Memorandum of
Disapproval of the Bill Amending the Independent Safety Board Act
I
am withholding my approval of H.R. 4961, the ``Independent Safety Board Act
Amendments of 1986,'' for reasons unrelated to improving transportation safety
-- a cause to which I remain firmly committed. My Administration is actively
implementing new aviation technology, both on the ground and on-board aircraft.
Furthermore, over the last five years, my Administration has increased funding
for the Federal Aviation Administration by 50 percent. Our multi-billion dollar
safety modernization program for the Nation's air traffic system -- already the
safest in the world -- has contributed to a decline in the accident rate by
over 50 percent during the last decade. We have been equally dedicated to
improving highway safety. In the past decade, the highway fatality rate has
declined by about 25 percent. Still, my 1987 budget request for motor carrier
safety exceeded 1982 funding five-fold.
I
remain steadfast in my commitment to transportation safety, but H.R. 4961 would
authorize excessive appropriations for the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) for fiscal years 1987, 1988, and 1989 and would lead the Federal
government to become involved in an industry-by-industry approach to the larger
problem of liability insurance.
I
find several provisions of this legislation objectionable. First, the bill
would authorize appropriations for NTSB in 1988 and 1989 that would be $8.7
million, or 20 percent, more than the projections in my 1987 budget.
Specifically, these authorization levels exceed the projections by the
following amounts: (1) $3.7 million in 1988 -- $25.4 million versus $21.7
million projected and (2) $5 million in 1989 -- $27 million versus $22 million
projected. Given our current efforts to reduce the size of the Federal deficit,
the size of these increases is unacceptable. I point out that the NTSB's budget has already grown 26 percent in the past five
years and that my budgets provide sufficient funding for the NTSB to maintain
its safety functions. Moreover, since funds have already been appropriated for
the NTSB in 1987, NTSB activities will continue uninterrupted even with my
disapproval of this bill.
Second,
H.R. 4961 directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
establish an airport liability insurance clearinghouse and, with the Secretary
of Transportation, to prepare reports on the increasing costs of general
liability insurance coverage for airports and the implications of those
increasing costs for airports. A final report would include recommendations for
actions that the Federal government might undertake to assist in ameliorating
the liability insurance difficulties of airports used by the public.
Many
Americans are caught by the spiraling costs of liability insurance. While I am
not unsympathetic to those who are bearing the cost of rising insurance
premiums, I believe it would be inequitable and unwise for the Federal
government to address this issue on an industry-by-industry basis.
For
these reasons, I am compelled to withhold my approval from the bill. In so
doing, I reemphasize that the disapproval will not disrupt the NTSB's activities in 1987 and that my Administration
remains firmly committed to ensuring safe transportation.
/s/Ronald
Reagan
The
White House,
Note:
The original was not available for verification of the content of this
memorandum.