FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 1997
No. FC-2
Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on the solvency of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund). The hearing will take place on Wednesday, February 5, 1997, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be heard from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Historically, the Trust Fund has been financed through Federal excise taxes on passenger tickets, air freight, international departures, and noncommerical fuels. More recently, the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-188) renewed the Trust Fund taxes for the period August 27 through December 31, 1996. As an administrative matter, Trust Fund tax receipts are first deposited in the General Fund, and then transferred to the Trust Fund. On January 1, 1997, statutory authority to allow the transfer of aviation excise tax receipts from the General Fund to the Trust Fund elapsed.
Recently, it was discovered that the Treasury Department had credited to the Trust Fund approximately $1.2 billion of aviation excise taxes which have not yet been deposited in the General Fund. This was based upon Treasury's assumption that the airlines had been depositing excise taxes attributable to travel in September, October, and November 1996. However, the airlines appear to have been relying on a current tax law safe harbor rule which permits the deposits of these taxes in February 1997. When these excise taxes are deposited by the airlines in February in the General Fund, a transfer to the Trust Fund cannot occur because the Trust Fund transfer authority has already expired.
Previously, the FAA had estimated that the uncommitted balance of the Trust Fund would reach zero in July of 1997. The FAA now estimates that it will not be able to enter into new capital contracts as early as March. Furthermore, the FAA contends it may have to begin notifying contractors of its intent to terminate multiple phase contracts on March 1, 1997, or earlier, absent legislative action.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer stated: "I am anxious to have from the Administration a complete explanation of the events leading up to the error giving rise to this situation and its recommendations for rectifying the funding shortfall in the Trust Fund. More importantly, we need to know the full extent of what these new developments mean to FAA programs and operations so that the Committee can respond both appropriately and responsibly."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Committee will receive testimony from the Administration regarding the solvency of the Trust Fund and the impact of the Trust Fund shortage on FAA programs.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) copies of their statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, with their address and date of hearing noted, by the close of business, Wednesday, February 19, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.