Author: Rich Hanson

House approves (H.R. 658)

No April Fools…

Yesterday, 4/1, the House voted 223-196 to approve the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act (H.R. 658). The bill would reauthorize the FAA’s operations and programs for four years, at an overall funding level of $59.7 billion. The House bill essentially rolls back FAA spending authorization to 2008 levels. The House bill does not include an amendment mirroring the one included in S. 223 which exempts modeling activity conducted in accordance with a community-based set of guidelines from regulation.

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Where Do We Go From Here

As AMA’s Congressional Awareness Campaign draws to a close, it’s reassuring to know that the AMA membership and the modeling community responded quickly and decisively to AMA’s call for action. Tens of thousands of modeling enthusiasts, supporters and aeromodeling stakeholders responded and made their concerns known to their elected officials. Members of Congress responded with dozens of letters of support and pledges to advocate for the hobby. Local and national media were alerted to our issues and hard-hitting articles were presented that questioned the need for such overreaching regulation.

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Our Message is Being Heard

Over the past two weeks tens of thousands of AMA members and model aviation supporters have written over 80,000 individual letters to members of Congress expressing their concern regarding FAA’s intent to regulate model aircraft, and there are clear signs that our message is being heard. Scores of Congressmen have responded to their constituents with letters of understanding and support. Below are excerpts from a few of the letters sent from Capitol Hill. Though an amendment protecting model aviation has not yet been introduced into H.R. 658, we now have several supporters in the House and at this point the legislative process is taking its course. Last Thursday the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act was sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary and is expected to return to the floor next week. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees, but at this point we are seeing positive movement in the House of Representatives and we are optimistic that Congress will act to protect model aviation from unnecessary and potentially debilitating federal regulation.

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House Bill Does Not Yet Protect Model Aviation

Both the Senate and the House have prepared Bills that address the FAA’s Re-Authorization. S.223 has already passed the Senate and it contains an amendment to exempt model aviation. Click here to view the amendment. H.R. 658 is on the House floor awaiting passage and does NOT yet have a similar amendment. We are actively meeting with Representatives on the Hill and working to build support for such an amendment. While we have had many promising meetings, we still need your help.

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Candid Letter About the AMA

A recent posting on the AMAGov Facebook Page got me to thinking and reflecting back on my own feelings about the AMA. I’ve been a member and part of AMA for over 40 years and for me AMA has always been the heart beat of the hobby. AMA has consistently been at the forefront of nurturing and protecting Model Aviation with the goal of ensuring this activity survives and thrives for the enjoyment of generations of aeromodeling enthusiasts. But, I think Arend Schuurman put it much better than I can. Arend, Thank you for your candid and heart-felt posting.

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“Freedom of Flight” Inspirational AMA Member Letter

I would like to thank everyone for the rapid-fire response we’ve seen to our recent Congressional Awareness Campaign. So far we have had over 27,000 individual letters sent to Congress… But don’t stop now. My hope is that each and every modeler and aviation enthusiast with a love for the “Freedom of Flight” will respond to this call to action.

To put it in perspective, I would like to share with you a recent letter received from Ali R. Moshiri, and AMA member. This letter touched my heart and Ali expressed better than I can why our efforts are so important.

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