President Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 requests more funding for airport scanners and air marshals, but drops any references to new aviation user fees.
The fees were mentioned and footnoted in the fiscal 2010 budget, although the administration released no further details. Analysts and industry officials worried that any additional user fees or government taxes to further fund air travel could stunt post-recession growth.
In a press teleconference on Monday to talk about the Transportation Department's budget request, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "There are no user fees, and you can assume that President Obama's not for user fees."
The Obama budget request does include about $214.7 million for the Homeland Security counterterrorism programs, including another 500 imaging machines at airport checkpoints, doubling the 500 machines already set to be deployed this year.
The budget request also includes an additional $85 million for more federal air marshals on international flights, an additional $71 million for airport canine patrols and an additional $374 million for explosive-detection systems for checked baggage.
