Call Security! GBTA Members Ask Congress to Keep the 9/11 Security Fees for Security

As GBTA Legislative Summit continues the 9/11 Security Fee and the FASTER ACT was another key issue up for discussion. Safety and security are the cornerstones of business travel and following the September 11 attacks, Congress instituted a fee, currently at $5.60 per flight or $11.20 per roundtrip, to help offset the costs of the then new TSA and to protect the public at large.

However, as part of the last two Congressional budget deals in 2014 and 2017, Congress voted to take money away from this fund to use for the federal budget reduction. Unless the current law is changed, more than $19 billion in total will be diverted between now and 2027. That means less money for TSA and less money for overall safety.

While paying down the general deficit is a worthy goal, we don’t think it should be done on the backs of business travelers and at the expense of security.

Business travelers want and deserve a safe, flexible aviation security network. The TSA mission is important and therefore, the entire 9/11 security fee should be used for securely and efficiently move passengers through TSA checkpoints. GBTA and its members believe Congress should only use the 9/11 Security Fee funds collected for their purpose of funding TSA’s programs.

Is there a solution to this? Yes—it’s called the FASTER ACT, short for The Funding for Aviation Screeners and Threat Elimination Restoration Act. This Act would eliminate this diversion, allowing all security fees to go solely to aviation security.

We are saying no more—stop diverting our money!

GBTA’s members will discuss this with their Members of Congress when they take to Capitol Hill tomorrow.