Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

May 11 , 2015

The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary of Transportation U.S
. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave. , SE Washington, DC 20590 The Honorable John Kerry Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 220 I C St., NW Washington, DC 20520 Dear Secretaries Foxx, Kerry and Pritzker: The Honorable Penny Pritzker Secretary of Commerce U.S. Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Ave
. , NW Washington, D.C. 20230

Decades ago, Texans had the foresight to invest in building the infrastructure necessary to sustain a highly successfu l Aerospace and Aviation Industry. Today, that indu stry directl y employs more than 150 ,000 of our residents and plays a s ignificant role in the state 's economy, particu larly in North Texas and the Gulf Coast. As the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, I have a keen intere st in making sure Texas is a place where businesses can continue to thrive and contribute to the nation's economy. Consequently , you can imagine my concern when I learned of our U.S. caiTiers be ing disadvant2.ged in the international marketplace by benefits being bestowed upon the state-owned airlines of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. As you know, U.S. Open Skies policy is in place to ensure fairness in competition between global airlines for routes and passengers and excludes governments from providing excessive subsidies to their carriers. In the period since Qatar and UAE signed Open Skies agreements 1 0 years ago, the Persian Gu lf governn1ents have reportedly s upplied their airlines wi th more than $40 billion in subsidies and other benefits , including loans the carriers are under no obligation to repay . Provided a level playing field , I am convinced our a irlines can compete with any airlin e in the world
. I have also been assured that our domestic carriers support fair and equitab le Open Skies policy. I also believe it is the responsibility of our U.S. government to ensure the Open Skies agreements signed with other countries are upheld. As such, I am calling on you today to take action to remedy this inequitable and unsustainable situation. Specifically , I an1 asking that the Obama**Administra~ion** request that Qatar and UAE open discussions over their Open Si<ies agreements and cease their subsidies without delay. For U.S. ai rlin es, the issue at stake is one of simple fairness in competition. Communities across the country are concerned about the impact these state-airline subsidies w ill have on their local economies. In fact, it is estimated that for every international roundtrip flight that is forgone or lost by a domestic airline, an average net loss of more than 800 American jobs is lost with them.

Comptroller.Texas.Gov 5 12 · 463 ·4444 P.O. Bo· x 13528 Toll Fr ee: 1· 800·531·5441 ext: 3·4444 Fax : 512· 463 · 4 902

### May 11,2015 Page Two
In Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) serve as the number one hubs for American Airlines and United Airlines. These important airports are in direct danger of losing jobs. Additionally, the more than two dozen Texas airports that feed those airportsas well as airports across the country- will all suffer as a result of jobs lost due to unfair competition. It's time to ensure U.S. Open Skies agreements are doing the job they were created to do

- provide a level playing field to allow competition to flourish. I'm hopeful you agree and look forward to the U.S. government taking action to remedy the market-distorting subsidies provided by Qatar and UAE to their airlines
.

Glenn Hegar
cc: The Honorable John Cornyn, Senator, State of Texas The Honorable Ted Cruz, Senator, State of Texas The Honorable Brian Babin, Congressman , 36th District of Texas The Honorable Kevin Brady, Congressman, 8th District of Texas The Honorable John Culberson , Congressman, 7th District ofTexas The Honorable Blake Farenthold, Congressman, 27th District ofTexas The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee , Congressman, 18th District of Texas The Honorable Michael McCaul, Congressman , 1Oth District of Texas The Honorable Pete Olson, Congressman, 22nd District ofTexas The Honorable Randy Weber, Congressman, 14th District ofTexasGlennHegar Tezaa Comptrolle r ofPublic Account s

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