Story ID: 
New User-fee Bill Changes Narrowly Approved…
By: AIN Staff
Caption: At the culmination of two days of intense activity, the Senate purged from its new version of the FAA’s funding bill an amendment that would have stricken 
Word Count: 165
At the culmination of two days of intense activity, the Senate purged from its new version of the FAA’s funding bill an amendment that would have stricken the $25 per flight “Air Traffic Modernization” fee. The amendment, introduced by Sens. John Sununu (R-N.H.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), failed by only one vote in the executive mark-up session of the commerce committee. Soon after learning the amendment would be introduced on Tuesday, NBAA and other groups called on their members to contact their congressional representatives that day. In response to the failed amendment, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said, “This remarkable vote shows that opposition to the per-flight user fee is growing among senators from both sides of the aisle, who are coming to share our concerns about this user fee.” Part of the bill that moved forward was language, introduced by long-time Teterboro critic Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), that would ban all Stage 2 aircraft within five years of the bill’s passage.