[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 34 (Monday, August 29, 1994)]
[Pages 1703-1704]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization 
Act of 1994

August 23, 1994

    I am pleased to sign into law H.R. 2739, the ``Federal Aviation 
Administration Authorization Act of 1994.'' It is exceedingly satisfying 
when legislation is presented for enactment that reflects both of the 
things the American people want from their Government--action by the 
Government when clearly needed and action to eliminate Government 
regulation when it proves counterproductive.
    When I came into office, the aviation industry was struggling with 
large losses, reduced airline travel because of the recession, and a 
loss of aircraft orders at many of our biggest manufacturers. The 
problems ran deep. I know because I visited businesses to get an idea of 
the extent of the problems. In the face of these problems, the 
Government did not sit back.
    With the support of the industry and other interested groups, we 
enacted amendments to the law that created the National Commission to 
Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry. Building on the 
Commission's rec- 

[[Page 1704]]

ommendations, the Administration acted quickly, setting forth in our 
``Initiative to Promote a Strong Competitive Aviation Industry'' a 
comprehensive strategy to address the basic issues and problems.
    That initiative has borne fruit. Of course, our successful economic 
program is the foundation for the much better financial results we see 
in the aviation sector. But now the Congress has acted to translate 
specific Commission recommendations and those we offered in January into 
effective legislation, giving the industry a stable basis for further 
recovery.
    The legislation that I am approving today sets in place a solid, 
multi-year authorization for Federal aviation activities. This 
authorization will serve as a foundation for concerted action on 
important and varied matters, such as quickly implementing the new 
Global Positioning System in the aviation sector. This bill also 
fulfills part of my pledge to emphasize economically valuable 
infrastructure investment as the way to keep our Nation competitive 
across the board. This year, we will have committed nearly $1.7 billion 
to new airport development and planning grants. Overall, I believe the 
legislation sends the right signal--that the aviation sector continues 
to be a prime contributor to this country's economic health.
    Just as important, this legislation is proof that we can end 
Government activities when they have outlived their usefulness. My 
Administration strongly supported Title VI of the bill, which was 
designed to remove conflicting State laws, unrelated to safety, that 
impede efficient intermodal freight transportation. We also urged that 
Title VI be expanded to increase the efficiency of all commercial 
truckers. Fortunately, the Congress did expand it.
    State regulation preempted under this provision takes the form of 
controls on who can enter the trucking industry within a State, what 
they can carry and where they can carry it, and whether competitors can 
sit down and arrange among themselves how much to charge shippers and 
consumers. Taken together in the 41 States that do this, this sort of 
regulation costs consumers up to $8 billion per year in extra 
expenditures by increasing the freight transportation cost of everything 
we buy. That doesn't even count the costs of additional inventories and 
extra miles as companies try to escape the unnecessarily high cost of 
hauling their products on an intrastate basis by locating their plants 
far away from their consumer markets and criss-crossing State lines. 
Many firms have done so just to take advantage of interstate freight 
rates made cheaper due to the deregulation proposal of President Carter 
in 1980.
    I fully expect that this legislation will have effects similar to 
those of the 1980 deregulation law. New carriers will be able to enter 
the trucking industry, particularly women- and minority-owned carriers 
who may have been ``frozen out'' in the past by strict entry controls. 
Freight rates will become more competitive, truck service will become 
better and more reliable even in small, out-of-the-way communities, and 
employment in the trucking services industry will increase 
substantially.
    Thus, the current legislation is not only a significant addition to 
our economic stimulus program, it will also save consumers billions of 
dollars every year.
    For these reasons, I am pleased to sign into law the ``Federal 
Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994.''
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
August 23, 1994.

Note: H.R. 2739, approved August 23, was assigned Public Law No. 103-
305.