SPECIAL PROJECTS: AIR SERVICE TO/FROM NEW JERSEY UTILIZATION OF NEWARK AIRPORT ISSUE/STATUS

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Theodora Barker
6 years ago
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1 Peoples Express and World Airways offer some Baltimore to Newark conncetions. Altair did in the past, but discontinued their service. U.S. Air also provides some Baltimore connections through Philadelphia to Newark and/or Trenton. And Piedmont has an occasional flight connection. Peoples Express is a New Jersey headquartered company that is providing expanded service to New Jersey; they would like to service N.J. out of Washington National Airport. SPECIAL PROJECTS: AIR SERVICE TO/FROM NEW JERSEY UTILIZATION OF NEWARK AIRPORT ISSUE/STATUS The New Jersey Congressional Delegation has always played a leading role in the issue of more air service to and from New Jersey, and in advancing the utilization of Newark Airport, in particular. We have experienced an ever declining number of flights to and from New Jersey from Washington, D.C. especially, and this has become the primary focus of the Delegation along with the larger question of the overall utilization of Newark Airport. The Delegation led the fight to prevent Eastern Airlines from discontinuing the Eastern shuttle to/from Newark from Washington National Airport. The Delegation was asked for assistance and support from Pan Am in their merger effort with National Airlines in exchange for a comitment for a Newark/Washington shuttle. Eastern not only discontinued the shuttle several years ago, but recently announced that there would be only one daily flight to and from Newark Airport from Washington, D.C. Pan Am not only did not meet the commitment for a shuttle, but discontinued even the minimal flight service between Washington and Newark they initiated after a few months of operations, citing nonprofitiability of the route, as did Eastern. Braniff Airlines did provide some flight service between Newark and Washington, but that too has been discontinued. The Air Traffic Controllers Strike has had an influence on the situation, as has Airline Deregulation, the national economic situation, and repeatedly we hear the claim that the Newark-Washington route is just not a profitable one. New York Air has started to provide some Newark/Washington National service, providing 4 flights up and back per day. U.S. Air continues to offer connections to New Jersey, although the number of connections per day is continuing to decline. All U.S. Air service involves a connection through Philadelphia to either Newark of Trenton. Baltimore/Newark/New Jersey Connections It should be noted that there is some increase in New Jersey connections through Baltimore Washington Airport. This is considereda Washington airport, but in fact, it is more difficult to get to and more expensive to reach as well.

Action Needed: The next step is the construction of a sand levee in the middle of Liberty State Park. This step is important because.theprk from serious.a.nd devastating PhseII- is The Federal share (70 percent) of this would be $11.

2 Action Needed: The next step is the construction of a sand levee in the middle of Liberty State Park. This step is important because.theprk from serious.a.nd devastating PhseII- is The Federal share (70 percent) of this would be $11.2 million. For the FY1983 portipn of this phase, we are seeking $5-$6 million in the FY1983 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill. While we were forced to concede the Federal funding for Phase I of the seawall in order to get this project under wayand not lose the benefit of the dredging work, we do need Federal funding for this next phase. The same problem still confronts us: 0MB continues to categorize the Liberty State Park project as a knew start.b We object to this categori zation because the State and the Army Corps of Engineers have been working in close cooperation since 1975 to develop and construct this seawall. In the FY1978 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, funding was provided for the Corps to carry out its engineering design work. While there is a moratorium on any new starts by 0MB, Federal funding for Liberty State Park will be difficult to achieve, until and unless we overcome this characterization as a. new start. We are seeking the assistance of the Congressional Delegation on this matter to help us secure a line item in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill for FY1983 in the amount of $5-$6 million, 70 percent of the 1983 share of Phase II.

o There should be flexibility over the life of the plan, rather than locking in a state s status as of day one, so that changing program needs, demo graphics, and changing tax capacity can be taken

SPECIAL ISSUE: NEW FEDERALSIM and responsibilities, and that states should not simply be administrative arms of the federal government, Governor Kean supports the concept of New Federalism.

