TITLE: Whether the Airport and Airway Trust Fund was created solely to finance aviation infrastructure, File: B-281779, Date: February 12, 1999
BNUMBER: B-281779
DATE: February 12, 1999
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Whether the Airport and Airway Trust Fund was created solely to finance
aviation infrastructure, File: B-281779, Date: February 12, 1999
Subject: Whether the Airport and Airway Trust Fund was created solely to
finance aviation infrastructure
File: B-281779
Date: February 12, 1999
B-281779
February 12, 1999
The Honorable Frank R. Wolf
Chairman, Subcommittee
on Transportation and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This is in response to your December 10, 1998, letter concerning Congress'
intent in establishing the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (trust fund) in
1970. You specifically questioned whether or not the trust fund was created
solely to finance aviation "infrastructure," and if so, how "infrastructure"
was defined during the congressional deliberations. You also asked us to
review the amendments to the law creating the trust fund.
After examining the Airport and Airway Development and Revenue Acts of 1970
and the accompanying legislative history, we conclude that in 1970 the trust
fund was not created solely to finance aviation infrastructure. When the
trust fund was authorized in 1970, the balance of funds (after airport
development) was to be allocated for certain administrative expenses, for
research and development activities, and for the maintenance and operation
of air navigation facilities. The term "infrastructure" does not appear in
the statute or in the legislative history.
In our review of the amendments to the law creating the trust fund, we found
that Congress has continuously authorized the trust fund to finance
non-infrastructure expenses such as research and development costs. With the
exception of a four-year period during fiscal years 1973-1976, when the
funding of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operation and maintenance
costs from the trust fund was prohibited, and fiscal year 1984, when the
appropriation act specified use of general fund monies, [1] Congress has
also authorized the trust fund to finance FAA operation and maintenance
costs. In 1976, Congress capped the amount available for operation and
maintenance costs and added a penalty clause. The cap and penalty clause
were adjusted several times, and the penalty clause was eliminated in 1990.
BACKGROUND
In 1970 Congress enacted the Airport and Airway Development and Revenue
Acts to deal with the inadequacy of the nation's airport and airway system
to meet the current and projected growth in aviation at the time. [2] The
1970 act is comprised of two titles: title I is the Airport and Airway
Development Act of 1970 and title II is the Airport and Airway Revenue Act
of 1970. We will refer to these two laws simply as the 1970 act. Title I
authorized federal funds, at least $250 million a year for 5 years, for the
acquisition, establishment and improvement of air navigational facilities
and another $280 million a year for 5 years for airport development. Title
II established a trust fund comprised of aviation-related excise taxes to
finance these activities. The aviation excise taxes included an increase in
the gasoline tax on general aviation, an increase in the passenger ticket
tax for domestic flights, a new tax on international commercial passengers,
a new tax on air freight waybills, and a new annual aircraft registration
tax.
DISCUSSION
To answer your question regarding whether the trust fund was created solely
to finance aviation infrastructure, we looked first to the statute for some
guidance on the word "infrastructure." However, "infrastructure" is not
defined or used in the act and is not discussed in the accompanying
legislative history. [3]It is also not a term found in the federal
accounting standards glossary, or in budget definitions. Webster's defines
infrastructure as "the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a
system or organization)." [4]
When we use this definition and examine the 1970 act in terms of what would
be considered "basic framework" or "underlying foundation," we find that
sections 14a, 14b, and 14c authorized airport development, which was defined
as any work involved in constructing, improving, or repairing a public
airport. [5] It included the removal, marking and lighting of airport
hazards, installing navigational aids and safety equipment, and the
acquisition of land for future airport development and air navigational
facilities. The Senate report that accompanied the 1970 act referred to
airport development grants and air navigation and control facilities as
capital investments. [6] Thus the term that comes closest to describing
"basic framework" or "underlying foundation" in legislative history is
"capital investment." Certainly, runways, airports and air navigational
facilities would be considered both infrastructure and capital investment.
They are the "underlying foundation" of an airport system.
