With Congress in recess this summer, and lawmakers meeting with constituents in their home districts, NBAA staffers took the opportunity to go around the country meeting with legislators to discuss issues of concern to Association Members, including the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill.
For example, NBAA’s Vice President of Government Affairs Dick Doubrava and Northwest Regional Representative Kristi Ivey, along with a number of NBAA Members, recently participated in an Aviation Roundtable with U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT). The listening session was hosted and facilitated last month by Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport Director Brian Sprenger.
The meeting was intended to provide an opportunity for aviation stakeholders in the area to provide Daines with feedback on issues affecting aviation in Montana. Among the many topics discussed was the FAA reauthorization process – controversial because the debate over the reauthorization has included discussion of proposals for creating a privatized air traffic control (ATC) system funded by user fees. Among those attending the roundtable were pilots, business aviation operators, flight school owners, FBO representatives and airport managers from across Montana.
“Dick [Doubrava] and I also met separately with a group of NBAA Members and other general aviation stakeholders from around the state, and had the opportunity to listen to their specific concerns about any proposal to privatize our national ATC system, implement user fees and turn the system over to a non-elected governance board, which could ultimately restrict general aviation access to airspace and airports,” Ivey said.
“Montana is a rural state that relies heavily on airports and general aviation,” she added. “The senator and his staff provided a wonderful forum for all aviation stakeholders in attendance to have their voices heard on a variety of subjects.”"
There are more than 120 public-use airports in Montana.
Daines is a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which will draft the Senate’s version of the FAA Reauthorization Bill.
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