Letter to Congressman Brown Regarding CBP Reimbursement

Commercial aviation helps drive more than 10M American jobs and 5 cents of every dollar of U.S. GDP
Commercial aviation drives more than $1 trillion per year in economic activity
In 2012, U.S. airlines moved more than 48,000 tons of cargo per day
In 2012, the value of a kilogram of U.S. merchandise exported by air averaged 121 times the value exported by sea
For every 100 airline jobs, some 360 are supported outside of the airline industry
Federal taxes constitute $61 – or 20% – of the price of a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket
In 2011, U.S. airlines carried 16 percent more passengers and cargo using 10 percent less fuel than in 2000
Domestically, airlines drive 5% of economic activity but account for 2% of man-made GHG emissions
From 2000-2011, airlines reduced GHG emissions by 11% while transporting 16% more passengers and cargo
From 1975-2011, U.S. airlines and their partners reduced significant noise exposure by 99%
Commercial air travel is the safest form of intercity transportation in the United States
In the most recent decade, scheduled air service on U.S. airlines was seven times safer than in the 1970s
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines improved the on-time arrival rate from 72.6% to 81.9%
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines reduced the flight cancellation rate sharply from 3.30% to 1.29%
Airfares are a bargain: From 2000-2012, U.S. CPI rose 33% while average domestic fare rose just 13%
Adjusted for inflation, the average round-trip domestic airfare fell 15% from 2000
2007 domestic flight delays cost the United States approximately $31 billion
In 2012, the value of U.S. merchandise exported by air reached an all-time high of $427B
In 2012, U.S. exports of air-travel services reached an all-time high of $39.5B, driving a $5.1B trade surplus
In 2012, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent more than $50B on fuel, averaging 36% of operating expenses
In 2012, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage ever recorded
FAA projects U.S. air travel demand to top 1 billion passengers in 2027
In 2012, US airlines flew 83.4 million passengers in scheduled international service - a record high
In 2012, the total value of merchandise exported from or imported to the United States by air exceeded $927 billion
In 2012, 7.15 teragrams of merchandise was exported from or imported to the United States by air

	Letter to Congressman Brown Regarding CBP Reimbursement
	PubZone1 March 13, 2013 The Honorable Sherrod Brown United States Senate 713 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Brown: Airlines for America strongly supports your proposed amendment to strike Section 560 of the Continuing Resolution (CR). Section 560 would give Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authority to enter into five reimbursable agreements with third-party entities, including foreign governments and private sector entities, for the repayment of overtime expenses for CBP officers at land, sea and airports of entry requested by the third-party. While the agreements must be signed by the end of fiscal year 2013, the duration of the agreements can be up to five years. While CPB would be limited to five reimbursable agreements, this provision creates a slippery slope toward third-party funding of a critical national security function. In effect, this section would begin to shift CBP’s resource-allocation incentives to those entities, including foreign governments and private corporations most willing to pay for a specific CBP service rather than those with the greatest need for that service. CBP should base its resource allocation decisions on demand and traffic levels rather than third parties with the deepest pockets. Creating a “pay-to-play” mechanism provides the wrong incentives for provision of CBP national security/facilitation services. Unfortunately, despite the critical importance of international travel and tourism to fueling economic growth, CBP airport staffing levels have not kept pace with the growth of the international aviation market. This has occurred despite the fact that passengers and airline pay a greater percentage of CBP’s user fees than other users of CBP’s resources. As a result, CBP processing times at many gateway U.S. airports exceeds one hour and sometimes exceed three hours. These excessive and persistent wait times already dissuade international travelers from visiting the U.S. and suppress demand for international air travel on U.S. airlines. While we understand the desire to be creative about finding resources, we urge the Administration to seek to rationalize the way the current system is funded and staff is allocated before seeking additional resources from third parties. Given the issues raised by this provision allowing third-party reimbursement of a customs function, we strongly support your amendment to remove this section from the CR. We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration on developing other policies that will help ensure sufficient CBP staffing levels at major gateway airports with the greatest need. Sincerely, Nicholas E. Calio PubZone2	A4A advocates measures to support aviation safety, security and well-being.