James Oberstar: “So far, the costs that this bill will impose on the local airports authority are not known. It is conceivable that they…”

“So far, the costs that this bill will impose on the local airports authority are not known. It is conceivable that they will not be inconsequential or unsubstantial. The local authority should not be required to bear these costs when they have been given no voice in change of name. Under the amendment pending, the costs do not have to be met by the Federal Government since a good deal of the motivation for the name change has come from private sources who want to name airports all over the country. In fact, it was suggested there ought to be a Ronald Reagan Airport named in every State, which raises the possibility we could take off from one State and land in another and not know where we are, we would always be landing in a Ronald Reagan Airport. But it is reasonable to expect that those who are advocating this name change should pay for it. The CBO statement, which appears in our committee report on the bill, suggests its costs are likely to be minimal. It says that if the State of Virginia chose to change signs, costs would not exceed $500,000. Well, that is $500,000. If they have got a tight budget, that $500,000 makes it all the more tight.”