Section 14(d), on the other hand, required that the balance of the monies
available in the trust fund be allocated for administrative expenses
incident to the airport development grants, for the maintenance and
operation of air navigation facilities, and for research and development
activities. None of these are generally deemed capital investments or
infrastructure. Thus the language of the 1970 act clearly authorized trust
fund monies to be spent for activities that are not deemed infrastructure as
defined above.
In addition to section 14, section 208(f) of title II of the 1970 act set
forth the categories of expenditures that could be paid from the trust fund.
Section 208(f)(1)(B) stated that the trust fund was available for
obligations that were attributable to "planning, research and development,
construction or operation and maintenance of -- (i) air traffic control,
(ii) air navigation, (iii) communications, or (iv) supporting services for
the airway system." Section 208(f)(1)(C) also allowed FAA administrative
expenses incident to airport development to be paid from the trust fund.
Thus trust funds are available for non-infrastructure expenses since section
208 includes operation and maintenance and administrative expenses.
There is some indication that the Senate Commerce Committee believed that
at the outset, most of the trust fund revenues would be earmarked for
capital improvement while general tax revenues would be appropriated to
continue to finance the operation and maintenance of the air traffic control
system. [7] The Senate report accompanying the bill explained,
The reported bill allocates, for specific capital investment purposes,
portions of the total user charge-derived revenues and provides that no
other user charge-derived trust fund revenues should be obligated for other
purposes until the minimum amounts have been allocated to the capital
investment portions of the program. . . . After these allocations have been
made, remaining trust fund revenues accruing from user charges and from
general appropriations may be expended for the other purposes . . . [8]
However, the Senate Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over the trust
fund, did not set priorities between capital improvements spending and
operation and maintenance spending. Its report said simply, "The Trust Fund
is created in order to insure that the aviation user taxes are expended only
for the expansion, improvement and maintenance of the air transportation
system." [9] The language of section 208 reflects this lack of
prioritization.
Taken together, sections 14 and 208 in the 1970 act explicitly authorize the
use of trust funds for certain administrative expenses, for the operation
and maintenance of the air traffic control system and for research and
development. This explicit authorization makes clear that the trust fund as
created in the 1970 act was not solely to finance aviation infrastructure.
Subsequent Amendments TO 1970 ACT
Debate over the proper use of the trust fund and what proportion could be
spent on the operation and maintenance of the air traffic control system
began almost immediately. Six months after passage of the 1970 act, the
Department of Transportation (DOT), in a supplemental budget request for
fiscal year 1971, proposed using only $100 million of the $280 million
authorized in section 14 for airport development and $226 million rather
than the $250 million authorized for air navigation facilities and
equipment. The DOT proposed using the rest of the trust fund money to fund
FAA operation and maintenance programs. [10]
Disagreement with the DOT over priorities led to the Airport and Airway
Development Act Amendments of 1971, [11] which amended the 1970 act in two
fundamental ways. It deleted language in section 14(d) that permitted the
use of the trust funds to be spent on "the maintenance and operation of air
navigation facilities." It also created a new subsection (e) for section 14
entitled, "Preservation of Funds and Priority for Airport and Airway
Programs." Section 14(e)(1) provided that ". . . no amounts may be
appropriated from the trust fund to carry out any program or activity . . .
except programs or activities referred to in subsection (c) (airway
facilities) and subsection (d)(other expenses). . . ." But subsection (d) on
"other expenses" no longer included maintenance and operation expenses. The
House report stated that this new subsection was designed to "prevent
allocations from the fund to carry out any program or activity under the
1958 Act except certain administrative and research and development expenses
or expenses related to the acquisition, establishment, and improvement of
air navigation facilities." [12]
The Senate Report said this law was necessary because the DOT had
interpreted the 1970 act to permit it to request appropriations less than
the minimum levels for airport development and airway facilities. The report
states,
Further, although Congress intended that the capital investment programs for
aviation system modernization be fully funded from user tax revenues in the
Trust Fund prior to the use of such funds for maintenance, operations and
administrative expenses, the Administration has disregarded these statutory
priorities and has given routine FAA expenses the same status as capital
improvements. [13]
So while funding for some administrative expenses was still authorized, as
were research and development activities related to air navigation safety,
use of the trust funds for maintenance and operation of air navigation
facilities was no longer permitted.
