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With budget debates now heating up in Washington, D.C., a back-and-forth battle
is taking shape that will have a huge impact on pilots like you and me and our freedom to fly.
It's a battle we can't afford to lose – but one we can't win without your help.
As I mentioned to you in a recent letter, President Obama proposed in his 2013 Fiscal Year budget a $100-per-flight user fee to be enforced on millions of general aviation operations.
Congress then responded – with nearly 200 U.S. Representatives and 28 U.S. Senators signing letters to the President opposing this fee. But the White House isn't backing down. And in a recent statement from the Office of Management and Budget, Acting Director Jeffery Zients made it 100% clear that President Obama and his administration are still 100% committed to imposing this disastrous fee.
Now, the future of general aviation is facing a decisive moment – because general aviation as we know it cannot and will not survive if President Obama wins this user fee battle.
Although the Obama budget is unclear about exactly which flights and airplanes will be subjected to these proposed fees, one thing is certain: Once these user fees are in place, they will only expand – to more flights and more airplanes until no one is exempted.
In every country where they've been imposed, user fees have all but wiped out general aviation. Now, it's up to you and me to make sure our freedom to fly isn't sacrificed during the upcoming horse-trading that will take place during the budget debates.
And the best way for you and me to build a firewall, and protect general aviation's future for ourselves and generations to come, is to make sure that our AOPA Political Action Committee coffers are 100% filled as the November elections draw near.
AOPA PAC is the only arm of AOPA that can give direct support to candidates running for Congress. And we're the only arm of AOPA that can urge citizens to vote for, or against, a particular candidate.
| |  | By making a contribution today, you can send a loud, clear message to our friends in Congress – those who are working on our behalf every day – that they'll be able to count on our strong support in November if they keep up the fight against user fees.
And you can make it clear that any Member of Congress who stands in favor of this user fee proposal will be on our target list for defeat.
| | CONTRIBUTE NOW!
Make no mistake. If we fall short of our AOPA PAC funding goals this year, we're going to be sitting ducks for a legislative disaster that will change the face and future of general aviation forever, with no second chance and no turning back.
That's why there's no more powerful contribution you can make to protect our vital interests as pilots – and preserve the fair and equitable system of fuel taxes that now help fund a vast portion of our nation's air transportation network.
So please, if you haven't responded to my recent letter, do so today, and make a contribution in the most generous amount you can. In fact, even if you've sent a recent gift, I hope you'll consider an additional donation – to further strengthen AOPA PAC as we enter the most important stage of this election-year budget battle.
Your financial support for AOPA PAC right now is the key to winning the most important political fight we've ever faced. Please help – as soon as you can and as generously as you can – to defeat user fees that would destroy the healthiest and most robust general aviation system that the world has ever known.
THANK YOU for letting me hear from you soon! |
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