On August 5, Congress passed the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-27), that temporarily extends the FAA's authorization through September 16, 2011. This is the 21st temporary extension since 2007. Passage of this extension means that furloughed workers are back at work, officials are permitted to collect air travel taxes and fees, and construction projects financed by the Airport and Airway Trust Fund can be resumed.
Although Senator Ayotte acknowledges the short-term FAA extension is important, she understands it does not resolve long-standing issues such as ending federal subsidies for select small airports and ensuring that the implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation system is accelerated. As you may know, the Senate passed with the Senators support, a multi-year FAA reauthorization bill (S. 223) in February 2011. The bill currently awaits furthers consideration by a joint Senate-House conference. As Congress considers the FAA reauthorization, please be assured that I will be actively involved in ensuring that the FAA operates with a fiscally-responsible mandate.
On March 17, 2011, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced the Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development Act (S. 652), which was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. If enacted, S. 652 would authorize $10 billion to create an American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA) to facilitate investment and financing of infrastructure projects by initiating public-private partnerships. The "infrastructure bank" would issue loans and loan guarantees to incentivize private investment in infrastructure projects. The bill would limit government loan totals to 50 percent of a project's cost, as well as require that projects have a revenue stream, such as tolls, to generate money to repay loans.
It is clear that Congress must craft a surface transportation bill with significant reforms to create a more efficient, affordable, and sustainable system. A full reauthorization of our current funding mechanisms for transportation infrastructure is long overdue. However, given our fiscal situation, Senator Ayotte is deeply concerned that the proposal for an infrastructure bank would create a new federal corporation without addressing or reforming current law. This would result in additional burdens being placed on taxpayers without guaranteeing a return on their investment. For example, because private investment is likely to flow only to large-scale projects, smaller states or regions with lower population densities-such as New Hampshire-could potentially be disadvantaged in competing for infrastructure funds. Several unanswered questions remain, including how infrastructure projects would be selected under the AIFA and whether there would be enough private sector investment to complete such projects.
As a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Senator Ayotte will carefully review infrastructure improvement proposals to ensure that we focus on our nation's most urgent transportation priorities in a fiscally responsible and sustainable manner.
This report is excerpted from an e-mail response concerning the aviation bill, surface transportation bill, and infrastructure bank proposal. With appreciation to Senator Ayotte and her staff for keeping our State informed on the current legislative issues.
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