The prohibition of using trust funds for maintenance and operation of air
navigation facility expenses continued until 1976, when Congress passed the
Airport and Airway Development Act Amendments of 1976. The 1976 act added a
new subsection entitled "Other Expenses," which stated that the balance of
monies available could be appropriated for (1) costs of services provided
under international agreements relating to joint financing of air navigation
services and (2) direct costs incurred to flight check and maintain air
navigation facilities. [14] The 1976 act, however, placed caps on how much
could be spent on these items for fiscal years 1977-1980. The 1976 act also
added a penalty clause that reduced the maximum levels that could be used in
maintenance and operations in proportion to any shortfall of airport grants
below the authorized minimum amounts. These provisions limited trust fund
spending to about 15 percent of FAA's operation costs through 1980. [15]
The new or increased excise taxes imposed by the 1970 act expired in 1980
although spending continued against the accumulated surplus. In 1982, the
Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 repealed section 14 and replaced
it with section 506, which authorized the same types of expenses as its
predecessor. [16] See enclosed Table 1 for a select history of section 14.
Section 208, which established the trust fund, was also repealed by the 1982
act and replaced with section 9052 of the Internal Revenue Code, but with no
change to the authorized expenditure provision. See Table 2 for a select
history of section 208.
The 1982 act and subsequent legislation adjusted the caps and changed
penalties, but all amendments continued to permit payments from the trust
fund for some operation and maintenance of air navigation facilities. For
fiscal year 1984, although section 506 still authorized operation and
maintenance expenses from the trust fund, the appropriations act specified
that operation and maintenance expenses were to be funded from the general
fund, not the trust fund. [17] In 1990, the penalty clause was deleted but a
cap remains in place. Table 3 presents the shares of trust fund and general
fund monies used to finance FAA from 1970 to 1998.
CONCLUSION
The trust fund as it was enacted in 1970 was not created solely to finance
aviation infrastructure. Throughout its history, it has financed some
non-infrastructure expenses, such as administrative expenses incident to the
administration of the airport development program and research and
development. With the exception of the time period during fiscal years
1973-1976, and 1984, it has also funded some costs of maintenance and
operation of air navigation facilities.
I hope this information proves useful to you in your deliberations.
Sincerely yours,
Robert P. Murphy
General Counsel
Enclosure -
TABLE 1. A Select History of Section 14 of the Airport and Airway
Development Act of 1970 and Its Successor Provisions [18]
YEAR STATUTE PROVISIONS
1970 Airport and Airway Section 14, Airport and Airway
Development Act of Development Program, authorized grants
1970, Public Law for airports and funded airway
No. 91-258, 84 facilities, and "Other Expenses" (Section
Stat. 219. 14(d)). "Other expenses" include those
* For necessary administrative
expenses incident to administration
of programs for airport development,
* For the "maintenance and operation
of air navigation facilities," and
For research and development activities
as related to air navigation safety.
1971 Airport and Airway * Deleted phrase "for the maintenance
Development and operation of air navigation
Act-Amendment, facilities" in section 14(d) which
Public Law No. had permitted the use of the trust
92-174, 85 Stat. funds to finance FAA operations.
491. * Administrative expenses for airway
facilities program added.
* Added new section 14(e),
Preservation of Funds and Priority
for Airport and Airway Programs.
Section 14(e) included subparagraph (3)
that no amounts may be used to "carry out
administrative expenses" except those
authorized.
1976 Airport and Airway * Reauthorized trust fund spending for
Development Act aviation programs for 1976-80.
Amendments of * Added new section 14(e), "Other
1976, Public Law Expenses" and redesignated
No. 94-353, 90 Preservation of Funds and Priority
Stat. 871. for Airport and Airway Programs as
section 14(f). "Other expenses"
included services under
international agreements and direct
costs to check and maintain air
navigation facilities.
* Placed a cap on maintenance and
operation amount.
* Added a penalty clause that reduced
these maximum levels that could be
used in maintenance and operations
in proportion to any shortfall of
airport grants below the authorized
minimum amounts.
