instead, it is Congress that should be stimulated – not to pass more and more untested new legislation (like the new 600-page carbon emissions control bill) but rather to do its most fundamental job: manage government. They used to call this congressional oversight, but isn’t it more accurate to say that Congress is overlooking its responsibility to ensure that the executive branch is doing what the country needs it to do?
To whom will Congress listen at times like these? If they’re smart, they’ll listen to YOU!
You know more about aviation than all 535 members of Congress put together – and you vote. Isn’t that an unbeatable combination?
Your business brings jobs, economic activity, and prospects for prosperity and growth to your airport. You’ve been stimulating the local economy for years. Now it’s time to join us as we provide a practical (and political) stimulus to Congress.
Pitchforks are optional.
For information: www.nata.aero
