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Leonard Boswell | ||||
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Bill to give $12 million to Iowa airports | ||||
| President Bill Clinton today signed a bill which will bring $40
billion to airports across the country and more than $12 million to
Iowa. The Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century,
which Rep. Leonard Boswell as a member of the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee supported, allows for modernization of the
aviation infrastructure of our nation's airports. "I am happy to see the President act quickly and get this critical support for our nation's airports out to the community's," said Boswell. "There is a tremendous demand across the country for modernization of our airports not only for safety, but for commerce. AIR-21 allocates the funds to move forward on hundreds of airport safety and infrastructure projects across the country and provides more than $3 million to airports in Iowa's 3rd Congressional district." AIR-21 authorizes $40 billion in Federal Aviation Administration programs over the next three years, more than $12 million of which will go to support airports in Iowa. This will also free-up $1.95 billion in airport improvement grants which have been on hold since last fall when the House and Senate failed to reach a compromise on the bill. Boswell served on the joint conference committee which worked for several months to reach a compromise between House and Senate versions of the bill. The two major disagreements between House and Senate conferees had been whether to move the Aviation Trust Fund out of the general fund and issues regarding access to the nation's larger airports. The agreement reached keeps the trust fund money in the general fund, however the FAA will be promised funding equal to what the trust fund collects this year plus interest accrued. It also called for an increase in the number of slots available at all four slot controlled airports, and the removal of the slot system at Chicago's O'Hare by 2002 and both Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports in New York by 2007. "With AIR-2 finally making it's way to becoming law, hundreds of communities across the nation can now move forward with the process of modernizing their facilities and increasing passenger safety," said Boswell. "This is a major step forward for the aviation industry, but much remains to be done. We must continue working to increase access to our country's major airports. This will be critical to improving airline service to areas such as Des Moines. We must ensure the people of Iowa have access to increased competition, lower airfares, and safer flying conditions." 3rd District Airports which receive funding under AIR-21
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