Substituted a new section 14(d), entitled
"Research, Development and
Demonstrations" under section 312(c) of
FAA of 1958. Section 14(d) no longer
included "administrative expenses"
incident to airport grants or airway
facilities.
1980 Aviation Safety * Added another penalty provision to
and Noise section 14(e), which reduced amount
Abatement Act of available for "other expenses" if
1979, Public Law minimum amount for airway facilities
No. 96-193, 94 was not spent.
Stat. 50.
YEAR STATUTE PROVISIONS
1980 The new and increased taxes imposed by the Airport and Airway
Development Act of 1970
expired, as did the authorization to transfer the revenue
from these taxes to the trust fund. Spending from the trust
fund continued
against the accumulated surplus.
1982 Airport and Airway * Repealed section 14 of 1970 Act and
Improvement Act of replaced it with section 506.
1982, Title V of * Section 506(b), like the former
Public Law No. section 14(d), authorized research
97-248, 96 Stat. and development and demonstration
671. projects.
* Section 506(c), like the former
section 14(e), authorized "Other
Expenses"-costs of services under
international agreements and direct
costs to "check, operate, and
maintain" air navigation facilities.
* Capped the amount of "other
expenses" at a multiple of amount
obligated for airport improvement
program from 2.44 in 1983 reduced to
1.28 in 1986.
* The penalty clause reduced the cap
by twice the difference between
authorization for facilities and
equipment spending and the actual
appropriation for the program.
Added reimbursement of National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration for
weather expenses under "other expenses."
1983 Surface * Reduced the ratio in section 506(c)
Transportation used to calculate the cap on the
Assistance Act of amount available each year for
1983, Public Law "other expenses."
No. 97-424, 96
Stat. 2097.
1987 Airport and Airway * Reauthorized spending for aviation
Safety and programs and extended for 3 years
Capacity Expansion the excise taxes to fund them.
Act of 1987, * Substantially increased
Public Law No. authorization levels for airport and
100-223, 101 Stat. airway program.
1486. * Expanded demonstration projects for
air traffic control, navigation,
weather safety, medicine, and
environment.
* Amended cap in section 506(c) to 50%
of the total amounts made available
for airport facilities and
equipment, and research,
engineering, and development.
Changed penalty clause to reduce the
maximum amount by twice the amount by
which the actual amounts made available
for the program fall short of the levels
specified in the law for each fiscal
year.
1990 Aviation Safety * Reauthorized funding for aviation
and Capacity programs through fiscal year 1992.
Expansion Act of * Eliminated the penalty clause.
1990, title IX, * Changed cap in section 506(c) to 75%
Subtitle B, Public of total amounts made available to
Law No. 101-508, FAA for the airport improvement
104 Stat. program, facilities and equipment,
1388-353. research and development, and FAA
operations less the amounts made
available from the trust fund for
airport improvement, facilities and
equipment, and research and
development programs. The remainder
is the authorization from the trust
fund for operations.
YEAR STATUTE PROVISIONS
1992 Airport and Reauthorized funding for aviation programs
Airway Safety, through fiscal year 1995.
Capacity, Noise
Improvement, and
Intermodal
Transportation
Act of 1992,
Public Law No.
102-581, 106
Stat. 4872.
1994 Federal Aviation * Reauthorized funding for aviation
Reauthorization programs through fiscal year 1996.
Act of 1994, * Changed cap in section 506(c) to the
Public Law No. lesser of 50% of facilities and
103-305, 108 equipment (F&E), research and
Stat. 1569. development (R&D) and airport
improvement program (AIP) or 70% of
total amounts made available to FAA
less the amounts made available from
the trust fund from AIP, F&E and R&D.
1996 Federal Aviation * Reauthorized FAA operations, airport
Reauthorization improvement program, and facilities
Act of 1996, and equipment programs through fiscal
Public Law No. year 1998.
104-264, 110 * Reauthorized research, engineering and
Stat. 3213. development program through fiscal
year 1997.
* Moved cap to 72.5% of total amounts
made available to FAA, less the
amounts made available from the trust
fund from AIP, F&E, and R&D.
