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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage
to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee proponents' divide and conquer strategy? STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/ind...id=&Issue_id=). Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp...nav=menu510_2), because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said. Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association, told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens' work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to fight this." http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195309 |
#2
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
If this happens we all will protest by registering our birds in AK and
grabbing a AK address for our pilots certificate's "Larry Dighera" wrote in message ... How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee proponents' divide and conquer strategy? STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/ind...id=&Issue_id=). Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp...nav=menu510_2), because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said. Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association, told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens' work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to fight this." http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195309 |
#3
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
"NW_Pilot" wrote:
If this happens we all will protest by registering our birds in AK and grabbing a AK address for our pilots certificate's But the exemption appears to be only for intrastate flights within Alaska. What is interesting is that Stevens not only got the user fee exemption, where the original bill had funding _cuts_ to Alaskan airports, he got the bill changed so it _increases_ funding to Alaskan airports. Stevens is a master at pork barrel politics. See for example this classic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge |
#4
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
Come now. He's supporting HIS constituents
I tried to email members of the House Transportation and Infrastruction Committee see http://transportation.house.gov/Earmarks/index.shtml then http://transportation.house.gov/aviation/index.shtml for the members list of the subcommitte on aviation committe on transportation and infrastructure only to discover that the members only respond to their constituents. So you have to write YOUR congressman who may or may not have any aviation interest and hope he passes your feeling on. Distressing when addressing a National Issue.But then If each member received over a million emails he would not have time to do anything but read them.. This would irratate those put money in his re-election fund. I claim, along with Mark Twain, that we have the best government money can buy. "Larry Dighera" wrote in message ... How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee proponents' divide and conquer strategy? STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/ind...id=&Issue_id=). Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp...nav=menu510_2), because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said. Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association, told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens' work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to fight this." http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195309 |
#5
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 06:09:03 GMT, "john hawkins"
wrote in : Come now. He's supporting HIS constituents Yes. Senator Stevens has demonstrated support of his constituency in a very arrogant, openly inequitable, and shortsighted way. Because S. 1300 supports the imposition of direct _user_ _fees,_ it opens the door for Congress to seek additional revenue via the imposition of inefficient user fee funding in future legislation. It is the issue of the administratively inefficient user fee funding that Senator Steven's constituency (and all aviators) should be concerned with, as it represents the camel's nose sliding under the tent for all US ATC users. Stevens had an opportunity to kill user fees as a source of funding, and instead of recognizing that the cost administration of such a revenue stream would likely reduce the amount of funds available after the costs of administering such a boondoggle to insignificance, he completely overlooked this larger issue, and was barely able to see beyond his own self-interests. This exposes Senator Stevens as an arrogant and inept politician with the same feeble powers of insight as our nation's president. Clearly Stevens has no business contributing to any Congressional committee. http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp...&nav=menu510_2 "I don't like the user fee concept, but the way it's been worked out now it is a fair thing," Stevens said. Who is going to collect user fees? What will be cost of collecting, marinating records, and enforcing user fees? Will user fees increase the size of government? I tried to email members of the House Transportation and Infrastruction Committee see http://transportation.house.gov/Earmarks/index.shtml then http://transportation.house.gov/aviation/index.shtml Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to direct your contact to the Senate committee instead of the House? for the members list of the subcommitte on aviation committe on transportation and infrastructure only to discover that the members only respond to their constituents. You'll find a list of House Commerce Committee members he http://transportation.house.gov/about/ You'll find a list of Senate Commerce Committee members he http://www.senate.gov/comm/commerce/...embership.html Here is a list of the Senate Commerce Committee on Aviation: http://www.senate.gov/comm/commerce/...bcommittee.pdf Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee Assignments – 109th Congress Subcommittee on Aviation: Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Chair Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) Ranking Member Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) Senator John McCain (R-AZ) Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Senator John Ensign (R-NV) Senator E. Benjamin Nelson (D-NE) Senator George Allen (R-VA) Senator Mark L. Pryor (D-AR) Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) 11. