AEA is actively involved and supportive of the alliance – AEA members are encourage to contact their representatives.
On Friday, January 9, U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) announced the outline of his plan to reform the implementation of the Troubled Asset Relief Plan (TARP).
One provision in this plan requires that any company that wishes to receive federal assistance must divest itself of all business aircraft, including leases.
Should it become law, this provision would have a devastating effect on General Aviation and our national economy, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.
CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND YOUR SENATORS TODAY AND TELL THEM:
- General aviation is critical to the economic well-being of small towns and rural communities across my state and contributes more than $150 billion a year to the nation's economy.
- The nearly 4,200 member of the Alliance understand that small planes are vital business tools, not luxuries. Over 85% of these planes are used by small and medium sized businesses to transport sales staff and expert technicians.
- Using their own aircraft, companies can reach communities the commercial airlines do not serve, creating jobs and economic development in smaller cities and rural communities across Americaâ??s heartland.
- This provision will devastate general aviation manufacturing jobs, as well as hundreds of thousands of workers, including agricultural workers, training professionals, maintenance technicians, schedulers, dispatchers, pilots, insurers, airport employees, and other related industries.
- Our members include emergency responders and charitable organizations like Angel Flight, which provide critical medical transportation services. Damaging general aviation will practically eliminate these charitable flights.
- Because general aviation is widely recognized as an important economic development tool, Congress should be acting to support this economic sector. We can easily achieve accountability in the disbursement of TARP funds without needlessly penalizing this vital lifeline to rural America.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Ric Peri, AEA vice president of government and industry affairs, by email at ricp@aea.net or by phone at 202-589-1144.