1998 FAA Research, * Reauthorized research, engineering and
Engineering and development program through fiscal
Development year 1999.
Authorization Act
of 1998, Public
Law No. 105-155,
112 Stat. 5.
1998 Omnibus * Reauthorized airport improvement
Consolidated and program through March 31, 1999.
Emergency
Supplemental
Appropriations
Act, for 1999,
Public Law
No.105-277, 112
Stat. 2681.
TABLE 2. Selected History of Section 208 of the Airport and Airway
Revenue Act of 1970 and Its Successor Provision Section
9502 of the Internal Revenue Code
YEAR STATUTE PROVISIONS
1970 Airport and Airway * Section 208 created the trust fund
Revenue Act of and appropriated aviation
1970, Public Law related-related taxes to it.
No. 91-258, 84 * Section 208(f), entitled
Stat. 236. Expenditures from Trust Fund,
authorized expenditures under:
A. Airport and Airway Development Act,
which includes section 14, on
Airport and Airway Development
Programs;
(B) Federal Aviation Act of 1958, which
are attributable to planning, research
and development, construction, or
operation and maintenance of -
(i) air traffic control
(ii) air navigation
(iii) communication
(iv) supporting services for the airway
system or:
(C) for Department of Transportation
administrative expenses attributed to the
activities.
1980 Airport and Airway * Extended transfer of
Trust aviation-related revenues to trust
Fund-Extension of fund from July to October 1980.
Taxes, Public Law
No. 96-298, 94
Stat. 829.
1980 Transfer of aviation-related taxes to trust fund terminated
October 9, 1980.
1982 Tax Equity and * Repealed section 208 and enacted
Fiscal section 9502 of the Internal Revenue
Responsibility Act Code (IRC).
of 1982, Public
Law No. 97-248, 96 Section 9502 created (again) the Airport
Stat. 324. and Airway Trust Fund and appropriated
aviation-related taxes to it.
1987 Airport and Airway * Amended section 9502(d) to extend
Safety and authorization for expenditures from
Capacity Expansion fund until October 1, 1992.
Act of 1987,
Public Law No.
100-223, 101 Stat.
1486.
1990 Revenue * Increase in aviation tax revenues to
Reconciliation Act go to general fund through 1992 and
of 1990, Public trust fund from 1993 to 1995.
Law No. 101-508,
104 Stat.
1388-400, at
1388-435.
1994 Federal Aviation * Amended section 9502(d) to extend
Administration expenditure authority from October 1,
Authorization Act 1995 to October 1, 1996.
of 1994, Public
Law No. 103-305,
108 Stat. 1569.
YEAR STATUTE PROVISIONS
1996 Federal Aviation * Amended section 9502(d) to extend
Reauthorization expenditure authority from October 1,
Act of 1996, 1996 to October 1, 1998. [19]
Public Law No.
104-264, 110
Stat. 3278.
1. Table 3: FAA Budget Information: Airport and Airway Trust Fund and
General Fund Shares
Dollars in Millions
Programs FY70 FY71 FY72 FY73 FY74 FY75 FY76
Airport Improvement Program $840.0 $193.0 $15.0 $635.0 $.0 $.0 $515.0
Facilities and equipment appropriation 224.0 238.0 302.0 213.0 250.0 227.0 246.0
Research, engineering, and development 41.0 49.0 78.0 70.0 62.0 58.0 67.0
appropriation
Total operations and maintenance 845.0 1,026.0 989.0 1,170.0 1,292.0 1,419.0 1,567.0
appropriation
Trust fund share .0 34.0 989.0 .0 .0 .0 .0
General fund share 845.0 992.0 .0 1,170.0 1,292.0 1,419.0 1,567.0
Total FAA Appropriations 1,950.0 1,506.0 1,384.0 2,088.0 1,604.0 1,704.0 2,395.0
Share of FAA's budget from the trust fund 840.0 299.0 1,369.0 918.0 312.0 285.0 828.0
Share of FAA total budget from the 1,110.0 1,207.0 15.0 1,170.0 1,292.0 1,419.0 1,567.0
general fund
Percent of FAA Appropriations from the 43% 20% 99% 44% 19% 17% 35%
trust fund
Percent of FAA Appropriations from the 57% 80% 1% 56% 81% 83% 65%
general fund
Percent of FAA's operations and 0% 3% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%
maintenance appropriation from the trust
fund
The trust fund generally financed 100% of the airway improvement program;
facilities and equipment; and research, engineering, and development
appropriations. To cover shortfalls during the transition years FY 70, FY 71
and FY 72, general fund revenues totaling $495 million ($265 million in FY
70, $215 million in FY 71 and $15 million in FY 72) were also used to
finance these appropriations. For these years, FAA data did not fully break
out the amount of general fund revenues financing each of these
appropriations.
