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April 15, 1999, Thursday, Final Edition

SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A31

LENGTH: 786 words

HEADLINE: Yes to Air Safety

BYLINE: Bud Shuster

BODY:

Although the safest in the world today, America's aviation system is hurtling toward gridlock and potential catastrophes in the sky. Unfortunately, The Post's April 2 editorial "A No to Mr. Shuster" did not accurately describe the efforts of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during the budget debate to unlock the ticket taxes paid by airline passengers into the Aviation Trust Fund so they could be used for their intended purpose of improving America's aviation system.

Contrary to the editorial's assertions, our bipartisan proposal would not cut one penny from other federal programs. Rather, it would provide that the ticket taxes be used for aviation improvements instead of being used to pay for a small part of the $ 800 billion tax reduction proposed over the next 10 years. In fact, we provide for an open debate and floor vote on whether the money going into the trust fund should be used for aviation improvements (which we support) or for a reduction in the aviation ticket tax. It is grossly unfair to take airline passenger ticket taxes and then give them away as part of a general tax cut. The Post was absolutely correct, however, in acknowledging that "no one disputes a need to increase aviation spending." Since airline deregulation, passenger travel has increased from 230 million annually to 600 million last year and is projected to be 660 million this year and more than a billion annually in the first decade of the next century. A 30 percent increase in aircraft operations is forecast for our top 100 airports in the next decade, with a 50 percent increase in the number of commercial jets in our skies. Air cargo, which increased 74 percent in the last 10 years, is growing even faster.

Airport congestion is already skyrocketing. The FAA reports that our 27 largest airports each are experiencing more than 20,000 hours of recorded flight delays annually, costing the airlines $ 2.5 billion and the American people more than $ 7 billion in lost productivity. But that's only the tip of the iceberg. Airlines are building delays into their schedules. For example, Washington to New York should be only a 45-minute flight, but it's scheduled for an hour. The actual cost of congestion may be approaching $ 20 billion annually. One study estimates that we need a 60 percent increase in airport infrastructure investment just to maintain the current levels of delay.

The General Accounting Office states that $ 17 billion will be needed during the next five years just for air traffic control modernization. Last year our air traffic control system experienced more than 100 significant system failures. Dulles went down for more than 10 hours just a few weeks ago. The National Civil Aviation Review Commission states that "without prompt action, the United States' aviation system is headed toward gridlock . . . [and] a deterioration of aviation safety [which would] harm the efficiencies and growth of our domestic economy, and hurt our position in the global market place." Last month, two jet cargo planes came within a hundred feet of a mid-air collision over Kansas because the Kansas City Air Traffic Control Center lost radio contact with them.

The good news, however, is that the ticket taxes flowing into the Aviation Trust Fund can provide a substantial increase for aviation improvements. Specifically, more than $ 10 billion is going into the trust fund annually, while spending is around $ 7 billion. If nothing changes, during the next 10 years more than $ 90 billion will accumulate in the Aviation Trust Fund.

The speaker has agreed to bring our "Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century" (AIR 21), which passed our committee unanimously, to the floor for a fair and open debate. It will unlock the Aviation Trust Fund so the ticket taxes paid into it can be used for aviation improvements, provide for increased capacity at our airports, modernize our air traffic control system and ensure continued safety for the world's best aviation system. Increased airport capacity will mean more airline competition, which is part of the long-term solution to better customer service.

The Post can't have it both ways, saying we should spend more on aviation while opposing using the money paid into the trust fund for that purpose. But I'm beginning to get it: The Post thinks it's good government to spend $ 900 million out of the Highway Trust Fund for one Woodrow Wilson Bridge in the Washington area but bad to use the Aviation Trust Fund to improve aviation across America.

The writer, a Republican representative from Pennsylvania, is chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

LOAD-DATE: April 15, 1999