The Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970 ( Pub.L. 91-258) was a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the supreme law is the nation's Constitution of the United States, Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the ...

passed during the 91st Congress, and signed into law by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in conjunction with the Airport and Airway Revenue Act on May 21, 1970. The act was meant to fill funding gaps in the airport and airway system, which had become inadequate due to the rapid growth of aviation. The legislation was estimated to generate greater than $11 billion in funds, Together, the two acts created and planned funding for the

Airport and Airway Trust Fund The Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) provides funding for the federal commitment to the aviation system of the United States through several aviation-related excise taxes. It was established on the books of the United States Department of the ...

(Airport Trust Fund), which was initiated on July 1, 1970. The new Airport Trust Fund was modeled on the Federal Highway Trust Fund, and would be fulfilled by new

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

-related

excise taxes file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

. These new taxes, including a tax on

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are either petroleum-based or blends of petroleum and synthetic fuels, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground applications, such as heating and road transport, and they contain add ...

s, a tax placed on tickets sold to passengers on domestic and international flights, a tax on

waybill A waybill is a document issued by a carrier acknowledging the receipt of goods by the carrier and the contract for shipment of a consignment of that cargo. Typically it will show the names of the consignor and consignee, the point of origin of t ...

s, and a new tax on

aircraft registration An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and functions much li ...

, were expected to provide the anticipated $11 billion trust fund. These taxes would feed into the Airport Trust Fund in order to pay for airport development, as well as "acquiring, establishing, and improving air navigational facilities." The fund was authorized to pay for these improvements using $280-million-a-year grants over a five-year period. It is believed that this

user fee A user fee is a fee, tax, or impost payment paid to a facility owner or operator by a facility user as a necessary condition for using the facility. People pay user fees for the use of many public services and facilities. At the federal level ...

system would be advantageous compared to a flat tax, because it provided a predictable level of funding, allowed for the trust to plan far ahead, and assured fees meant for aviation related improvements would not be divided amongst unrelated fields. Six years after the act became law, the Act was augmented by the Airport and Airway Development Act Amendments of 1976. The 1976 legislation was signed into law by President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

in order to "make possible the continuing modernization of our airways, airports, and related facilities in communities throughout the 50 States." Ford stated these amendments would combat inflation and referred to the system as creating a "'pay-as-you-fly' program".

References

{{reflist

External links

*Murphy, Robert P. (1999-02-19)
Whether the Airport and Airway Trust Fund was created solely to finance aviation infrastructure
(PDF). ''Letter to The Honorable Frank R. Wolf Chairman, Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies'' United States General Accounting Office. Retrieved July 2007. 1970 in American law 1970 in aviation Aviation in the United States United States Department of the Treasury United States Department of Transportation United States federal transportation legislation

See also

References

External links