Michael Burgess: “almost 3 decades ago, the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth came together and made an historic agreement to have one…”

“almost 3 decades ago, the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth came together and made an historic agreement to have one regional airport. This local agreement was codified by congressional action known as the Wright amendment. There are those in Congress today who now seek to repeal the Wright amendment. But, Mr. Speaker, it is my belief that if there is a change to occur to that agreement that it should come from the local level and not from Washington. I think the mayors and county officials on both sides of the Trinity River should make this decision, and if they come to us, if they propose a change to the agreement, then and only then should Congress become involved. Our community in North Texas is fortunate to have two thriving airports. We serve millions of satisfied customers and employ hundreds of thousands of North Texans. We should not jeopardize that which is working well already. As a Republican, I am all for competition. But as a Republican, I am also for local control, and I do not believe in a Washington top-down approach to problems. And, finally, as a Republican, I believe it is important to keep our word and keep our covenant, and that is exactly what we should do with the Wright amendment today. ____________________”