CAA: GA News, "McCain questions Boyer's qualifications for new FAA council"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@cwnet.com>]

Friday, May 12, 2000

McCain questions Boyer’s qualifications for new FAA council
GA News


WASHINGTON, DC — AOPA President Phil Boyer stood his ground May 4 as Senate
Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain challenged AOPA’s opposition to user
fees for FAA services.

“General aviation already pays its ‘user fees’ through federal fuel excise
taxes,” Boyer told McCain. “No, we don’t need to impose individual charges
for air traffic control services.”

President Clinton nominated Boyer to represent general aviation pilots and
aircraft owners on the new FAA Management Advisory Council (MAC). The Senate
Commerce Committee hearing is part of the confirmation process for all MAC
nominees.

In a terse exchange, McCain pushed the user-fees proposal. Boyer answered
that the aviation trust fund should be funded by the taxes that pilots and
aircraft owners pay when they purchase aviation fuel.

McCain then asked MAC nominees representing the airlines and pilot unions if
they were for user fees. Both supported a “performance based” system that
would charge a user fee every time an aircraft used ATC services.

Because of AOPA’s continued opposition to user fees, McCain then told Boyer,
“I seriously question your qualifications for this council.”

Ironically, it was AOPA that first proposed the FAA Management Advisory
Council in 1994. Congress created the MAC in 1996, but the White House did
not nominate anyone to serve on the council until this year.

The MAC is intended to provide “an oversight resource for management,
policy, spending and regulatory matters under the jurisdiction of the
Federal Aviation Administration.” The MAC will advise the FAA administrator
on modernizing the air traffic control system and ways to make the agency
more efficient and “businesslike.”

The disagreement between Boyer and McCain dates back to 1995. McCain has
objected to AOPA’s forceful efforts to advocate its member’s opposition to
general aviation user fees.

AOPA argues that user fees would be inefficient and a detriment to safety.

The association also maintains that general aviation is not causing the
increasing number of airline flight delays. The vast majority of general
aviation pilots fly VFR and do not use airports with heavy airline traffic.


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