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Conservatives should praise a new effort in the House of Representatives to reform the whole structure of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and, hopefully, lower some taxes while they are at it. 

A Tax Foundation titled Improving Airport Funding to Meet the Needs of Passengers documents the ways the federal government hammers average Americans with tax after tax after tax.   

First they hit the passenger with a 7.5 percent Domestic Passenger Ticket Tax an then a $4.00 Domestic Flight Segment Tax (for international flights the charge is $17.70 per ticket).  There is an additional jet fuel tax and a September 11^th fee that is $5.60 per segment per flight.

If you add up the domestic ticket tax and the flight segment tax, the federal government scooped up almost $9 billion in 2013 revenues with an additional amount of almost $3 billion in international flight tax revenues (this includes flights to Alaska and Hawaii).  The security fees made $2 billion for the feds. This money is supposed to go to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and for the massive bureaucracy that was created at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The problem is that the money is not well spent.  The trust fund money is not distributed on the basis of what airports are in dire need of help.  Representatives and Senators who serve on the committees that dole out the airport cash tend to favor home state airports regardless of need. 

The idea behind tax reform is to restructure the tax code so that it makes sense, is fair and results in economic growth.  If the domestic tax on tickets were to be cut, there will be money on the table to invest in refurbishing airports in need of repair.  Part of the federal tax is supposed to be set-aside for this purpose, yet the feds have a hard time distributing money in an effective and fair way.

One conservative idea that has great weight with the Tea Party is the idea of devolving federal programs to the states.  Senator Jim DeMint, now President of the Heritage Foundation, pushed the idea of devolving the federal gas tax to the states to allow the states to collect more money while the federal government eased out of the highway business.  The same idea can work with our local airports.

Cut federal taxes on air travel and allow local airports to collect more money would cut out the middleman – the feds.  This type of solution would save money for travelers and would help increase air travel. 

The Passenger Facility Charge is a local charge that airports use to collect money for the airport where the travel commences.  This local fee is capped at $4.50 per ticket and the local airports should be allowed to raise that fee while the taxes on domestic and international flights are dramatically cut.  This will convert a tax system into a more reasonable local user fee for air travel. 

The Tax Foundation report concludes “the current system of airport funding is not ideal for air travelers. The most important, most popular airports generate plenty of revenue for the government but do not necessarily get that money back to spend on their own capital expenses. Much of the funding granted by the federal government could be better spent by the airports directly.”

Remove the cap on the Passenger Facility Charge, lower federal taxes on travel and let the local airports to spend the money on their own airports.  Comprehensive tax reform should be tried on the whole federal tax code and it makes sense as a way to restore sanity, local control and free-market capitalism to the air travel market. 

After watching Hannity interview the US Muslim man that wants to have a Muslim march in Washington DC on 9/11/13, I saw a picture of that Muslim smiling in a picture with Joe Biden. WE know Obama has hired several Muslim Brotherhood members and placed some of them in our Homeland Security organization.  Obama had the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leaders visit the Whitehouse while they were in power and suspending their Constitution, implementing Sharia law after promising otherwise and Christians were being murdered. It is hard to understand what this administration is doing and why they are doing it.

We know Obama regrets that our Constitution is a set of negative rights and restricts him, we know he wants to cut 12 military brigades, we know he would like zero nuclear weapons in the US , but would settle for 300 hundred which is smaller than China's arsenal, we know he unilaterally cut missile defense in Europe to appease Putin and reset our relationship to a weaker position, we know Obama does not like the Second Amendment by his actions and the multitude of democratic anti gun laws pending.

" The fire walls to our Constitution have been breached." Mark Levin. Our Congress is suppose to protect us but so far they have not. Unlike previous Presidents Barak Hussein Obama may not limit his imperial actions but rather continue to expand his abuses of power. Hopefully at some point Congress will have enough while they still have any real power.

Obama must be feeling great going back to the home country and spending 100 million dollars in the process. I guess he will be out for the fourth of July, as he doesn't like much about our past and wants to transform America into a third world un armed country. Cutting 10 military brigades and demoralizing our military is more than any enemy could do or hope for and Obama is doing it. Crushing any Christian he can within the military and where ever else he can, IE, forcing birth control and abortion on the Catholics, while exempting the Muslims, as they like Sharia law, unions and other large campaign supporters. Packing the courts while hoping for that solid 5 to 4 flip of the Supreme Court. That would be the ultimate final stake into the heart of our country. I can imagine how happy ever enemy of America when Obama opens his mouth and every executive order and other anti American action he makes. It makes me sick.

Hello, members of the Tea Party. I made a new blog with some of my ideas on what steps could be taken to bring America back on its feet, end its decline and dramatically improve its foreign image. Please comment and like the posts if you agree. I'll be updating and adding new posts everyday. worldofpolitics

As Republicans try to reign in the budget to make it more solvent the news claims they are killing seniors and forcing the poor to starve. However, the only people talking about cutting Food Stamps are the democrats.

I am not an advocate of cutting Food Stamps, but it should obviously have more control and not be a drain on the people paying into it. There is a lot of generosity in America from Churches, compaines, and the pockets of individuals. The government is able to send donations to other countries, so I do not think there is any shortage of generosity in this country.

It is amazing how the left and the media can continue to get a way with reporting Republicans do not care about seniors or the poor while at the same time Democrats are responsible for exactly what they claim the Republicans are doing.

I know the Tea Party is helping to get the message out, but it seems like as all this news continues to mount up it is bottle necking and not reaching the mainstream. We can get the news, but with 2012 just around the corner we need a person that isn't afraid to get this message out and hammer it back at the left.

Democrats who reluctantly slashed a food-stamp program to fund a state-aid bill may have to do so again to pay for a top priority of first lady Michelle Obama.

The House will soon consider an $8 billion child-nutrition bill that’s at the center of the first lady’s “Let’s Move” initiative. Before leaving for the summer recess, the Senate passed a smaller version of the legislation that is paid for by trimming the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as the food-stamp program.

The proposed cuts would come on top of a 13.6 percent food-stamp reduction in the $26 billion Medicaid and education state-funding bill that President Obama signed this week.

Food stamps have made multiple appearances on the fiscal chopping block because Democrats have few other places to turn to offset the cost of legislation.

Party leaders raided the budget to find off-setting tax increases and spending cuts to pay for their top legislative priorities, including the roughly $900 billion healthcare law. Congressional pay-as-you-go rules require lawmakers to offset all non-emergency spending.

Read the full article at: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/114271-dems-consider-more-food-stamp-cuts-to-fund-child-nutrition-bill