T e xas eomptrqller

of **Publi~** Accounts May
11

, 2015 The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary ofTransportation 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 2201
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 successful Aerospace
and Aviation Industry

. Today, that industry directly employs more than 150,000
of our residents and plays

a significant role in the state's economy, particularly

in North Texas and the Gulf Coast. As the Texas Comptroller

of Public Accounts,

I have

a keen interest

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. carriers being disadvantaged

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

10 years ago

, the Persian Gulf governments have reportedly supplied their airlines with more than $40 billion

in subsidies and other benefits

, including loans the carriers are under no obligation

to repay

. Provided

a level playing field,

l am convinced
our airlines can compete with any airline

in the world.

l have also been assured that our domestic carriers support fair and equitable Open Skies policy.

I also believe

it is the responsibility

of our U .S. go v ernment

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 am asking that the Obama Administration request that Qatar and UAE open discussions over their Open Skies agreements
and cease their subsidies without delay. For U. S
. airlines

, the issue
at stake
is one of simple fairness

in competition

. Communities across the country are concerned about the impact these state-airline subsidies will 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 P.O. Box 13528 Austin, Texas 78711

· 3528

512

· 463

· 4444 Toll Free

: 1
· 800

- 531

- 5441 ext

: 3 - 4444 Fax

: 512·463

· 4902Mayl1,2015PageTwoInTexas,Dallas-FortWorthAirport(DFW)andGeorgeBushIntercontinentalAirport(IAH)serveasthenumberonehubsforAmericanAirlinesandUnitedAirlines.Theseimportantairportsareindirectdangeroflosingjobs.Additionally,themorethantwodozenTexasairportsthatfeedthoseairportsaswellasairportsacrossthecountry-willallsufferasaresultofjobslostduetounfaircompetition.It'stimetoensureU.S.OpenSkiesagreementsaredoingthejobtheywerecreatedtodo-providealevelplayingfieldtoallowcompetitiontoflourish.I'mhopefulyouagreeandlookforwardtotheU.S.governmenttakingactiontoremedythemarket-distortingsubsidiesprovidedbyQatarandUAEtotheirairlines.cc:TheHonorableJohnCornyn,Senator,StateofTexasTheHonorableTedCruz,Senator,StateofTexasTheHonorableBrianBabin,Congressman,36thDistrictofTexasTheHonorableKevinBrady,Congressman,8thDistrictofTexasTheHonorableJohnCulberson,Congressman,7thDistrictofTexasTheHonorableBlakeFarenthold,Congressman,27thDistrictofTexasTheHonorableSheilaJacksonLee,Congressman,18thDistrictofTexasTheHonorableMichaelMcCaul,Congressman,lOthDistrictofTexasTheHonorablePeteOlson,Congressman,22ndDistrictofTexasTheHonorableRandyWeber,Congressman,14thDistrictofTexas