    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [September 29, 1999]
    [Pages 1632-1633]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the Extension of the Airport Improvement Program
    Act
    September 29, 1999

        I am pleased to sign S. 1637, the ``Extension of the Airport
    Improvement Program Act,'' releasing the final $290 million of FY99
    funds for the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement
    Program (AIP). These funds will help communities across the country
    finance critical projects to enhance airport safety and capacity and
    reduce noise. Some $71 million of the AIP funds will go to help lessen
    the growing problem of airport-related noise, by insulating nearby
    schools and residential neighborhoods and other noise mitigation
    efforts. These and other efforts by the Federal Government will mean
    that, by next year, only 600,000 Americans will be adversely affected by
    aircraft noise, compared to the 2.3 million Americans who faced that
    problem in 1995. A significant portion of the funds released today will
    go to help smaller airports, which have fewer financial resources and
    are more dependent on Federal assistance

    [[Page 1633]]

    to meet their capital requirements than are larger airports.

    Note: S. 1637, approved September 29, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
    59.