[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 16, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S10770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Burns, 
        Mr. Johnson, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Cleland, and Mr. Wellstone):
  S. 1552. A bill to provide for grants through the Small Business 
Administration for losses suffered by general aviation small business 
concerns as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; to 
the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of Senator Inhofe, 
Senator Baucus, Senator Burns, Senator Johnson, Senator Hollings and 
myself, to introduce the General Aviation Assistance Act. This 
legislation would provide assistance in the form of Small Business 
Administration grants, helping to support an essential part of our 
aviation industry at a very critical time.
  When many of the large passenger airlines were in trouble, we knew we 
had to act quickly to support this vital industry. When the planes were 
grounded following the September 11 attacks, many airlines were in a 
precarious position.
  The situation in the general aviation industry is equally, if not 
more, precarious. And the services general aviation businesses provide 
are no less critical to our economy.
  In Iowa and in many rural States, commercial service is very limited. 
Without general aviation, traveling by air means driving for hours to 
reach a small commercial airport that offers few flights, often at 
inconvenient times. That is not a workable situation for most 
businesses. Many could not locate to rural America without general 
aviation services.
  The general aviation industry is made up of a number of small 
business. It operates at more than 5,300 public use airports 
nationwide, compared to the 650 airports in the nation that have 
airline service. Ninety-two percent of the aircraft registered in the 
United States are general aviation aircraft. That includes charter 
businesses, crop dusters, the people who maintain small noncommercial 
airports and those that train future pilots. These businesses provide 
jobs for thousands of hard-working Americans and many cannot survive 
much longer without our help.
  Our failure to support general aviation now would deal a severe blow 
to the rural economy. Unlike the commercial airlines, general aviation 
is made up largely of small businesses. Their ability to remain in 
business rests on their ability to fly. A very significant number of 
these businesses are in danger of not making it through the year 
without relief.
  Over the past month, while visiting many of Iowa's airports to 
discuss airlines safety, I also met with a number of general aviation 
operators. For many small plane operators, flight restrictions lasted 
far longer than they did for the big airlines. Indeed, there are still 
some general aviation companies near large cities that are still closed 
today.
  Last week, I spoke with Bill Kyle from Charles City, IA who is a 
small independent operator. From September 11 to September 22, he lost 
two thousand dollars a day. He is still losing $800 dollars every day 
because his business is reduced at a similar rate to the reductions 
seen in commercial aviation. These are not the type of losses that a 
small business like Bill Kyle's can survive, not without some 
assistance.
  The legislation we are introducing today will provide small general 
aviation businesses with grants to make up for their actual losses from 
September 11 through the end of the year. The program would be 
administered by the Small Business Administration which would make sure 
that the amount of assistance provided was fairly determined. Grants 
could be as much as $6 million, although, of course, the vast majority 
would be far less.
  We must act. This assistance could be the difference between a 
general aviation business taking off or being grounded permanently.
  A number of my colleagues are working to assist small business to 
recover from this tragedy. I am sure that many have been hearing from 
their constituents about this issue. So, I am sure they know that few 
small businesses have been impacted as dramatically as the hard-working 
people in general aviation.
  I am committed to getting general aviation back on track. It is 
important to these small businesses. It is important to the people they 
employ. And it is important to the rural economy as a whole. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in support of this legislation.
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