3 o There should be flexibility over the life of the plan, rather than locking in a state s status as of day one, so that changing program needs, demo graphics, and changing tax capacity can be taken into account. SPECIAL ISSUE: NEW FEDERALSIM and responsibilities, and that states should not simply be administrative arms of the federal government, Governor Kean supports the concept of New Federalism. He endorses the National Governor Association (NGA) policy, recently adopted asa response to the President s plan, and the current efforts of a six-governor -. têäniórki n withhèadmiristatton d;api ithat NGA and th Pesideht adopt and take to the Hill. An integral part of the NGA policy is that income security programs should be federal responsibility. The President s proposal incorporates this concept for Medicaid only. While we obviously welcome a federal takeover of Medicaid- it is an enormous and fast growing component of the State budget we also believe that food stamps should remain, and AFDC should become, a federal responsibility. The specific legislative proposals to implement the New Federalsim concept will be all-important. Some key principles which should guide this legislation are as follows: o In a federalized Medicaid program, optional services now cvred by a like New Jersey must be fully funded by the federal government. - state o If the states were to take over AFDC, then there must be minimum standards sufficiently high nationwide so that even larger disparities than now exist are not created. o There should be no further budget cuts in programs which are turned back to the states. o There should be a better culling of programs included on the turnback list. Some--for example, transportation- might more appropriately remain federal, While theremay be others not now on the list which the states could take over. o Any trust fund which is created to equalize gains and losses among the states should be stable, secure, and permanent. There must be a commitment to supplement out of general revenues or other sources if the trust fund falls below required levels. o Any measure of tax capacity used to allocate revenues among the states must be carefully created and should not be based on indicators such as per capita income which put New Jersey at a disadvantage. o If tax sources are returned to the states, they must be appropriate- i.e., the states cannot collect a windfall profits tax and they must have the capacity for growth.

4 that teed t beemphasizedin thi.s.iss. whtch have been taken to-liit flights in and out of Washington National Airport. This has added to the pressure.

airlines ACTION NEEDED The most recent action affecting this issue is the decision of Eastern Airlines to eliminate all but one flight per day in and out of Newark Airport from Washington National

4 4 that teed t beemphasizedin thi.s.iss. whtch have been taken to-liit flights in and out of Washington National Airport. This has added to the pressure. All slots in and out of Washington National Airport are determined by a committee made up of all the airlines, and USDOT and the FAA can play a role in the decisions about-slot allocations among the airlines ACTION NEEDED The most recent action affecting this issue is the decision of Eastern Airlines to eliminate all but one flight per day in and out of Newark Airport from Washington National Airport. In doing this, the airline does not lose the slot assigned to it by the airline committee and by US DOT. We would like to see a clear position taken that whenever an airline service in New Jersey abandons that service that they lose the slot assigned to them, and that it is assigned instead to an airline willing to service New Jersey. A united Congressional Delegation effort to the U.S. Department of Transportation may be in order, by letter or other means of communicating our position. the airlines committee may uphold the current allocation of slots; but their allocation can be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The slots should be assigned to an airline willing to provide New Jersey service.

areas; and the retention of yellow pages adver tising and revenue in local telephone companies.

5 local telephone service at reasonable, affordable rates. More specifically, we advocate state control over the setting of exchan9e access charges; the flexibility to use Consolidated Statistical Metropolitan Areas (CSMA) in determining local exchange areas; and the retention of yellow pages adver tising and revenue in local telephone companies. Y TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT New Jersey VHF Television Station Issue/Status: In January, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals upheld the Federal Communications Commission decision to deny the renewal of RKO s license Oft te basis of a finding that RKO lacked the requisite charactër to be a licensee of that station; however The denil ofthe New York City (WOR-TV) and Los Angeles licenses was remanded to the FCC for further action, for it was the decision of the Court that the denial of these renewals was based wholly on the Commission s earlier decision to dis qualify the Boston license. Multistate Communications, Inc. plans to file a writ of certiorari, requesting that the Supreme Court overturn the lower Court decision and affirm the RKO WOR-TV disqualification. This situation leaves us with two arenas in which to pursue a New Jersey VHF television station: a regulatory solution and a legislative remedy. The FCC will not act on the remand until the Supreme Court makes a deter mination. If certiorari is denied, the FCC will review the RKO renewal question either in a hearing devoted solely to RKO s qualifications or in a hearing in which other applicants are considered. Given its record of misconduct, RKO may be in a poor competitive position. In either case, we must ensure that the Commission s action does not preclude the acquisi tion of a New Jersey VHF station. The New Jersey Delegation continues to press for legislation mandating commercial VHF service in New Jersey. Last session, Senator Bradley utilized S. 898, the Telecommunications Act of 1981, which was approved by the full Senate, as a vehicle for language guaranteeing all states access to VHF broadcasting by providing that not less than one very high frequency broadcasting station be located in each state. The House ver sion of revisions to the Communications Act is pending in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications. Subcommittee mark up is expected prior to April 1. Rep. Rinaldo is a member of the Subcommittee; Rep. Florio, the full Committee. Action must be taken to ensure that the televsion provision is included in the House bill. Telecommunications Issues Issue/Status: The Telecommunications bill, H.R. 5158, revises and updates the Telecommunications Act of 1934, providing for the deregulation of a large part of the telecommunications industry and the restructuring of AT&T. Work on the bill has been complicated by the recent conscent decree agreement between the Department of Justice and AT&T, which mandates the divestiture of local operating companies from the parent company. New Jersey is generally concerned with ensuring the continuation of quality

