## Wisconsin Technology Council

455 Science Dr # 240 | Madison, WI 53711 | ph: 608.442.7557 | fx: 608.231.6877 | www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com January 16, 2014

The Honorable Anthony Foxx The Honorable Michael P. Huerta Secretary Administrator U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 800 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 2059 0 Washington, DC 20591

Dear Secretary Foxx and Administrator Huerta:

On behalf of the Wisconsin Technology Council, which is the independent, non

- profit science and technology advisory group to the state of Wisconsin and its tech community

, I write to urge you to prevent the discontinuation of non

- stop air service from Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) in Madison, Wis ., t o Washington, D.C. (DCA).

As you know, Republic Airways recently divested Frontier Airlines, which resul ted in the termination of a flight agreement, therefore ending non

- stop service from Madison to Washington, D.C. (DCA) in the near future.

We strongly support the request of Republic Airlines to allow Shuttle America to continue direct flights to DCA unde r the Delta Connection brand

– utilizing the available Republic Airways slots.

The Dane County Regional Airport serves the city of Madison, which is the capital of Wisconsin, as well as a much larger region that extends into much of Wisconsin and

northern Illinois. The retention of DCA service to Washington’s preferred airport is vital to our community, our region, and the travelers who make th e MSN

- DCA run one of the busiest and successful at the airport

.

If Shuttle America is not able to continue the Madison

- DCA flights, direct access to this critical “capital

- to

- capital” service will be lost and citizens and businesses will feel the

loss . Such a break in service would not be in the public interest. Here are some reasons why we believe this service is vital to Wisconsin’s technology community:

 The D.C. area is home to federal agencies (such as the Food and Drug Administration) that regulate the life sciences sector and which provide important support for academic researchers. That also includes the Nation al Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes for Standards and Technology, the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Energy, among many more.

## Wisconsin Technology Council

455 Science Dr # 240 | Madison, WI 53711 | ph: 608.442.7557 | fx: 608.231.6877 | www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com  The UW

- Madison has ranked among the nation’s top five research and development universities for more than 20 years in a row. This year, the UW

Madison will spend more than $.11 billion on R&D projects, about two

- thirds of which stems from federal grants. Air connections for UW

- Madison faculty and

res earchers

– who also support private companies in the region

– are vital.

 The UW

- Madison ranks third nationally among academic institutions in total patents issued in the latest reporting year. That means there is significant air

traffic related to the U.S. Patent and Trade Office in the Washington area.

 The world’s largest electronic health records company, Epic Systems, is located in the Madison area. It has about 6,800 employees today and continues to grow. A significant portion of that workforce is “in t he air” constantly to maintain and install software at major medical facilities and clinics. A significant portion of

that work is located in the D.C. area.

 While known as the nation’s government center, the Washington area, including northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, is home to a number of tech companies in sectors such as information technology, pharmaceuticals and more. Those are precisely the kind of partners who work with tech

- based companies in the Madison area, of which there are more than 600 , according to our latest figures.

 Those local companies work in spaces such as biotechnology, bio

- agriculture,

medical and bio

- medical research, micro

- electronics, contract R&D, software and Internet services. Collectively, they represent $6.6 billion in annual sales, revenue and government awards or contracts.

 About 10 percent of our region’s total employment is in the high

- tech area, a significant share of the total private sector employment.

On behalf of Wisconsin’s technology community, I strongly urge the Department to move swiftly to grant the request of Republic Airlines to use available DCA slots for Shuttle America service to DCA to prevent a temporary disruption to this important daily

service. It is our understanding the secretary alone has the discretion to grant the relief sought by Republic and to determine what circumstances qualify as “exceptional” under

49 U.S.C. § 41714(d). It would seem there is no more exceptional circumstance or exceptional need than to allow Republic to continue a successful and established nonstop service linking Madison and DCA.

If you have questions or need more information, please co ntact me.

Sincerely,

Thomas W. Still, president