Congressional GA Caucus Membership Again on the Rise

Aug. 17, 2015

The number of General Aviation (GA) Caucus members in the U.S. House and Senate is approaching all-time highs, according to NBAA Vice President for Government Affairs Dick Doubrava.

“The good news is that we’ve built the GA Caucus in the House back up to 248 members,’ Doubrava said, pointing out that, after the mid-term elections last November, the number of caucus members in the House of Representatives stood at 221. Republican Rep. Sam Graves (R-6-MO), who co-chairs the House GA Caucus along with Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey (D-33-TX), has set a goal of 300 members.

In the Senate, the number of GA Caucus members is also on the upswing. Co-chaired by Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Senate GA Caucus membership dipped to 31 after the mid-term elections. That number now stands at 35, according to Doubrava.

“Are we satisfied? No,’ said Doubrava. “We want to continue to build those numbers.’

While Doubrava and his counterpart, NBAA Vice President for Government Affairs Christa Fornarotto, are working diligently with other GA groups to help grow the caucus, Doubrava said it is especially important for NBAA Members to reach out as well.

One way of doing that is to use NBAA’s Contact Congress Tool, which enables anyone – regardless of whether they are a member of NBAA or not – to contact members of their congressional delegation on important aviation-related issues. If your legislators are not yet members of the GA Caucus, Doubrava said general aviation advocates may use the Contact Congress tool to urge them to join. View NBAA’s Contact Congress resource.

Now, as congressmen and senators are home for the traditional August recess, Doubrava suggested NBAA Members make personal contact with their lawmakers, in addition to communicating with them through Contact Congress.

“Explain to them how important general aviation is to your business and to our economy,’ Doubrava suggested. “Visit with them and make your voice heard because there’s no more important time than right now.’