LEXIS-NEXIS® Congressional Universe-Document

LEXIS-NEXIS® Congressional

February 29, 2000, Tuesday

SECTION: PREPARED TESTIMONY

LENGTH: 1187 words

HEADLINE: PREPARED TESTIMONY OF GOVERNOR PAUL E. PATTON AND GOVERNOR EDWARD T. SCHAFER ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS' ASSOCIATION

BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION

SUBJECT - FAA BUDGET REQUESTS & FUNDING NEEDS

BODY:
Governor Paul E. Patton

Good Morning, Chairman Duncan, Congressman Lipinski and members of the Aviation Subcommittee. I am Paul Patton, Governor of the state of Kentucky. I would like to thank you for allowing me to speak to you today on the critically important issue of aviation funding. On behalf of the Governors, let me thank every member of this subcommittee for the hard work that you have put into reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Airport Improvement Program (AIP).

I serve, along with Governor Ed Schafer of North Dakota, as co-chair of the Coalition for TRUST - which stands for Transportation Revenues Used Solely for Transportation. The Coalition for TRUST represents Governors, state and local leaders, over one thousand individual businesses, farm, labor, and many other organizations with a major stake in a healthy transportation system. We represent a broad cross- section of America, and we have been urging Congress -- for over two years now -- to fulfill the promise to American taxpayers by investing dedicated trust fund revenues in transportation. We are here today to thank you for your lead efforts to swiftly reauthorize and ensure full funding for the nation's airport and airways programs and to tell you how critical your leadership will be to our nation and its economy, and to our states.

Yesterday, NGA released a report on the New Economy. Our report notes the impact of globalization. Today U.S. imports and exports exceed 25 percent of the Gross Domestic product; nearly triple the level of two decades ago. Merchandise exports in 1998 reached just under $6 trillion. Governors understand that investments in public infrastructure are more critical than at any previous time to U.S. competitiveness and leadership in a global economy.

While not the topic of this heating specifically, I want to begin by briefly discussing the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century (TEA 21). In 1998, Governors were focused on highway and transit spending. It appeared that Congress and the Administration were planning to hold transportation investment down in future years as dedicated revenues being collected from motorists was increasing dramatically. As you all are aware, the unspent balance in the highway trust fund was projected to quadruple from $20 billion to $80 billion. Governors supported a guarantee that all gas tax revenues would be invested for their intended purpose - repairing and improving our nation's highway and transit systems. Because of the hard work of the House Transportation Committee, along with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, this goal was reached. With the passage of the TEA-21, federal investment in highways and transit was increased by 40 percent.

The Governors commend Congress for restoring the integrity and reliability of the dedicated highway trust fund by guaranteeing that all federal highway trust fund revenues will be distributed each year for their intended purpose. TEA-21 is providing the capital needed to ensure that our transportation system meets the demands of the 21st century.

In my state, aviation contributes over $7 Billion to Kentucky's economy annually. Over 96,000 Kentuckians are employed in aviation related industries, which results in an annual payroll of $2.2 Billion for our citizens. Without the reauthorization of the federal airport program, aviation's contribution to our economy will be jeopardized.

Thanks again for your hard work and for allowing me to testify before you today on an issue of immense importance to states. I will now turn to my colleague and fellow cochair of the Coalition for TRUST, Governor Ed Schafer of North Dakota.

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Governor Edward T. Schafer

Thank you Governor Patton.

I am Ed Schafer, Governor of North Dakota. I would also like to thank the subcommittee for allowing us to testify today. I also would like to thank you for your hard work in getting an FAA reauthorization bill passed by the House that invests the revenues in the airport and airways trust fund for their intended purpose and provides a general fund contribution to the FAA.

Governors are very concerned about the funding lapse of the Airport Improvement Program. As you know, AIP is a grant program through which federal funding is provided to the states and airports by the FAA for capital improvements. These improvements include infrastructure improvements around airports, capacity expansion, noise abatement, runway construction, statewide system planning, and other projects. Many safety-related activities are also eligible for AIP funding, such as runway rehabilitation, the purchase and installation of navigational equipment, fencing, obstruction removal, and emergency response vehicles.

Last year Congress appropriated $1.95 billion for the Airport Improvement Program for fiscal 2000. Without a reauthorization, however, these funds will not be spent on aviation infrastructure improvements. The AIP lapse has significantly hurt North Dakota. According to the AASHTO and NASAO survey, North Dakota has lost $12.7 million in funding due to the current lapse. If the lapse continues through fiscal 2000, North Dakota will lose another $7.3 million. Our state transportation department estimates that we will require $62 million over the next three years to address our airport improvement needs. The stop and start nature of the release of AIP funding over the past two years, along with the current lapse, has had real effects in my state. For example, the effort to rebuild the Cando airport has been stalled for the past two years due to the AIP situation. As a result, ambulance emergency evacuations from the regional hospital have been canceled. Patients are now being transported by ground vehicles.

State AIP Impacts State responses to the AASHTO and NASAO survey indicate the following:

Impacts from the Current Lapse in AIP Funding:

- Over $1.2 billion in projects in 33 states are currently on hold pending the release of federal funding. A majority of these projects relate to safety improvements, either directly or indirectly. For the states represented on the Aviation Subcommittee alone, over $867 million in projects are currently on hold for at least 224 airports.

- The stop and start nature of releasing AIP funding over the past two years has had adverse impacts on state construction programs. Many states report that their government aircraft that do not pay aviation taxes, and general safety and security oversight functions that benefit society as a whole. The contribution also recognizes the general benefits derived by the general public from the safe and efficient operation of the national airspace system, including benefits related to national security, economic growth, and the general health and safety of our communities.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to discuss the need for more aviation funding. I look forward to working with you to help get the funding that is so desperately needed by our nation's airports.

END

LOAD-DATE: March 1, 2000