Federal Legislation Current Activities
2008 Activities
ASTA Letter to SBA Requesting Creation of New Direct Lending Program
On November 17, ASTA requested that the Small Business Administration use its direct lending authority to provide access to credit for small business owners in economic distress.
ASTA Calls on Incoming Obama Administration to Lift Cuba Travel Ban
ASTA is calling on President-elect Obama to permit Americans to travel to Cuba. Click here to see a recent letter to the President-elect from ASTA and other business community allies calling for a change in US policy toward Cuba.
Testimony before House Small Business Committee
On June 26, 2008, ASTA testified before the House Committee on Small Business at a hearing entitled: "How the Air Transportation Crisis is Hurting Travelers, Entrepreneurs and the Economy." In his testimony, Paul Ruden addressed the negative effect the current airline crisis is having on leisure and business travel, as well on the travel agency industry specifically. Ruden highlighted two worrisome developments--additional ticket restrictions and checked baggage fees--that illustrate the troubling direction of the airline industry.
In his testimony, Ruden said that the short-term outlook for passenger aviation is not encouraging. He pointed to two recent examples to illustrate the troubling direction of the industry. First, since May 1, nearly every major carrier has made significant changes to its fees on checked baggage. From the perspective of travel agents, such practices come with an added burden: that of monitoring and mastering a Byzantine set of new and overlapping policies and policy revisions so as to be able to apprise customers of what to expect when traveling. ASTA and ITSA recently sent a joint letter to the Department of Transportation to express their shared concern about the manner in which air carriers are disclosing (or failing to disclose) the terms of these new policies. He also pointed to another troubling practice: that of creeping ticketing restrictions. Ruden predicted that as these practices continue, so, too, will the already dire erosion in goodwill and trust between carriers and the traveling public. He closed by asking the Committee to enact meaningful reform to inject some measure of good sense and accountability to the current system before it worsens further.
Insecticides provision in Passenger Rights bill
Senior members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have introduced legislation to require the airlines to comply with certain passenger rights guidelines. The legislation tracks closely with previous passenger rights legislation towards which ASTA is generally supportive in principle. Unfortunately, the bill contains a provision that would require ticket agents to disclose to anyone buying an airline ticket that a pesticide-identified by name-has been applied within a 60-day period on the particular aircraft on which they will be flying. Complying with this requirement would be all but impossible, and would impose a new, hugely complicated federal mandate on travel agents. ASTA and ITSA sent a joint letter to the Members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee to express their concerns, and we are working with Committee staff on Capitol Hill to try to remove this provision from the bill before it proceeds any further.
ASTA Joins Coalition to Oppose Oil Speculation
ASTA has joined the Stop Oil Speculation Now Coalition, an organization of industry associations, labor groups, airlines, and other business groups in support of changes to the nation's energy policy in hopes of lowering fuel prices. The Coalition has run advertisements in the Wall Street Journal, the Politico, and The Hill, and coordinated the distribution of "An Open Letter to All Airline Customers" from twelve major airlines. To date, the Coalition's efforts have focused on encouraging legislators to close loopholes that permit excessive involvement in oil futures markets by speculators making high-volume trades. Future planned activities include Capitol Hill visits and the placement of additional advertisements in national media outlets. Click here to visit the Stop Oil Speculation Now web site.
Comments on proposed US Exit Program
The Department of Homeland Security recently proposed a rule to enact a new "US Exit" program. As written, this rule would require carriers to collect the fingerprints of any alien crew members as well as any alien passengers seeking to leave the United States aboard an airplane or cruise ship and transmit this biometric information to DHS within 24 hours of departure. For a host of reasons, this proposal is completely unworkable. Even if it could be complied with, it would require a staggering investment of time, infrastructure, equipment, personnel, and training. It would amount to a massive unfunded mandate on the airlines, and the ripple effects in terms of delays and cost would affect the entire travel industry. Moreover, it would effectively deputize airline and cruise ship employees to carry out a federal law enforcement function.
In response, ASTA submitted public comment to register its strong opposition to this proposal, and to urge DHS to go back to the drawing board to create a workable plan. Other industry groups have done the same, and we continue to monitor this developing issue.
