Greg Ganske: “I rise today in support of extending the user fees that fund the our airports and airways. Extending this program renews…”

“I rise today in support of extending the user fees that fund the our airports and airways. Extending this program renews our commitment to providing our constituents with safe and modern air travel without breaking our commitment against new taxes. The surcharge on airline tickets has been in place for more than a quarter of a century and is a critical step in ensuring that those who use the airway infrastructure contribute to its maintenance and improvement. The ticket tax expired at the end of last year. At the time, Congress chose to delay action on extension of the tax. Congress and the administration agreed that there was sufficient money in the trust funds to cover expenses between then and the start of fiscal year 1998. It was thought that during the intervening months, Congress could consider changes to the ways in which money is collected for the trust funds and include those reforms in a broader budget bill. Unfortunately, however, the need for immediate action has become apparent. If the surcharge on airline tickets is not immediately extended, there could be significant shortfalls in these critical accounts, delaying needed airport improvement programs such as those going on in Des Moines today. More importantly, a depletion of the trust fund poses a very real and very serious safety threat to our already strained air traffic infrastructure. I believe that we will be gambling with public safety if we fail to act promptly to extend the ticket tax.”