Thanks to a number of strong efficient organizations in the United States the Bush administrations attempt to implement a user pay system for general aviation will not be implemented without strong opposition.  The White House released the 2008 Fiscal Year budget plan and it looks like another attempt by the government to squeeze every last dollar out of a group which already pays more than its fair share.

With $175 million for a new satellite navigation system to replace older air traffic control equipment and an additional $900 million for air traffic control system upgrades the administration has also included a user-fee proposal.

The Aircraft Pilots and Owners Association (AOPA) have been expecting this move for some time now. "The administration is manufacturing an FAA 'funding crisis' in a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to divert attention away from the real issue — the need to address the problems that constrain capacity, efficiency, and new technology adoption," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.

"They are attempting an end-around of Congress to put the world's safest, most efficient, and largest air traffic control system into the hands of airline barons who've flown their own businesses into bankruptcy," Boyer said at the National Press Club on February 1.