Washington – Congressman Bud Shuster, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, today said he was pleased to learn that today’s budget resolution conference report does not contain a provision adopted by the Senate which would have hampered the Congress’ ability to have a fair debate on his committee’s aviation bill, the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21^st Century (AIR 21).

"By dropping this provision, Congress can freely decide the best use of aviation taxes without the constraints of the Senate provision," Shuster said.

"Contrary to the Senate provision, passage of AIR 21 would not curtail or eliminate drug interdiction activities by the Coast Guard, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration activties, rail safety inspections, Federal support for Amtrak, all National Transportation Safety Board activities, Pipeline and Hazardous materials safety programs, and Coast Guard Search and rescue activities. Any budget increase would be outside the caps and would be fully paid for by the aviation taxes deposited into the Aviation Trust Fund. For this reason, passage of AIR 21 will not cause reductions in any other programs.

"It is important to note that AIR 21 is based on a simple premise: aviation taxes should be used to improve our aviation system so that it is the safest, most secure, and most competitive in the world, with the least congestion possible. This is a worthy goal and one that will require significant additional investment as we enter the 21^st century. But the good news is that the money is there – it is in the Aviation Trust Fund. We just need to unlock it, and AIR 21 will do that," Shuster said

As part of their budget resolution, the Senate adopted a "Sense of the Senate" provision which inaccurately said that erecting budgetary firewalls to preserve aviation trust fund dollars for aviation spending would result in the decrease or elimination of spending in other transportation-related programs.