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) So you have to write YOUR congressman who may or may not have any aviation interest and hope he passes your feeling on. It's better than no input at all: http://www.house.gov/writerep/ http://www.senate.gov/general/contac...nators_cfm.cfm Distressing when addressing a National Issue.But then If each member received over a million emails he would not have time to do anything but read them.. This would irratate those put money in his re-election fund. I claim, along with Mark Twain, that we have the best government money can buy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Larry Dighera" wrote in message .. . How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee proponents' divide and conquer strategy? STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/ind...id=&Issue_id=). Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp...nav=menu510_2), because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said. Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association, told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens' work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to fight this." http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195309 |
#6
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:34:41 +0000, Larry Dighera wrote:
Yes. Senator Stevens has demonstrated support of his constituency in a very arrogant, openly inequitable, and shortsighted way. Which should answer your question about how he and his kin are elected. - Andrew |
#7
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
It looks like we won't have to put up with this crook much longer:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...55&ft=1&f=1014 Alaska Senator Scrutinized in Corruption Probe by Peter Overby Weekend Edition Sunday, July 15, 2007 · Powerful, often-abrasive Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), 83, is enmeshed in a federal corruption probe that has implicated his son Ben. The Justice Department is investigating ties between a fishing co-op that paid Ben Stevens $500,000 and a federal bailout passed by the senator. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), center, leaves the weekly Republican policy luncheon at the Capitol, July 10, 2007, in Washington, D.C. The longest-serving Republican senator, Stevens has been caught up in a Justice Department corruption probe. Getty Images Related NPR Stories June 29, 2007 Alaska GOP Shaken by Corruption Inquiry On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:34:41 GMT, Larry Dighera wrote in : On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 06:09:03 GMT, "john hawkins" wrote in : Come now. He's supporting HIS constituents Yes. Senator Stevens has demonstrated support of his constituency in a very arrogant, openly inequitable, and shortsighted way. Because S. 1300 supports the imposition of direct _user_ _fees,_ it opens the door for Congress to seek additional revenue via the imposition of inefficient user fee funding in future legislation. It is the issue of the administratively inefficient user fee funding that Senator Steven's constituency (and all aviators) should be concerned with, as it represents the camel's nose sliding under the tent for all US ATC users. Stevens had an opportunity to kill user fees as a source of funding, and instead of recognizing that the cost administration of such a revenue stream would likely reduce the amount of funds available after the costs of administering such a boondoggle to insignificance, he completely overlooked this larger issue, and was barely able to see beyond his own self-interests. This exposes Senator Stevens as an arrogant and inept politician with the same feeble powers of insight as our nation's president. Clearly Stevens has no business contributing to any Congressional committee. http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp...&nav=menu510_2 "I don't like the user fee concept, but the way it's been worked out now it is a fair thing," Stevens said. Who is going to collect user fees? What will be cost of collecting, marinating records, and enforcing user fees? Will user fees increase the size of government? I tried to email members of the House Transportation and Infrastruction Committee see http://transportation.house.gov/Earmarks/index.shtml then http://transportation.house.gov/aviation/index.shtml Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to direct your contact to the Senate committee instead of the House? for the members list of the subcommitte on aviation committe on transportation and infrastructure only to discover that the members only respond to their constituents. You'll find a list of House Commerce Committee members he http://transportation.house.gov/about/ You'll find a list of Senate Commerce Committee members he http://www.senate.gov/comm/commerce/...embership.html Here is a list of the Senate Commerce Committee on Aviation: http://www.senate.gov/comm/commerce/...bcommittee.pdf Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee Assignments – 109th Congress Subcommittee on Aviation: Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Chair Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) Ranking Member Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) Senator John McCain (R-AZ) Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Senator John Ensign (R-NV) Senator E. Benjamin Nelson (D-NE) Senator George Allen (R-VA) Senator Mark L. Pryor (D-AR) Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) 11. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) So you have to write YOUR congressman who may or may not have any aviation interest and hope he passes your feeling on. It's better than no input at all: http://www.house.gov/writerep/ http://www.senate.gov/general/contac...nators_cfm.cfm Distressing when addressing a National Issue.But then If each member received over a million emails he would not have time to do anything but read them.. This would irratate those put money in his re-election fund. I claim, along with Mark Twain, that we have the best government money can buy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Larry Dighera" wrote in message . .. How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee proponents' divide and conquer strategy? STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/ind...id=&Issue_id=). Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp...nav=menu510_2), because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said. Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association, told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens' work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to fight this." http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195309 |
