[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12915]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 H.R. 1000, THE AVIATION INVESTMENT AND REFORM ACT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Thune) is recognized for 5 minutes


                  Environmental Issues in South Dakota

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to just briefly harken back to 
something my friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella) said 
earlier about environmental justice, because we are dealing with a 
number of environmental issues that are very important in my State of 
South Dakota.
  In the beautiful Black Hills, we have this little pest called the 
pine beetle which, if not managed effectively, will destroy thousands 
of acres of forest in the Black Hills. The Clinton-Gore administration 
recently revoked a previously-agreed upon order that would have allowed 
the Forest Service to manage the problem. That is crazy.
  I want to talk about another thing. We have another little pest 
called the prairie dog which, if Members can believe this, is scheduled 
to go on the endangered species list.
  Ranchers have been trying for generations to eradicate prairie dogs 
because they destroy the grass where ranchers allow cattle to graze. 
This, too, is crazy. I do not know what bureaucrats in Washington know 
about prairie dogs. These are issues that the people who live off the 
land are trying to manage. They are good conservationists.
  We are dealing with another one right now having to do with wetlands 
regulations, trying to bring some common sense, some sense of balance, 
to these issues, and consistently we run into resistance from this 
administration, proving once again that common sense I think is in very 
rare supply in this city and in this administration.
  What I would like to do this evening, Mr. Speaker, is talk, if I 
might briefly, about something that is a very positive development from 
my State, which we passed today. That is H.R. 1000, the Aviation 
Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century. It will make important 
and long overdue strides towards restoring the integrity of the 
aviation trust fund.
  As was the case with the Highway Trust Fund, the American people have 
been paying use taxes into what they thought was a dedicated trust fund 
reserved for maintaining and improving airport safety and capacity. 
Unfortunately, like in a lot of other areas, the Federal government for 
years has been less than honest in the way they have handled this fund. 
Passengers, aviators, and the airlines have paid billions of dollars to 
the Federal government in the form of taxes on tickets, fuel, and air 
freight.
  They have expected these funds will go to keep the infrastructure 
repaired and in working condition, and to improve the efficiency of air 
travel, and most importantly, to ensure the safety of air travel. South 
Dakota's two busiest airports highlight this principle, painting the 
stark difference between the investment and the return.
  The passengers and other aviation users in Sioux Falls Regional 
Airport, the State's largest airport, paid approximately $8 million in 
aviation taxes to the Federal government in 1997. Yet the airport 
received only $1.3 million in aviation improvement funds from the FAA.
  Users of the Rapid City Regional Airport paid in nearly $7 million 
and received $850,000 in return. While both receive other indirect 
contributions through the presence of FAA personnel and air traffic 
control operations, these contributions hardly make up for the 
difference between contributions to the trust and payments made to the 
airports.
  Air 21 would attempt to bring us closer to closing that gap. As my 
colleagues were probably aware, the bill would triple the airport 
improvement program entitlements to all airports, taking the minimum 
grant level from today's level of 500,000 to 1.5 million.
  For South Dakota, this tripling would provide $1.5 million annually 
for the airports serving the cities of Aberdeen, Pierre, and Watertown. 
For Rapid City and Sioux Falls, their entitlements respectively rise 
from about $832,000 to an estimated $2.5 million for Rapid City and 
from about $1.3 million to an estimated $3.9 million for the city of 
Sioux Falls.
  Thankfully, Air 21 does not just stop at aiding the larger airports 
in South Dakota and across this Nation. The bill also includes a number 
of important provisions that would assist our general aviation 
airports, those airports which serve rural areas and smaller 
communities.
  Perhaps the most significant contribution the bill makes directly to 
our general aviation airports would come in the form of a new direct 
entitlement grant program for general aviation airports.

                              {time}  2115

  These grants would be in addition to the amounts provided for the 
States for distribution to various general aviation airports. With 
increased access to air service, one can clearly see that economic 
activity would increase.
  It is no secret that one of the top factors businesses and companies 
consider is access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation. The 
bill proposes a number of important reforms that would help improve 
deficiency in competition. Among other issues, I commend the chairman 
for moving a proposal forward that would improve access to Chicago 
O'Hare International Airport. I firmly believe that today's high 
density rule is outdated and acts only as an artificial barrier for 
competition for areas of the nation, including South Dakota.
  Fortunately, Air 21 would open access to this airport potentially for 
cities like Sioux Falls that might be able to provide competitive 
options for its travelers and profitable routes for air carriers that 
might not be able to access O'Hare today.
  Mr. Speaker, I recently organized a series of meetings with community 
leaders across South Dakota to discuss air service issues. While they 
are generally pleased with the level of service they have today, they 
also believe there is room for improvement. Air 21 will bring needed 
improvement and see that the hard earned dollars of America's taxpayers 
are used for the purpose for which they were intended.

                          ____________________