Source: FAA
Table 3: FAA Budget Information: Airport and Airway Trust Fund and General
Fund Shares
Dollars in Millions
Programs FY 77 FY78 FY79 FY80 FY81 FY82 FY83 FY84
Airport Improvement Program $510.0 $555.0 $644.0 $677.0 $570.0 $450.0 $750.0 $800.0
Facilities and equipment appropriation 200.0 209.0 345.0 293.0 350.0 261.0 625.0 750.0
Research, engineering, and development 74.0 81.0 75.0 75.0 85.0 72.0 103.0 264.0
appropriation
Total operations and maintenance 1,738.0 1,898.0 2,033.0 2,170.0 2,340.0 2,292.0 2,579.0 2,587.0
appropriation
Trust fund share 250.0 275.0 300.0 325.0 525.0 810.0 1,277.0 .0
General fund share 1,488.0 1,623.0 1,733.0 1,845.0 1,815.0 1,482.0 1,302.0 2,587.0
Total FAA Appropriations 2,522.0 2,743.0 3,097.0 3,215.0 3,345.0 3,075.0 4,057.0 4,400.0
Share of FAA's budget from the trust 1,034.0 1,120.0 1,364.0 1,370.0 1,530.0 1,593.0 2,755.0 1,814.0
fund
Share of FAA total budget from the 1,488.0 1,623.0 1,733.0 1,845.0 1,815.0 1,482.0 1,302.0 2,586.0
general fund
Percent of FAA Appropriations from the 41% 41% 44% 43% 46% 52% 68% 41%
trust fund
Percent of FAA Appropriations from the 59% 59% 56% 57% 54% 48% 32% 59%
general fund
Percent of FAA's operations and 14% 14% 15% 15% 22% 35% 50% 0%
maintenance appropriation from the
trust fund
The trust fund generally financed 100% of the airway improvement program;
facilities and equipment; and research, engineering, and development
appropriations. To cover shortfalls during the transition years FY 70, FY 71
and FY 72, general fund revenues totaling $495 million ($265 million in FY
70, $215 million in FY 71 and $15 million in FY 72) were also used to
finance these appropriations. For these years, FAA data did not fully break
out the amount of general fund revenues financing each of these
appropriations.