#8
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
In article ,
Larry Dighera wrote: It looks like we won't have to put up with this crook much longer: It would be pretty lonely in Congress if all the crooks left. -- Bob Noel (goodness, please trim replies!!!) |
#9
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 12:09:05 -0400, Bob Noel
wrote in : It would be pretty lonely in Congress if all the crooks left. We can hope. http://bob.wjla.com/headlines/0807/444164.html Corruption Probe Dogs Alaska Wednesday August 01, 2007 6:04pm from our sister station WJLA-TV JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - One former state representative is guilty of bribery. Three more await trial on similar charges. The state's lone congressman is under federal investigation for corruption. A U.S. senator just had his home searched by the FBI. This is not exactly the Alaska that Vic Fischer had in mind when he helped draft the state's constitution more than 50 years ago. "Greed is rampant," said Fischer. "The character of the politicians has changed a lot. I'm very disgusted." The wave of government corruption allegations has brought national attention to a state that touts its beauty and rugged landscapes, wild salmon and spectacular Northern Lights. Fischer, current lawmakers and political analysts say the cases are evidence that the state is reaping what it sowed from years of lax oversight and a cozy relationship with the oil industry. The relationship between lawmakers and the oil industry is a central issue in an investigation that stretches from Juneau to Washington, D.C. First, the former state lawmakers were accused of accepting bribes or extorting favors in exchange for oil tax votes favorable to the industry. Soon, the Justice Department began looking into the relationship between the contractor VECO Corp. and Alaska's congressional delegation. Earlier this week, federal agents raided the home of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, who is under scrutiny for his close relationship with a contractor who oversaw his home renovation project and won millions in federal contracts. The common denominator in all but one case is former oil field services executive Bill Allen, who recently pleaded guilty to bribing lawmakers who were considering an oil tax bill. He remains at the center of emerging corruption probes. Allen's company, Anchorage-based VECO Corp., has long been a heavy-hitting player in North Slope oil and gas operations. But Allen and former company vice president Rick Smith, who also pleaded guilty with Allen, became political activists as well. Allen was once a fixture in the state's Capitol. His presence was so strong he was credited as the driver behind a legal change in the definition of a lobbyist - essentially so that he no longer had to register as one. But Allen still pushed his agenda with meetings in the Baranof Hotel, among the city's poshest, and in the Capitol, lawmakers and court records say. He was even spotted improperly passing notes to lawmakers over a railing during a House floor session last year. Eventually, the lines between the industry and politics became blurred, said former House Minority leader Ethan Berkowitz. The state's checks and balances system eroded and the system broke, he said. "We've been a one-party state and a one-industry state for too long," he said. "The economic and political power has consolidated into just a few hands and that breeds contempt. That kind of concentration of power gives rise to fascist tendencies." If things progress, the state's reputation for political corruption could become akin to that of New Jersey or Louisiana, some political analysts said. "I don't think anybody is going to cancel a summer cruise because of Ted Stevens," said John Pitney, political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California. "But it does hurt the brand. "It's difficult to quantify but that tarnish probably carries a price. It makes it more difficult to press the state's rights or needs when arguing with the federal officials and general public." In their own quirky way, the developments coincide with the recent release of "The Simpsons Movie," which prominently features the cartoon family's journey to Alaska, prompting Homer Simpson to say it's a place where "you can't be too fat or too drunk." The movie depicts Alaska almost as a separate country. As Homer crosses the state lines, he's greeted by a customs agent who says, "Welcome to Alaska," then hands Homer $1,000 cash, saying every Alaskan gets a stack of bills so oil companies can exploit the environment. The effect the scandal could have is not lost on Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, who last year ran her campaign on ethics reform and recently signed a 43-page ethics reform bill into law, a document originally introduced as an eight-page offering in January. In 2004, as chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, she exposed Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich for ethical violations when he was a fellow commissioner. Now, Palin is trying to convince federal officials that Alaska can foster the right development for a multibillion dollar pipeline she hopes will ship trillions of cubic feet of natural gas from the North Slope to market. "We should be a leader in energy policy," she said "The only way we can lead is if the rest of the nation is confident our leaders are willing to serve for the right reasons." "It's a wake up call for Alaska to demand better from its elected and appointed officials," she said. "It's a wake up call that we cannot continue to go down the path that we're on." |
#10
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Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots
Bob Noel wrote in
: It would be pretty lonely in Congress if all the crooks left. It would certainly be a refreshing improvement. -- |
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