Congratulating and saluting the seventieth anniversary of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and their dedication to general aviation, safety and the important contribution general aviation provides to the United States.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

As a student pilot, and as the cochairman of the House General Aviation Caucus, as well as a proud member

of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 472, honoring the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association on their 70th anniversary.

Since 1939, AOPA has effectively represented the general aviation community at the local, State, and Federal levels. With a membership of more than 415,000--or two-thirds of all of the pilots in the United States--AOPA is the largest and one of the most influential aviation associations in the world. I have been a member for a number of years.

General aviation is a catch-all category that includes all nonscheduled, all nonmilitary aviation. There are more than 230,000 general aviation aircraft in the United States, which use nearly 19,000 small and regional airports. These airports help connect people and industries that do not always have easy access to our commercial airports.

Recently, general aviation has come under attack by the media and those that view general aviation as a corporate indulgence or an expensive toy used exclusively by the wealthy. That is simply not true. Actually, the fact is that companies that utilize general aviation are more productive and, thus, more competitive.

I can give two examples from my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Recently, I was talking to a businessman there. He's a contractor. He's built a number of buildings. They've decided to expand into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and into Canada. As you know, Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes so it's very hard to get from point A to point B quickly. However, they bought an airplane, and they were able to zip easily from the Grand Rapids headquarters to all the work sites in Canada and in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. More often than not, these airplanes pay for themselves.

I have another businessman in Grand Rapids who told me that his airplane saved him a considerable amount of money because when his executives went to visit his plants scattered around the U.S.--most of them in forests because he's in the lumbering business and he has 30- some businesses around the country--it takes at least one person one day to get to any of these sites using commercial aviation because they have to go to a major commercial airport, rent a car and drive 30, 40 miles into the forest to their site. But with their own private airplane, they could usually land within a few miles. They can complete three business visits in 1 day instead of one.

So, as they say, these airplanes pay for themselves.

In addition, most of the private pilots I know are not rich but middle class working people that love to fly. In the wake of these disparaging stories that have appeared in the media, the AOPA and its supporters in Congress have worked hard to educate the public and spread the word about the importance of general aviation to our economy and our transportation system.

Every private pilot is passionate about flying, and the AOPA is the organization they rely on to stay abreast of current political events and aviation events and to advocate on their behalf.

I congratulate the AOPA on this historic anniversary, and I wish them continued success, and I look forward to celebrating future anniversaries with them as well. And I hope by then, I am able to fly more often than I am while I'm in the Congress.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 472) congratulating and saluting the seventieth anniversary of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and their dedication to general aviation, safety and the important contribution general aviation provides to the United States.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on House Resolution 472.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of House Resolution 472, congratulating and saluting the 70th anniversary of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and their dedication to the general aviation, safety, and the important contribution that general aviation provides to the United States of America.

AOPA was incorporated on May 15, 1939, as a nonprofit organization dedicated to general aviation. AOPA represents more than 414,000 members, which is about 70 percent of all United States pilots. In 1950, AOPA created the Air Safety Foundation, which provides general aviation pilots with training, education, and research on information and safety that are important to all pilots.

AOPA was a leading advocate in the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 which led to the recovery of the U.S. general aviation and light aircraft manufacturing industry. In recent years, AOPA has been active on many general aviation issues such as global positioning navigation, flight service station modernization, FAA reauthorization, and the Next Generation Air Transportation System, known as NextGen.

House Resolution 472 congratulates and salutes the 70th anniversary of AOPA and its dedication to general aviation, safety, and the important contribution made by all aviators to the United States. In addition, the resolution commends AOPA for creating the Air Safety Foundation, leading the recovery of general aviation of light aircraft in the manufacturing industry and setting the stage for the development of NextGen.

For these reasons and others, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 472.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his efforts to promote general aviation. It's very clear, having, myself, several classifications as a multiengine commercial instrument single engineer, that general aviation needs to do all it can to promote and respond to the needs of its pilots--in particular, training of the pilots. It is very important that we recognize the significance of this organization and what it means to general aviation.

I concur with the remarks of the ranking member and also concur with the gentleman and his remarks with respect to the importance of this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, the swift passage of this bill is very important.

I yield back my time as well.

Thank you, Congressman Petri, for your part of this legislation.

