WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, today fought to protect the American General Aviation industry during the confirmation hearing of Jack Lew, the President’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. 

During today’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Roberts discussed the Obama Administration’s rhetorical war against the General Aviation tax credit.

Below is a transcription of the exchange. Video and audio of the exchange can be found here.

Senator Roberts:  “…Over the past four years, sir, this administration has repeatedly brought up the issue of business aviation, general aviation. And the proposal to change the depreciation schedule for jets, agriculture aircraft, piston engine aircraft, from five to seven years.

The estimates I have seen allege this will raise $200 to $300 million a year. But it does not take into account the loss in tax revenue and jobs that will result from this change.

Now if you take into consideration the list of the projections of the federal deficit for this year, which could end up being $1 trillion, $850 billion to $1 trillion, the changes that you have proposed would reduce the fiscal year 2013 deficit by about 2 millionths of a percent.

Now based on this calculation, I think you can understand why someone like me gets a little bit hot under the collar, who has seen our general aviation manufacturers in my state already lose 50 percent of their workforce during very difficult times, and why we would object to the seemingly unending attacks this administration continues to direct at the essential aviation industry, i.e., general aviation.

We're not talking about fat cat corporate jets, which has been used over and over and over again. The general aviation industry has become the piñata or the target in regards to tax reform by this administration. And I am more than a little tired of it.

Now I need a yes or no answer, if the administration continues attacking these hardworking, largely unionized American workers, which as we can show has had a direct negative impact of sales, will we even have a U.S. general aviation manufacturing base in the next 10 years, or are we going to be flying Brazil or French?”

Wichita, Kansas, has long been considered the “Air Capital of the World.”  A world leader in general aviation manufacturing, this industry contributes over $7 billion a year to the Kansas economy and employs thousands of Kansans both directly and indirectly.  

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