THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Roger F. Wicker 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Senator Wicker: 

August 26,2013 

Thank you for your letter supporting the proposal submitted by the Meridian Regional 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 four 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 June 24, the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in receiving a 

grant this year file their applications by July 26. 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 fuii and fair consideration to all proposals that have been properly filed. 

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

DOT -OST -2013-0120 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your interestin 

this program. 

~((~ Anthony R. Foxx 
' ROGER F. WICKER 

tdlSI!ISSII'f'l 

ARMEO sef!itrCES 

tlANI<ING. HOUSI!'(G,I\Nili.JllllAN AffAlfl.S 

COMMERCE;. SCIENCE AN01AAUSPORTATION 

VETERANS' AffAIRS 1ln1trd ~tattJJ ~enate: 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary 

U.S. Department ofTransporation 

1200 New Y<lrsey Avenue, SE 

Washlngtou, D.C. 20590-0001 · 

Dear Anthony, 

WASHINGTON, DC~0510 

August 5, 2013 

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I would like to e:<.p:ress my support for Meridian Regional Airport's application for a 

Small Community Air Servis;e DcvcJopmc!lt (SCASD) granl 

After decades of service, Delta Airlines ceased their operations at several dties in my 

home slate of Mississippi !a..<n September. A new crurler, Silver Airways, cll.l'rently is serving 

three of the$e a1tports Without any code-sharing Ot freqUent fi'ye\ prograll\ SUpport. 

The Meridian Regional Airport joined with tbe Hattiesburg-Laurel Airport and the 

Greenville Mid-Delta Aitport to fon:n a conS<)rti.um to apply for the 2013 Connnunity Air Service 

Development gr1111t. A $l20,QOO grant from the Department ofTransportalion would allow these 

airpods to expand marketing and promo Ljon of their new local air service. Access to local air 

transpOrtation i~ importruxt to the ecouomic developmettt and growth of each ofthcse cities. A 

SCASD grMt would provide much needed funding to support each of these regional airports and 

increase familiarity of the new carrier and tlight avaUability. 

I hope that you will give Meridian Regional Airport's application every coosideration. 

Should additional infonnation be required from my office> please contact Jennifer Schmidt of my 

staff at (228) 604-2383. 

With best wishes, I am 

. · ~· Si.ncerely yoU:S• . , · . 

RFW/js 

CC: Ms. Brooke Chapman 

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