Montana Essential Air Service Wins Full Funding in Final Transportation Spending Bill
BILLINGS, MT - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, announced today Montana’s Essential Air Service (EAS) will be fully funded next year. Rehberg hailed final House passage of the Fiscal Year 2006 Transportation spending bill, which includes $110 million for Montana’s eight EAS destinations. Rehberg, who helped draft the measure, is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
“It’s been a long road to where we ended up, with Montana’s Essential Air Service getting fully funded,” Rehberg explained. “We began the year with a crazy bureaucrat scheme to make Montana cities pay for their EAS service – a political maneuver which I opposed successfully, behind the scenes and in committee. After fighting EAS opponents every step of the way, we can finally claim victory for another year.”
Montana has eight EAS points, seven of which – Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney, and Wolf Point – are served by Big Sky airlines, with its code-sharing agreements and a connecting hub in Billings. Sky West airlines provides seasonal service to Montana’s eighth EAS point, West Yellowstone.
“Every year, it seems, we have to fight tooth and nail just see that the federal government keeps its promise to our rural communities. Fortunately, every year I’m able to bring more of my colleagues our point of view, that we expect our federal government to pay for certain essential services, such as highways, passenger rail service, and, in this case, air service to communities in rural states like Montana,” Rehberg pointed out. “While I’m a fiscal conservative and we do everything we can to balance the budget and try to stretch tax dollars as far as possible, there are just certain things that we subsidize that are absolutely critical. One of those is essential air service. It’s absolutely critical for the people of eastern Montana to have essential air service, so I intend to continue seeing that EAS is adequately funded.”
Congress authorized the EAS program to guarantee a minimum level of air carrier service to small communities. The Transportation Department subsidizes air service to approximately 38 rural communities in the continental U.S.
“This year, I was able to use my seat on the Appropriations Committee to help successfully protect Montana from the Administration’s matching local fund requirements. You can bet next year the Administration will come up with a new funding formula plan, and I’ll oppose it as well,” Rehberg said. “The point is, as long as I continue to serve as Montana’s Congressman, I intend to see that funding for Montana’s essential air service remains secure.”
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Montana Essential Air Service Wins Full Funding in Final Transportation Spending Bill
BILLINGS, MT - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, announced today Montana’s Essential Air Service (EAS) will be fully funded next year. Rehberg hailed final House passage of the Fiscal Year 2006 Transportation spending bill, which includes $110 million for Montana’s eight EAS destinations. Rehberg, who helped draft the measure, is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
“It’s been a long road to where we ended up, with Montana’s Essential Air Service getting fully funded,” Rehberg explained. “We began the year with a crazy bureaucrat scheme to make Montana cities pay for their EAS service – a political maneuver which I opposed successfully, behind the scenes and in committee. After fighting EAS opponents every step of the way, we can finally claim victory for another year.”
Montana has eight EAS points, seven of which – Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney, and Wolf Point – are served by Big Sky airlines, with its code-sharing agreements and a connecting hub in Billings. Sky West airlines provides seasonal service to Montana’s eighth EAS point, West Yellowstone.
“Every year, it seems, we have to fight tooth and nail just see that the federal government keeps its promise to our rural communities. Fortunately, every year I’m able to bring more of my colleagues our point of view, that we expect our federal government to pay for certain essential services, such as highways, passenger rail service, and, in this case, air service to communities in rural states like Montana,” Rehberg pointed out. “While I’m a fiscal conservative and we do everything we can to balance the budget and try to stretch tax dollars as far as possible, there are just certain things that we subsidize that are absolutely critical. One of those is essential air service. It’s absolutely critical for the people of eastern Montana to have essential air service, so I intend to continue seeing that EAS is adequately funded.”
Congress authorized the EAS program to guarantee a minimum level of air carrier service to small communities. The Transportation Department subsidizes air service to approximately 38 rural communities in the continental U.S.
“This year, I was able to use my seat on the Appropriations Committee to help successfully protect Montana from the Administration’s matching local fund requirements. You can bet next year the Administration will come up with a new funding formula plan, and I’ll oppose it as well,” Rehberg said. “The point is, as long as I continue to serve as Montana’s Congressman, I intend to see that funding for Montana’s essential air service remains secure.” # # #