[Fox Xray]

While most do not agree with any user fees all agree that additional funding is needed. Here is the latest update:

Reid Plans Monday Cloture Vote On Air Traffic Control

Thu. Apr. 24, 2008

Senate Majority Leader Reid plans to bring up Monday a four-year bill
to help modernize the nation's air traffic control system, giving
committee Democratic leaders a fixed deadline for finishing their
months-long discussions. Reid will hold a vote to limit debate on a
motion to proceed to the FAA reauthorization bill, which has been
stalled by a dispute between the Finance and Commerce committees over
providing consistent funding to help begin transferring from a ground-
based to a satellite-based air traffic control system.

Commerce Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-
W.Va., said today that senators are "close but not done." He and
Finance Chairman Max Baucus have traded proposals but have not yet
reached an agreement, Rockefeller said. He said they will need time to
also reach a consensus with other committee members as well as the
aviation industry. "You've got major interests to sign off or to be
rolled over," he said. Rockefeller said he was worried that a deal
would not be reached in time. "The leader has a train to run, I
understand that," Rockefeller said. "And one way to get this moving is
to schedule votes." Baucus, who like Finance ranking member Charles
Grassley is enveloped in farm bill discussions, said he and
Rockefeller took note of Monday's cloture vote. "I think we'll have an
agreement," Baucus said.

A Commerce Committee plan would impose a $25 per flight surcharge in
an effort to bridge the gap between what airlines and general aviation
would be providing toward the modernization effort. Rockefeller is
open to ditching that surcharge for something else as long as there is
another way to earn the same $400 million in guaranteed annual funding
that he estimates would come from that user fee. "I've made
significant concessions," said Rockefeller, who has pledged that
general aviation will be paying more either through a user fee or taxes.

The Bush administration and airlines have embraced user fees, while
general aviation groups oppose them. The Finance Committee had
proposed to rely on aviation taxes. A House-passed bill last September
raises general aviation taxes but does not change those for airlines.
General aviation groups supported the bill because it left the current
tax structure in place and rejected user fees. Congress has agreed to
several short-term extensions of aviation excise taxes since they
initially expired Sept. 30. The Commerce Committee approved its plan
last May, while the Finance Committee and the full House approved
bills in the fall.

by Darren Goode

Thu. Apr. 24, 2008