On the recordSeptember 21, 2011
I rise this morning to talk about how our President has systematically and relentlessly attacked the general aviation industry. You know, this is one of the few last great manufacturing gems left in America. It creates $1.2 million jobs--the gentleman before me was speaking about jobs--1.2 million jobs in America and $150 billion worth of income and a tremendous amount of exports. This industry is enormously important to my district, but not just my district, the air capital of the world, but all across the country. These are good jobs. These are middle class jobs. They are jobs for machinists and welders and riveters and managers and purchasing people who make some of the finest airplanes in the world. But instead of supporting the general aviation industry and welcoming those jobs, the President has attacked it. At the very least, he could just leave it alone. But this is part of his larger class warfare effort. He demonizes general aviation users. He calls them corporate fat-cat jet owners at every turn. But it's not impacting the folks who use those as business tools; it's impacting the people who build these airplanes. They are productive. They are working to grow their businesses, and they are growing jobs. His rhetoric kills sales of American manufactured goods and, with them, the jobs that are created when those airplanes are built. You know, he has attacked it in multiple ways. Most recently the Department of Transportation issued something called BARR.…
