Several members of the House and Senate General Aviation Caucus will travel to Wichita for the Wichita Aero Club’s annual On-Air Summit Dec. 16.
In a year when Congress is occupied with everything from immigration to health care, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the aerospace industry — and especially the general aviation segment — still face major challenges and a host of regulatory issues, club officials noted.
“It’s a rare opportunity to have members of both the Senate and House General Aviation Caucuses all in one place at one time to address the state of GA,” officials said in a prepared release.
The On-Air Summit panelists include:
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts: Roberts was elected to Congress in 1980 and represented the Big First District, including his home of Dodge City, in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1996, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and is currently serving his third term. Roberts has built a reputation as a national leader in agriculture, health care and defense.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar: In 2006, Klobuchar became the first
woman elected to represent the State of Minnesota in the United States Senate. As Senate Chair of the Joint Economic Committee and a member of the President’s Export Council and the Senate Commerce Committee, she has been a leader in working to implement a competitive agenda to ensure businesses have the tools they need to grow and create good jobs in their communities. She also chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer rights.
U.S. Congressman Sam Graves: Graves chairs the House General Aviation Caucus. A pilot and perhaps GA’s strongest advocate in Congress, he is a life-long resident of Missouri’s Sixth Congressional District. Elected in 2000, he serves as the Chairman of the Small Business Committee. He also serves on the Transportation Committee where he continues to fight for Missouri roads, rivers, bridges, rail lines and airports.
U.S. Congressman Mike Pompeo: Pompeo is a second term congressman from the
4th District of Kansas. He serves on two major committees: Energy and Commerce, which oversees energy, health care, manufacturing, and telecommunications, and the House Intelligence Committee, which oversees America’s intelligence-gathering efforts.
GAMA Chairman Pete Bunce: In April 2005, Bunce became President and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. He and the GAMA staff travel worldwide engaging regulators, policymakers and elected officials to promote general aviation and advance the interests of GAMA’s international membership of more than 80 airframe, avionics, engine and component manufacturers, as well as the world’s leading business aviation maintenance, repair and overall companies.
Moderator Daniel McCoy: McCoy covers aviation, manufacturing and automotive for the Wichita Business Journal. A graduate of Wichita State University, he joined the Wichita Eagle as a correspondent in 2006 and moved to the Wichita Business Journal in 2008. He will moderate the ON-AIR SUMMIT panel.
The luncheon will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel by Hilton at Wichita Airport and will begin at 11:45 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m. Reservations can be made online or by calling 681-4471. Cost to attend the summit is $30 for members and $40 for non-members.