America's transportation system is the envy of the world. I marvel at the fact that I can leave my home in Peterborough, New Hampshire, at 5:30 in the morning, and be at work on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., by 8:30 that same morning. The United States, however, has pushed our air transportation system to the limit.

Nationwide, passenger travel has increased at a rate of five percent a year, and we expect more than a billion people will board planes by 2010. New Hampshire's own Manchester Airport is the fastest growing airport in the country. Last year alone, 1.94 million people flew out of Manchester, which represented a 70% increase over 1997.

Unfortunately, the federal government has not kept up with the demands of a nation that relies on aviation. Flight delays are increasing as we exceed airport and runway capacity. The United States is home to 19 of the world's 20 busiest airports, yet we do not have the world's most advanced air traffic control systems.

As an instrument rated pilot, I am pleased to serve on House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, which authored the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, known as the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21). This bill seeks to strengthen our nation's aviation system by making our airports and skies safer, injecting competition into the airline industry, and ensuring that the investment taxpayers have made in the Aviation Trust Fund is returned in the form of affordable, safe air travel.

This year, the federal government is expected to collect more than $10 billion from airline ticket taxes. These revenues, along with other aviation user fees and taxes, are deposited in the Aviation Trust Fund and can only be used to build and revitalize airports. Over the years, however, Congress has failed to spend all of the aviation funds to make our skies and airports safer, and instead has used the surplus funds to mask the size of the budget deficit. It is time to return aviation taxes to the flying public for aviation infrastructure improvements.

AIR-21 not only reauthorizes the capital and operating programs of the FAA, but also takes the Airport and Airway Trust Fund off budget, guaranteeing greater public investment in the nation's aviation infrastructure. AIR-21 would more than double Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding to $5 billion and increase air traffic control facilities and equipment program funding by 50% to $3 billion.

This legislation would make it possible to increase airport capacity, which would not only reduce delays, but would also inject a healthy shot of competition into the airline industry. By creating more gates, more airlines would have the opportunity to fly popular routes, and the increased competition would help drive down ticket prices.

Upgrading antiquated FAA traffic control systems is another priority. Just last year, the FAA experienced more than 100 significant system outages in which air traffic controllers lost some or all of the primary systems that help them track aircraft. We lead the world in technology, yet we entrust the safety of our skies to computers made almost 30 years ago. We should not wait to invest the necessary funding to modernize our nation's air traffic control system.

For too long, we've neglected our transportation needs and allowed the surpluses in the transportation trust funds to accrue in order to mask the size of the budget deficit. AIR-21 would help instill honesty in the budget process and provide the necessary funding that airports need to keep pace with the dramatic increase in air travelers by ensuring that the airline ticket taxes we pay each time that we fly will be used to make our skies and airports safer.