March 2, 2017
The need for strong and effective congressional General Aviation Caucuses on Capitol Hill has perhaps never been greater, according to NBAA Vice President of Government Affairs Dick Doubrava, and NBAA has responded by making it easier than ever for members to contact their lawmakers to urge them to join the caucuses.
“With a new administration and a new Congress, we’ve got big challenges ahead,” said Doubrava. “We expect to see new FAA reauthorization legislation introduced, and there is no doubt that on the House side there will be a continued push to take the air traffic control system out of the government, and put it under a new, privatized entity, governed by an airline-centric board and funded through new user fees.”
That’s why Doubrava and his colleague, Christa Lucas, vice president of government affairs, are working to help congressional aviation champions grow the already large House and Senate GA Caucuses, which are key to educating senators and congressmen about the importance of general aviation to citizens, companies and communities across America.
“The GA Caucus outreach effort gives us important building blocks to inform Congress about our industry’s concerns and policy priorities,” said Doubrava. Renewing relationships with current caucus members and adding new members is a top priority of NBAA’s government affairs staff, and NBAA members can play a critical role in that effort by contacting their legislators and urging them to join.
“For NBAA members, sending a letter to their senators and representative asking them to participate in the GA caucuses is as easy as a couple clicks using NBAA’s streamlined Contact Congress online tool,” said Doubrava. ”We encourage our members to get involved and take a few minutes to go on our website, www.nbaa.org, click on ‘Advocacy,’ then click on ‘Contact Congress,’ follow the instructions and send a completed letter to their legislators in just a few minutes.”
View a list of current House and Senate GA caucus members.
Messages like those sent through Contact Congress have a great impact, said Doubrava, citing a recent message sent by a Gulfstream V international captain to his representatives in Washington, asking them to “support my job and the jobs of thousands of fellow citizens across the nation who work for companies that support the general aviation industry as part of their business. As the 115th Congress gets underway, I would like to request your support for this essential national transportation mode by joining the Congressional General Aviation Caucus…Your participation will help to foster an environment for general aviation to prosper and grow.”
Doubrava noted that a recent letter from House GA Caucus co-chairmen Sam Graves (R-6-MO) and Marc Veasey (D-33-TX) to their House colleagues exemplifies the value that the caucus brings to Capitol Hill. The letter encouraged membership in the caucus and pointed out, among other benefits, the importance and value of general aviation to the nation’s economy and the critical role that the country’s 19,000 small and regional airports provide to their communities.
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