[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11974]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 SUPPORT THE GENERAL AVIATION COMMUNITY

  (Mr. ROKITA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I was disappointed last week to read about 
some criticizing the general aviation community as a ``special interest 
group'' that was trying to stand in the way of progress and 
modernization.
  We are for modernization, as modernization has already taken off, and 
we have been partners from the very beginning. The fact of the matter 
is that GA is not some special interest group. We are family, friends, 
and neighbors. There are doctors, teachers, community leaders, and, 
most importantly, small businessmen that rely on general aviation to 
create jobs.
  They are just like, in fact, my son, Ryan, who is with us today, who 
absolutely loves aviation and wants to be a pilot when he grows up. And 
that is because he has been exposed to general aviation.
  General aviation is an important part of our community and our 
economy. It employs 1.2 million people and adds $219 billion, Mr. 
Speaker, of economic output.
  So I ask my colleagues to side with general aviation on any bill that 
comes to the floor, like the one that came out of the Transportation 
Committee, and vote against such measures.
  Moving a system where everyone is treated equally to a system where 
one user benefits over another is a bad idea and one that we should 
reject as anathema to American exceptionalism.

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