Supporters of the federal subsidies say that maintaining air service in certain areas is vital to attracting business
Reps. John Fleming, R-Minden, and Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, are strongly backing the efforts of Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., to eliminate a program that provides air service in small communities with per passenger subsidies of as much as $3,000.
Clik here to view.
View full sizeU.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was photographed Monday at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Some Senate Democrats objected to the provision in a House-passed FAA reauthorization bill, creating an impasse that left 4,000 FAA employees and 70,000 constructions workers out of work until a compromise was reached Friday. "With our fiscal problems, we just can't afford those kinds of subsidies," Fleming said.
Under the compromise, the Senate and House now have until September to resolve their differences. Supporters of the federal subsidies say that maintaining air service in certain areas is vital to attracting business to their communities because large airports are too far away.
None of the 13 communities that would lose federal subsidies for their commercial air traffic is in Louisiana. The savings would be about $16 million a year. But the failure to reauthorize the FAA, until Friday's deal, was costing the government $30 million a day in lost aviation taxes.
Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.450.1406. Jonathan Tilove can be reached at jtilove@timespicayune.com or 202.450.1404.
