Political Quotes

“This is a nearly 50-year-old temporary program. It is indicative of everything in Washington: Nothing ever dies here. We just spend more and more money. The DOT literally picks winners and losers, where neighboring airports have to compete against the Federal Government, which subsidizes routes for the very same market. Approved subsidies include funding leisure routes. That is not essential. That is leisure. Flights on EAS routes are relatively empty compared to nonsubsidized flights, and the obvious outcome of subsidizing these routes is that they are not economically viable. That is why they are subsidized. It is because nobody really needs them. There are other options that are reasonable. The industry continues to suffer from a pilot shortage, a mechanic shortage, labor all across the board, ATC, et cetera. All we are doing is making it worse by misallocating these resources. Pilots are flying planes to places where there aren't any customers, and they are canceling routes where people need to fly. The bill does make significant improvements. However, the program remains inherently unfair and represents a significant misallocation of resources at a time when we can ill afford to do so. Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption. Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”