Kay Bailey Hutchison: “the text of S. 2972 is identical to the substitute we worked on last week. It is the bill that came out of the Commerce…”

“the text of S. 2972 is identical to the substitute we worked on last week. It is the bill that came out of the Commerce Committee with complete bipartisanship, but it does not include the unrelated and extraneous tax provisions. It does have aviation taxes that came out of the Finance Committee to which all of us agreed. It does not have all of the other tax provisions that have nothing to do with aviation--some of which are retroactive--and have nothing to do with FAA. I have also conveyed to my friends and colleagues on the Finance Committee that I am supportive of moving forward on a bill that would replenish the highway trust fund. I think we could all agree on that. But this is a workable FAA reauthorization bill, and it is very important to me because of the important role of aviation in our country and in my home State. In Texas alone, aviation accounts for nearly 60,000 jobs and over $8 billion in total economic output. In addition, we are also home to 2 of the top 10 busiest airports in the Nation. We have 23 commercial service airports and over 300 general aviation airports. Beyond infrastructure, we are also the proud home of two legacy airlines, American and Continental, and the home State of the predominant low-cost carrier Southwest. My State has a dynamic aviation footprint and a substantial interest in the future of this challenged industry.”