Table 3: FAA Budget Information: Airport and Airway Trust Fund and General
Fund Shares
Dollars in Millions
Programs FY85 FY 86 FY87 FY88 FY89 FY90 FY91 FY92
Airport Improvement Program $925.0 $885.0 $1,025.0 $1,268.7 $1,400.0$1,425.0 $1,800.0 $1,900.0
Facilities and equipment 1,358.0 895.0 805.0 1,108.1 1,384.2 1,721.2 2,095.4 2,409.0
appropriation
Research, engineering, and 265.0 237.0 142.0 153.4 159.9 170.2 205.0 218.1
development appropriation
Total operations and maintenance 2,699.0 2,725.0 2,959.0 3,184.0 3,445.0 3,824.6 4,036.9 4,360.0
appropriation
Trust fund share 1,110.0 427.0 621.0 826.0 471.3 807.2 2,002.7 2,109.6
General fund share 1,589.0 2,298.0 2,338.0 2,358.0 2,973.7 3,017.4 2,034.2 2,250.4
Total FAA Appropriations 5,247.0 4,742.0 4,930.0 5,714.2 6,389.1 7,140.9 8,137.3 8,887.1
Share of FAA's budget from the trust 3,658.0 2,444.0 2,593.0 3,356.2 3,415.4 4,123.5 6,103.1 6,636.8
fund
Share of FAA total budget from the 1,589.0 2,298.0 2,337.0 2,358.0 2,973.7 3,017.4 2,034.2 2,250.3
general fund
Percent of FAA Appropriations from 70% 52% 53% 59% 53% 58% 75% 75%
the trust fund
Percent of FAA Appropriations from 30% 48% 47% 41% 47% 42% 25% 25%
the general fund
Source: FAA
Table 3: FAA Budget Information: Airport and Airway Trust Fund and General
Fund Shares
Dollars in Millions
Programs FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 FY 97 FY98
Airport Improvement Program $1,800.0 $1,690.0 $1,450.0 $1,450.0 $1,460.0 $1,700.0
Facilities and equipment 2,301.7 2,054.7 1,960.4 1,855.1 1,937.7 1,900.5
appropriation
Research, engineering, and 230.0 254.0 251.6 185.7 208.4 199.2
development appropriation
Total operations and maintenance 4,530.0 4,579.0 4,572.1 4,642.7 4,954.9 5,336.5
appropriation
Trust fund share 2,279.3 2,294.5 2,450.3 2,222.9 1,700.4 1,901.6
General fund share 2,250.7 2,284.5 2,121.8 2,419.8 3,254.5 3,434.9
Total FAA Appropriations 8,861.7 8,577.7 8,234.1 8,133.5 8,561.0 9,136.2
Share of FAA's budget from the trust 6,611.0 6,293.2 6,112.2 5,713.6 5,306.5 5,701.3
fund
Share of FAA total budget from the 2,250.7 2,284.5 2,121.9 2,419.9 3,254.5 3,434.9
general fund
Percent of FAA Appropriations from 75% 73% 74% 70% 62% 62%
the trust fund
Percent of FAA Appropriations from 25% 27% 26% 30% 38% 38%
the general fund
Percent of FAA's operations and 50% 50% 54% 48% 34% 36%
maintenance appropriation from the
trust fund
The trust fund generally financed 100% of the airway improvement program;
facilities and equipment; and research, engineering, and development
appropriations. To cover shortfalls during the transition years FY 70, FY 71
and FY 72, general fund revenues totaling $495 million ($265 million in FY
70, $215 million in FY 71 and $15 million in FY 72) were also used to
finance these appropriations. For these years, FAA data did not fully break
out the amount of general fund revenues financing each of these
appropriations.
Source: FAA
B-281779
DIGEST: The Airport and Airway Trust Fund was not created solely to finance
aviation infrastructure. When the trust fund was authorized in 1970, the
balance of funds (after airport development) was to be allocated for certain
administrative expenses, for research and development activities, and for
the maintenance and operation of air navigation facilities. Since 1970, we
found that Congress has continuously authorized the trust fund to finance
non-infrastructure expenses such as research and development costs. With the
exception of a four-year period during fiscal years 1973-1976, when the
funding of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operation and maintenance
costs from the trust fund was prohibited, and fiscal year 1984, when the
appropriation act specified use of general fund monies, Congress has also
authorized the trust fund to finance FAA operation and maintenance costs.
Tables were included tracing amendments to two important sections from the
1970 Act on the uses of the Trust Fund from 1970- 1998. Also, a chart
tracing spending in the various FAA categories, along with a comparison of
general fund v. trust fund spending for FAA operations and maintenance for
FY '70 - FY '98.
Notes
1. Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of
1984, Pub. L. No. 98-78, 97 Stat. 453, 456 (1983).
2. Pub. L. No. 91-258, 84 Stat. 219 (1970).
3. We also did a search of the United Sates Code to see how "infrastructure"
is used and whether it is defined. It appears numerous times but is not
specifically defined except in a particular context. For example, "space
transportation infrastructure means facilities, associated equipment and
real property . . . required to perform launch or space recovery
activities." 15 U.S.C. sect. 5802 (1994). "Information infrastructure" in
education means a network of communication systems designed to exchange
information. 20 U.S.C. sect. 6813 (1994). "[R]ural infrastructure" means roads,
irrigation systems and electrification. 7 U.S.C.A. sect. 1727e (West Supp.
