The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) applauded the launch of the U.S. House of Representatives General Aviation (GA) Caucus, and provided an online tool for NBAA members to call upon their elected federal representatives to join the House caucus.
Congressional caucuses are informal groups of lawmakers united in a common interest. Founded in 2009, the House GA Caucus promotes the importance and value of general aviation, including business aviation, and its vital role in the nation’s economy and transportation system. It also serves to educate all members of Congress and their staff about issues that are critical to the success, strength and growth of GA.
“Time and again, House GA Caucus members have been among the most effective champions for the general aviation community,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “The GA Caucus is a bipartisan group of members of Congress from urban and rural states and districts who share common support, and a clear understanding of the importance of general aviation to our nation.”
Serving as co-chairs of the House GA Caucus in the 116th Congress are U.S Reps. Marc Veasey (D-33-TX) and Sam Graves (R-6-MO). They recently sent a “Dear Colleague” letter urging their House colleagues to join the GA Caucus.
“The GA industry employs over 1.1 million workers and contributes more than $219 billion to the U.S. economy annually,” the congressional Dear Colleague letter reads. “In 2018, U.S. general aviation airplane manufacturers delivered 1,746 airplanes worth $11.6 billion with more than 39 percent of total shipments tied to exports. In fact, the GA industry is one of the few remaining U.S. manufacturing industries that provide a trade surplus for the U.S.”
Bolen urged NBAA members to utilize the association’s Contact Congress resource to encourage federal legislators to become caucus members. Use Contact Congress to ask elected representatives to join the House GA Caucus.
“NBAA has always strongly supported efforts to build and expand the congressional GA Caucus in both the House and Senate,” Bolen continued. “We commend Congressmen Graves and Veasey for standing tall for GA, and for their efforts to expand membership in the House GA Caucus. We urge NBAA members to join this important effort by contacting their elected representatives, and request them to become part of the caucus.”