6 funds. And finally, again because of delegation efforts, we are beginning to receive more interstate transfer funds for transit projects, receiving $24 million in FY1982 funds because of the special efforts of Congressman Howard and Congressman Dwyer. We face an average annual capital need of $200 million in Federal funds, just to maintain reasonable progress in rehabilitating our present equipment and resources. This level of funding still does not permit us to proceed with significant new starts or projects. TRANSPORTATION OMNIBUS MASS TRANSIT AND HIGHWAY LEGISLATION Issue/Status: This is clearly one of our highest priority concerns, and one of the major pieces of legislation that will be before this Second Session of Congress. Directly related to this legisltaion will be whatever action is taken by the President and/or Congress on Motor Fuel Excise Taxes, and until a final decision is reached on a revenue mechanism, the final makeup and size and scope of this legislation will be unclear. The House Public Works Committee, under the leadership of Congressman Howard, is in the process of developing legislation that will address the need for reauthorization of the Highway legislation and of all authority for mass transportation operating subsidies and capital. The Senate has not taken any clear action on either mass transportation in the Senate Banking Committee or on highway issues since their attempt last session on a multi-year highway bill. New Jersey Impact Highways Our highest priority concerns in the highway area are funding levels for urban roads, bridges and Interstate 4R funds. We receive approximately $90 million per year for Primary, Urban, Bridge, Secondary and Rural roads and Interstate Transfer funds for highway projects. We are facing significant losses in Federal funds particularly for urban roads (a reduction from $30 million to 517 million). The overall obliqation ceiling for highways must be addressed if we are to be able to secure adequate funds for these primary areas. The basic financing of transpor tation must be addressed more comprehensively and thoroughly. We are facing serious deterioration of our highway and road system and our bridges. We must address these infrastructure needs if the economy of the State and the region is to be maintained and strengthened. Those who use the roads and the facilities must be prepared to underwrite the real cost of those facilities and resources. Mass Transit Capital and Operating Subsidies One of our clearest priorities is mass transit. Through the efforts of this delegation, we have been able to significantly increase our annual share of mass transit funds for capital needs. We receive approximately $150 million per year in UMTA mass transit discretionary capital funds. In addition, we receive about $l4-17 million per year in bus capital

We are concerned that bus deregulation legislation could seriously under mine the jurisdiction of New Jersey Transit and the New Jersey Depart ment of Transportation in areas of scheduling, reduction

7 We are concerned that bus deregulation legislation could seriously under mine the jurisdiction of New Jersey Transit and the New Jersey Depart ment of Transportation in areas of scheduling, reduction of services, over certain entry and entry policies, i.e., when a carrier can come We need your assistance to ensure that whatever the shape of the new legislation, that mass transit capital funds are targeted to areas with proven and unmet needs; that they are targeted to rehabilitation needs first, before new starts; and that any allocation formula accuratety o iectsou ne;c the basi.sofrd dership and..:opuati:on d. wu L.provideus w.ithareasonab1e.pro.spect-of this $200 mi.l.i ion annual -funding. level. Operating Subsidies This is a very high priority for the State of New Jersey. We must oppose any proposal to eliminate the responsibility for sharing in the costs of mass transit operations. Mass transit is essential to the economy of the State and the region, just as other Federally-supported activities may be essential to-the economies of more agrarian states and regions. New Jersey received $54.7 in mass transit operating subsidies in FY1982. The FY1983 Administration budget proposal would provide us with only $35.9 million, a loss of $18.8 million. The Administration proposes that all mass transit operating subsidies be phased out by FY1984. We must oppose this position, and urge that any transportation bill considered by Congress retain an authorization for operating subsidies beyond FY1984, and that the Congressional Budget Resolution and the FY1983 Transporta tion Appropriations Bill provide higher levels of funding for mass transit subsidies. Without this Federal role, we will face still further prospects of higher fare increases and/or service curtailments. BUS DEREGULATION Issue/Status: The House and the Senate are moving forward on legislation to deregulate interstate and intercity bus service. The House Public Works, under the leadership of Congressman Jim Howard, completed action during the First Session on a Bus Deregulation bill, H.R The House approved that legislation by an overwhelming vote of The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to take action by early April. New Jersey Impact: Our major concern as a State government is the effect of such deregulation on our commuter bus operations. We face a unique situation in New Jersey as a corridor state between New York and Philadelphia. This means that our interstate and intrastate, and therefore, commuter operations, are integrally related and inseparable. Approximately 300 carriers operate within New Jersey holding Interstate Commerce Commission certificates with approximately 50 of thoseproviding daily commuter service. Altogether there are more than 200,000 interstate riders per day in the State. There are 400 private bus companies with the majority being in direct competition with the New Jersey Transit Corporation. 7