1998). Sometimes, infrastructure is used to mean all systems necessary to
make a program work. For example, title 42 calls for a report to identify
the "infrastructure needed to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in all
housing . . . including cost effective technology, standards and
regulations, trained and certified contractors, certified laboratories,
liability insurance, private financing techniques and appropriate government
subsidies." 42 U.S.C. sect. 4856 (1994). The following statutory provisions use
infrastructure as both a noun and an adjective, and they illustrate some of
the ways infrastructure is used in the code: production-related
infrastructure (22 U.S.C.A.sect. 2293 (West Supp. 1998)), modal infrastructure
(49 U.S.C. sect. 5105 (1994)), national waterside infrastructure needs (33
U.S.C. sect. 2268 (1994)), infrastructure-based intelligent transportation
systems capital improvements (23 U.S.C.A. sect. 133 (West Supp. 1998 & Westlaw
through Aug. 7, 1998)), and service infrastructure in institutions of higher
learning (42 U.S.C. sect. 12561 (1994)).
4. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 621 (1989). An economic
definition of infrastructure is "[t]hose structural elements of an economy
which facilitate the flow of goods and services between buyers and sellers.
Examples of these structural elements are communications and transport
(roads, railways, harbors, airports, telephones, etc.)." The MIT Dictionary
of Modern Economics 206 (4th ed. 1994).
5. Pub. L. No. 91-258, sec. 11, 84 Stat. 219, 220.
6. See S. Rep. No. 91-565, at 20 (1969).
7. Id., at 20, 21 (1969), and comments by Senator Magnuson, Chairman of the
Senate Commerce Committee and floor manager for the bill, 116 Cong. Rec.
S2266 (daily ed. Feb. 24, 1970) [statement of Sen. Magnuson].
8. S. Rep. No. 91-565, at 20, 21 (1969).
9. S. Rep. No. 91-706, at 10 (1970).
10. During the course of this dispute between the Nixon administration and
the House and Senate authorizing committees, the General Accounting Office
was asked whether the administration's actions constituted an illegal
diversion of funds. Since neither the regular nor supplemental appropriation
had yet been enacted, we found it premature to make findings. B-77406, Dec.
29, 1970. We did note that "it appears that the Administration's
supplemental funding request will result in less expenditure for airport
capital improvements and thus such improvements will not be accorded the
priority which the Senate Committee on Commerce apparently desired. . . Of
course, if the Congress now feels that amounts over and above those
requested by the Administration should be made available to carry out such
expressed intent, such additional amounts may be appropriated by the
Congress." In response to a request from Sen. Magnuson, Chairman of the
Senate Commerce Committee, for bill comments, the Comptroller General wrote
in a June 23, 1971 letter, "whether the Congress intended to require that
the minimum amounts specified in Section 14 of the 1970 Act to be expended
or reserved in the Trust Fund before monies in the fund could be expended
for other purposes has been the subject of considerable controversy between
the Administration and Congress. Accordingly, it would appear desirable that
the intent of the Congress in this matter be clarified." B-77406, June 23,
1971.
11. Pub. L. No. 92-174, 85 Stat. 491 (1971).
12. H.R. Rep. No. 92-459, at 5 (1971).
13. S. Rep. No. 92-378, at 3 (1971).
14. Pub. L. No. 94-353, 90 Stat. 871, 873 (1976).
15. "The Status of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund," Congressional Budget
Office, at x (1988).
16. Pub. L. No. 97-248, title V, 96 Stat. 671, 677 (1982).
17. Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of
1984, Pub. L. No. 98-78, 97 Stat. 453.
18. Currently found at 49 U.S.C. sect.sect. 48101-48109 (1994 & Supp. II 1996).
19. Pub. L. No. 105-277, Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 1999, 112 Stat. 2681, appropriated money from the trust
fund for FAA programs for Fiscal Year 1999.