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LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic

June 16, 1999, Wednesday STATE AM EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 13

LENGTH: 604 words

HEADLINE: House set to approve $ 56 billion FAA bill;
A plan allowing an increase in passenger taxes still faces Senate consideration.

BYLINE: Jim Abrams

SOURCE: Associated Press

BODY:
WASHINGTON - Defying a veto threat and congressional budget
writers, the House moved yesterday to allow a hefty boost in airport
improvement spending by allowing increases in taxes collected from
passengers and restricting the taxes' use.

The Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill, headed for
passage last night, directs $ 56 billion over five years to operate
the FAA and improve airport and air traffic control facilities.

It seeks to bolster competition to smaller market airports, to
eventually eliminate takeoff and landing restrictions at New York and
Chicago airports and to double to $ 6 per passenger what an airport
can charge for airport improvement projects. The bill, which has yet to be taken up by the Senate, is the
handiwork of Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster, R-Pa., a
fierce advocate of infrastructure spending.

As was the case last year, when he succeeded in walling off a
highway trust fund from the general budget, Shuster came up with an
extra $ 14 billion in the aviation bill with language stating that
Congress can no longer use funds from the Aviation Trust Fund for
nonaviation purposes.

The trust fund, which takes in about $ 10 billion a year in airport
user taxes, is now used for general budget programs and boosting the
budget surplus, as well as airport projects.

Shuster insisted that the $ 14 billion could come out of the
Republican plan to cut taxes by $ 778 billion over 10 years and would
not decrease the budget surplus or require cuts in other programs.

"It is morally wrong to take aviation ticket taxes and use those
ticket taxes for a general tax cut," he said.

But the White House said taking the trust fund off-budget would
result in a presidential veto, emphasizing that the unified budget
approach "permits more fully informed decisions" on allocating the
nation's resources.

House Budget and Appropriations committee leaders also fought both
the extra spending and the threat to their control over how money is
spent.

"We have got to maintain fiscal discipline within this House,"
said Rep.  Bill Young, R-Fla., Appropriations Committee chairman.

"Once this process begins to start, the members of this House lose
control over the budget process. "
An amendment proposed by Young and a bipartisan group of budget
leaders to keep the trust fund within the general budget was
defeated, 248-179.

It was overwhelmed by strong sentiments from members that
something must be done about deteriorating airport facilities and
lack of competition at smaller airports.

Rep.  Lois Slaughter, D-N.Y., said that businesses are moving out
of her district in Rochester and that "consumers are getting crushed"
because of high ticket prices - she said a round-trip ticket to
Chicago listed for more than $ 1,200.

"The debate today is not about arcane budget rules," said Rep.

James Oberstar, D-Minn., ranking Democrat on the Transportation
Committee.  "It is about the very future of America and our leadership
in the world economy. "

The bill would eliminate takeoff and landing restrictions at
Chicago's O'Hare in 2002 and at La Guardia and JFK in New York in
2007.  And it would allow additional flights out of Washington's
Reagan National Airport to underserved markets.

The bill would also require the hiring of more air traffic
controllers and establish procedures to quiet air tours over national
parks.  It would increase spending from $ 1.9 billion this year to $ 4.3
billion in 2004 under the Airport Improvement Program, which funds
new runways and deals with noise pollution.

LOAD-DATE: June 17, 1999