Washington, DC - National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen today said the membership high-water mark achieved this week for the General Aviation (GA) Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives shows an unprecedented demonstration of congressional support for the industry's vital role in serving citizens, companies and communities across the United States.
GA Caucus co-chairs, Rep. Sam Graves (R-6-MO) and
Rep. John Barrow (D-12-GA), announced on Sept. 20 that 223 House lawmakers are
now included in the caucus, which was formed in 2009 to promote general
aviation, and inform debates about policy proposals that could impact the
industry. Graves and Barrow have worked diligently to grow the group's
membership, so that now a majority of representatives serving in the House are
GA caucus members.
"The fact that more than 50 percent of all lawmakers in the House now belong to the GA Caucus shows that our industry is important to legislators from rural and urban areas; to elected officials representing congressional districts large and small; and to those from all points on the political spectrum," Bolen said. "NBAA and the business aviation community thank Congressmen Graves and Barrow, and their hard-working staff, for their tireless work to build the House GA Caucus and highlight the industry's importance to America."
Upon reaching the caucus milestone, Graves and Barrow released a joint statement, in which Graves called the new membership total, "A great victory for general aviation, [which] carries 166 million passengers to around 5,000 communities over 27 million flight hours each year, and more than two-thirds of these flights are for business purposes."
In the same statement, caucus co-Chair Barrow agreed, stating: "This is an important milestone for the industry. Our mission is to inform folks about general aviation, and having a majority of the House of Representatives will help achieve that goal." - Learn more about NBAA at www.nbaa.org. See House Caucus Members