The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE BILL” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H3410 on April 29, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE BILL
(Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, on March 23 the Federal Department of Transportation decided to yank funding from the Lancaster Airport in my district, denying the airport of its ability to provide commercial air services.
The Department operates a program called the Essential Air Services Program which provides subsidies to airlines that serve smaller markets that would otherwise go without commercial service. But the Department of Transportation is wrong in this case.
The 68-mile route it chose between Route 30 to Philadelphia International Airport takes 3 hours to drive or more. The route most commonly used is 80 miles and takes about half that time to drive.
This week I am introducing a bill to remedy this wrong. The Essential Air Services Eligibility Fairness Act will make sure the highway mileage between a place and the nearest hub airport will be determined by the most commonly used route between the two airports. It will protect, in my case, 876,000 air trips that originate every year in Lancaster; and it will protect the other small market airports around the country that provide convenient air service for millions.
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