[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE

  Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I realize we are in morning business, 
but I rise to oppose the McCain amendment to the FAA bill, which will 
probably come up later when we get to the bill.
  The McCain amendment will eliminate the Essential Air Service 
Program. I applaud my colleague for exploring ways to address our 
deficit, and I want to join him in looking for opportunities to control 
spending, but this is one program we must preserve. We won't improve 
the deficit by stifling local economies.
  The Department of Transportation estimates that 1.1 million travelers 
from more than 150 communities rely on the Essential Air Service 
Program. The Essential Air Service Program is a promise to rural 
America, which absolutely needs airports for economic development, as 
noted in the 2009 Journal of Rural Studies report entitled, ``The 
Economic Importance of Air Travel in High-Amenity Rural Areas.''
  Nearly half of the American West consists of publicly owned lands 
containing mountain ranges, forests, rivers, lakes, parks, and areas 
for wilderness, wildlife, and grazing. Many people come to the West to 
visit--especially from the East--especially in the summer, to go fly 
fishing, camping, for tourism, and in the winter for skiing. People 
enjoy public lands in the West. We have so many public lands in the 
West, we don't have private land for development. This means we have 
tremendous distances between population centers, and we need reliable 
air travel to ensure jobs, private enterprise, and access to medical 
assistance.
  Montana is primarily a rural State. We rank 47th in population--that 
is only three States with less populace than we--while being the fourth 
largest in land mass. To put it differently, although we are slightly 
larger than the country of Japan, we have fewer citizens than the State 
of Rhode Island, the smallest State in the Nation.
  Montana has eight Essential Air Service communities: Sidney, 
Glendive, Wolf Point, Miles City, Glasglow, Havre, and West 
Yellowstone. The first seven rely on industries such as agricultural 
and mineral extraction--industries that are vital to America's growth 
and industries which exist in rural America rather than in downtown 
metropolitan areas. A couple of those airports also lie near Indian 
reservations where economic needs are paramount. Without the Essential 
Air Service all these areas risk isolation.
  In 2008, Montana's Essential Air Service provider went out of 
business. We lost air travel for months. At this point, I want to read 
a passage from a recent Great Falls Tribune article to illustrate the 
impact on jobs and the economy. It says:

       When Havre, a city of about 10,000 people, lost its air 
     service . . . BNSF Railway closed its local office and moved 
     its operation to Billings.

  Think of that. Think of the irony. The railroad needs reliable air 
services. They didn't have them so they moved to another location. That 
shows how interconnected our economy is.
  I want to take this opportunity to also announce that I have launched 
a Senate Essential Air Service Caucus. Senator Collins from Maine is 
cochairman of the bipartisan caucus, and several other Democratic and 
Republican Senators have already joined us, and I encourage my other 
colleagues to join and stand with us.
  It is important to rein in the deficit. That is clear. But let us be 
responsible about how we do it. Pulling the rug out from under programs 
such as Essential Air Service will shrink the economy rather than 
shrinking the deficit. I will not turn my back on communities that rely 
on this program as a lifeline.
  Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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