[July 21, 2011] FAA Reauthorization Harmful to Troops, Rural Communities Tweet Jul 21, 2011 (Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Rep. Ron Kind today voted against the FAA Reauthorization bill because it jeopardizes funding for rural communities through cuts to the Essential Air Service (EAS) Program and fails to support our men and women in uniform during travel to and from war zones. "This bill makes significant cuts to a program many of our rural community airports, including the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport; rely on for key funding," said Rep. Kind. "It's important funding like this that supports local jobs and provides transportation and shipping services to small businesses in rural communities." EAS funding is critical for small and medium sized communities across the country. Not only do 140 smaller regional airports depend on the funding to maintain scheduled air service, but rural communities have the resources to create jobs and businesses large and small benefit from increased access to the global economy. Cuts to EAS will immediately affect over a dozen airports across the country. Chippewa Valley Regional Airport will not be directly affected by these cuts but funding for the airport could be in jeopardy if any further cuts are made. In fact, Wisconsin has delayed accepting construction bids until officials know how much federal funding will be available. Unless the FAA receives a longer extension, projects in Wisconsin could be delayed into next year. "On top of cutting this critical funding, when my Republican colleagues had the opportunity to amend this bill to prohibit airlines from charging our hardworking soldiers excessive baggage fees, they shot it down. When traveling to and from the front lines, our airlines should be hugging our heroes not hugging their wallets." Read this original document at: http://kind.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=52&sectiontree=149,52&itemid=818 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]