Tuesday, August 05, 2014

Rep. Todd Rokita: Helping General Aviation Take-Off

General Aviation is a homegrown American industry that is responsible for 1.2 million jobs and pumps more than $150 billion into our nation’s economy. But it’s also an industry that could do much more to create jobs, boost our economy, and contribute to our national transportation system.  Instead, General Aviation is being held back by an antiquated regulatory system that is painfully unresponsive and out of touch.

Outdated FAA regulations have contributed to a dramatic reduction in the number of aviators, and a corresponding increase in the cost of flying.  Furthermore, the costs that prevent aviators from flying have led to a dramatic drop in the number of aircraft being produced. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) reports that that production of single-engine planes plunged from 14,000 in 1977 to fewer than 700 in 2010—and that’s a drop that translates to thousands of lost jobs.  Those jobs have been lost, in large part, because of a bureaucracy that rarely serves the public, whatever the intention.  We have already taken action and scored a win in providing relief to general aviation when Representative Mike Pompeo’s “Small Airplane Revitalization Act,” a bill I coauthored and helped to lead passage of in 2013.

Read more here:  http://rokita.house.gov/editorial

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