Press Releases

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, Ranking Member of the U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee, released the following statement after legislation he cosponsored, The Expedited Delivery of Airport Infrastructure Act of 2020 (H.R. 5912), passed the U.S. House of Representative today. The legislation aims to allow airports to use up to $1 million in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds to incentivize early completion of projects through grants to public agencies and other entities for the planning, development, and execution of infrastructure projects at public-use airports, such as runways and taxiways, to deliver projects faster and at a better cost to the American people.

"Whether it is a runway project, safety project, or expansion project, every time we take a runway or taxiway out of commission, this delays airport efficiency and capacity, which in turn results in delayed flights, vacations, family visits, business trips, and much more. This bill will result in more efficient use of taxpayer funds, better flight options and improved aviation safety. Modeled after existing road project programs, this legislation will help ensure that airports have the tools necessary to avoid delayed service and get airport improvement projects completed faster," said Graves. "Every day of project delay not only results in a more expensive project, but revenues are lost because of perpetuated transportation inefficiencies. This is a win-win for airports and taxpayers alike."

"Time is money in infrastructure project construction, and that includes at the Nation's airports," said T&I Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves. "This is a smart reform that already works for road and bridge project construction, and delivering airport projects ahead of schedule can help save money and essentially provide a similar impact as increasing investment without any additional federal resources."

Click here or the picture above to watch Graves speak on the U.S. House floor before the legislation passed.

Specifically, the legislation would allow airports, including those with short construction seasons or disruptive airfield projects, to use up to $1 million in AIP money to incentivize a contractor to complete the project early – optimizing local airports' ability to leverage the AIP so they can get facility improvements up and running for air travelers faster and smoother, helping close the credibility gap created when projects aren't delivered for the public on time.

Under current law, airports are unable to use AIP funds to incentivize early completion of airport projects, even if the early completion would result in significant capacity or efficiency gains for the airport.

Similar incentives are common in the construction of surface transportation projects, and early completion of airport projects can similarly result in cost savings.

The other cosponsors of the legislation are U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (MO-6), and Congressmen Ross Spano (FL-15) and Robert Wittman (VA-1).

To view the bill, click here.