US. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

The Honorable Mike Johanns 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Senator Johanns: 

JUL 5 2012 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Thank you for your letter supporting the proposal submitted by Sioux Gateway Airport for a 

grant under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Community Air Service 

Development Program. 

The Small Community Air Service Development Program was established to help smaller 

communities address air service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares or 

insufficient service. Under the statute, the Department may make a maximum of 40 grant 

awards each year, although no more than 4 awards may be to communities in the same State. 

In order to provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service 

deficiencies, the statute provides flexibility in the types of projects that can be funded. 

On May 15, the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in receiving a 

grant this year file their applications by June 11. As these grant requests are pending before the 

Department, I cannot comment on the merits of any particular proposal. I assure you that the 

Department will give full and fair consideration to all proposals that have been properly filed. 

As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2012-0069 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this program. 

Sincerely yours, 

.p,r:J,_Q-~~t )cr 

Aloha Ley 

Associate Director 

Small Community Program 
MIKE COMMITTEES. JOHANNS 

NEBRASKA AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND 

FORESTRY 

104 RuSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDINC, 

WASHINGTON, DC 20510 tinitnt ~mtrs ~mate 

BANKING, HOUSING AND 

URBAN AFFAIRS 

(202) 224-4224 

(202) 228-0436 FAx 

ENVIRONMENT AND 

PUBLIC WORKS 

(202) 228-4285 TTY WASHINGTON, DC 20510 

INDIAN AFFAIRS 

VETERANS' AFFAIRS 

May 29,2012 

Aloha Ley 

Associate Director, Small Community Program 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE W86-310 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Ms. Ley: 

I am writing to express my support for the Small Community Air Service Development 

Program grant application submitted by the City of Sioux City, Iowa. 

The Sioux Gateway Airport is a regional airport serving the entire Siouxland region, 

including parts of Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. Last fall, American Airlines became the 

subsidized Essential Air Service carrier for the Sioux Gateway Airport by initiating direct service 

to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Subsequently, in April2012, the regional American 

Airlines carrier, American Eagle, became the lone cani.er at Sioux Gateway, offering direct 

round-trip flights to Chicago twice a day. If funded, the City of Sioux City, IA would use this 

grant money to enhance marketing efforts to ensure the success of the new American Eagle 

flights to Chicago. 

The City of Sioux City is to be commended for its efforts to increase access to air service 

in the Siouxland region. Please feel free to contact me, or Andrea Synborski in my Washington, 

DC office at 202-224-4224, if you have questions as you review this application. 

Thank you for your consideration of this worthy application. 

Sincerely, 

Mike 

~ Johanns 

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