8 ADAP assistance. We need legislation that would make them eligible to apply for such funds. f.. n na.:carrierraaba-idon service. We arec onc.&r.n.dv..j adt ularlyabô-ut-ary9 is-thation thatwoifd e-empt State regu1àtbry- - control over intrastate portions of intercity routes. New carriers could enter the more profitable commuter routes on which New Jersey Transit currently operates service. The negative effects could be two fold: New. Jersey Transit could lose ridership., ther.eby :re.venues, increasing ikel4hood of-fare increasès or-servi ce curtailinerrts; and second; new carriers would be concerned only with the most profitable of routes, - &-the.l leaving New Jersey Transit with the burden of operating the bulk of perhaps necessary, but unprofitable routes, further increasing the demand for public subsidy. On the exit policy side, pre-emption would leave us powerless to prevent carriers from abandoning intrastate portions of intercity routes that are essential to commuters. The House legislation sponsored by Congressman Howard does take these concerns into consideration. Administration and Senate draft bills pose serious problems for the State commuter operations and intrastate service. We need the assistance of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation to ensure that any bus deregulation legislation is based on the House Public Works bill at a minimum, and fully protects commuter and intra state bus operations. AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT AID PROGRAM Issue/Status - Because the ADAP legislation was not reauthorized, many of the provisions of the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970 expired on October 1, 1980 including the provisions of the Airway Trust Fund. Since that date, certain revenues collected from aviation taxes are no longer being deposited in the Trust Fund, but are being diverted into the General Revenues of the Treasury. The House Public Works Committee and the Senate Commerce Com mittee have completed action on authorization bills, but the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee must still take action on the revenue raising aspects of this issue. New Jersey Impact Beyond the specific revenue raising measures, and the level of the taxes under consideration, New Jersey faces several serious concerns within this legislation. The Senate proposal to defederalize large and mediumsized airports will result in the loss of $3 million per year for Newark Airport. Second, New Jersey contains a number of privately owned airports which are serving as reliever airports, which are now ineligible for ADAP funds. Most general aviation airports in New Jersey are privately owned. These airports also service considerable numbers of New Jersey industries and businesses, large and small. They are seriously in need of

9 With regard to the taxes under consideration, we are concerned with pro posals to increase the fuels tax to l2. In and of itself this increase will not result in a significant loss of revenues to our general aviation airports, nor will the increase by itself lead to the closure of any rpt However, New Jersey has the largest percentage of privately owned, public use general aviation airports in the country (approximately 80% of our airports). Many of these airports service a large number of smaller corporations very dependent on these-aircraft. These airports are espe cially vulnerable to user fees and fuel taxes. Under the previous Airport Development Assistance Program (ADAP, which expired last Fall and is currently up for reauthorization in Congress), the Federal fuel taxes generated from general aviation in New Jersey was $1.6 million ($1.1 million from turbine fuel and $.5 million from AVGAS), yet New Jersey s apportionment under the old legislation was about $600,000, and because of restrictions in the ADAP program, none of those funds could be used for privately owned airports. New Jersey s privately owned airports are under considerable stress; they have been unable to raise sufficient revenue to keep pace with capital and technical costs, and are being labeled among the worse in the ccuntry, according to the NJDOT Aviation Division. Thus, any increase in taxes is feared by the airport owners and businesses in New Jersey. The owners fear that these increased taxes will mean decreased utilization of the airports. Many of these airports apparently rely on the sale of fuel for their revenue. AVGAS is used predominately by private and small business aircraft, for recreational and training purposes. Turbine fuel is used mostly by the major cor poration aircrafts. While unlikely that the proposed 12 increase would result in the actual closure of any airport in the State, the increase may be an accessory to some possible closures. The position of the State has been, in the past, to support a two-tiered approach to this tax, keeping the AVGAS tax lower than the jet fuel, lessening the impact on the privately owned airports. The passenger ticket tax was 8 percent under the earlier ADAP program. The concern is that this current proposal would not place the revenues into an ADAP capital program first, but into the air traffic control system, leaving little to resume the ADAP program. The New York and New Jersey Port Authority staff are not in favor of this increase.

CHAPTER 2 EVOLUTION OF THE FEDERAL ROLE

1 0 CHAPTER 2 EVOLUTION OF THE FEDERAL ROLE The evolution of Federal transit assistance is characterized by a short but rapidly changing history. In a little over a dozen years Federal involvement has