Lobbying battle to continue despite Finance’s FAA deal

A deal between key senators on the Finance Committee could lead to a Senate vote this week on legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, which has been stalled amid a costly lobbying fight between commercial airlines and business jet operators.

{mosads}Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Finance's chairman, announced a deal Friday evening on funding a new satellite system to control the air traffic system. The deal would increase jet fuel taxes on general aviation — which includes business jets as well as smaller planes that run on propeller and piston engines — to 36 cents a gallon from 21.8 cents. This would raise about $240 million in additional funding.

The compromise does not include additional taxes or fees on commercial airlines, something Baucus had advocated. But it also does not impose "user fees" on business jets, something a diverse coalition of general aviation interests had lobbied against. 

The lobbying organization for commercial airlines, the Air Transport Association, released a statement hailing Rockefeller in particular for crafting a bill that does not add new taxes on commercial airlines. At the same time, the group said business jets should still pay a larger share of the costs of the air traffic control system.

“The modest increase in what corporate jets would pay is a step in the right direction, but we note that it still falls short of the costs they impose on the system,” ATA President and CEO James May said in a statement.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on a motion to proceed to the FAA bill on Monday. Lobbying sources said the Finance package would be added to the bill.

Business jets appear to have lost this round of the lobbying battle, since the compromise puts additional financing costs on their shoulders. At the same time, if the Senate approves the bill this week, it will set up a conference with House negotiators, including Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), a supporter of general aviation.

One lobbyist argued it was in the interest of general aviation to agree to the Finance deal so that the bill could move forward and in the hopes of getting a better bill out of the conference.

The bill had been stalled for months over the fight between Rockefeller, who generally sided with commercial airlines, and Baucus, whose proposals drew support from general aviation. In April, The Hill reported the two senators, who sit side by side on Finance, had not met to discuss their differences. Since then, they have come under pressure from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to produce a bill amid a backdrop of reports that have called into question airline safety.