On May 15, 2009, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, or AOPA, celebrated its 70th anniversary. Since its inception on the eve of the Second World War, AOPA has grown to be one of the strongest voices for general aviation in the United States.

Throughout its rich history, AOPA has developed and maintained close working relationships with Federal Government agencies including the Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, and the Transportation Security Administration. By working closely with these agencies, AOPA has helped us create the safest and most efficient aviation system in the world.

For the last 7 years, AOPA has also fostered a dynamic relationship with Congress, and specifically the members of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on which I serve. The association's first political activity was to urge the U.S. Senate to pass legislation establishing the civilian pilot training program which allows thousands of American pilots to gain their certification through Federal Government support. Decades later, AOPA remains a key actor in the development in our Nation's aviation policy having played a vital role in the crafting and passage of this year's FAA Reauthorization Act.

Today, AOPA's membership exceeds 400,000, including seven out of every 10 pilots in this Nation. I'm confident every Member of Congress currently has a valuable relationship with the general aviation pilots flying in their districts.

On a personal note, AOPA members from the Lehigh Valley area serve on my aviation advisory board proved to be some of the most informed and influential participants. Their expertise has truly been a great resource for me as I serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Aviation Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I believe the passage of this resolution congratulating AOPA on its 70 years of service is a fitting way to salute the many pilots who help make our aviation system the safest and most efficient in the world. And at this time I would like to encourage everybody to support this legislation and urge its adoption.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res 472, a resolution to congratulate the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association on their seventieth anniversary, and speak to their dedication to general aviation, to safety, and the important contribution general aviation provides to the United States.

The AOPA was established seventy years ago, on the eve of World War II. This non-profit association has been dedicated to general aviation, improving general aviation safety, providing pilots with training, education and advocating on their behalf at every level of government.

More than 75% of all flights in the United States are general aviation. America relies on general aviation for business, medical delivery services, sightseeing and for just plain fun and a love of flying.

General aviation is a vital industry in America's economy. Currently there are 19,000 airports nationwide that provide jobs for 1.3 million Americans and bring in more than $100 billion dollars annually.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the AOPA responded by partnering with the TSA to develop a nationwide Airport Watch Program that uses pilots as eyes and ears for observing and reporting suspicious activity.

Flight Safety has remained a principal focus for the AOPA, so they have supported new technologies to make aviation safer. AOPA was a principle advocator of the GPS navigation systems which helped lead the way for the Next Gen Air Transportation System--with aviation-specific applications and advanced innovations such as weather forecasting.

And today, the AOPA represents more than 289,000 American general aviation pilots--including my husband who is a long time member. He started flying when he was a fighter pilot in Vietnam, and now we fly an RV-8, which he built in our garage.

I am proud to support the resolution to honor the AOPA for the commendable work they do in the aviation field.

Their dedication to aviation, aviation safety, training general aviation pilots, and to new technologies makes me proud to support this association.

Congratulations on your first 70 years.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, H. Res. 472, introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent), which congratulates and salutes the 70th anniversary of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and its dedication to general aviation (GA), safety, and the important contribution that GA provides to the United States. The resolution also commends AOPA for: creating the Air Safety Foundation, leading the recovery of the GA light aircraft manufacturing industry, and setting the stage for the development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System by being an early proponent of the civilian use of the Global Positioning System. I thank Representative Dent for his leadership on this measure.

AOPA was incorporated on May 15, 1939, as a non-profit organization dedicated to GA. Since then, the organization has been a leading advocate for GA pilots and now represents about 415,000 members. AOPA has also provided GA pilots with valuable safety education and training through the Air Safety Foundation, which was created in 1950. The Air Safety Foundation is the largest non-profit organization dedicated solely to GA safety.

AOPA was a primary supporter of the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) of 1994. The GA industry boomed following the passage of GARA, which placed fair and reasonable limitations on the time period during which a manufacturer would be legally liable for aircraft defects.

I congratulate AOPA for working to support GA over the past 70 years. GA stimulates local and regional economies--it comprises over one percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product and supports almost 1.2 million jobs. In addition, GA provides communities with essential services, and affords businesses the flexibility and mobility that they require. Many industries and public services depend on GA to be successful and efficient, including emergency medicine, firefighting, news services, energy exploration, and farming.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 472.