U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

Of Transportation 

,. 

The Honorable Robert J. Wittman 

U.S. House of Representatives · · 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Congressman Wittman: 

JUL 6 2012 

- . ~:· .. ~ .. 

1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Thank you for your letter supporting the proposal submitted by the Newport-News/Williamsburg 

International 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 provid~s flexibility in the types ~fprojects 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, 

, · Associate 

~· AlohaLey 

Director 

~ Small Community Program 

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ROBERT J. WITTMAN 

lsr DISTRICT, VrRGJNI~ 

HOUSE r.\RMEO SERVICES OOMMITTEE 

G-.tRS!• ... H r .o.No rnvF~ n ;I\ r rol\is S1 ~nc0.\·1MrTn:r:, 

Oi~IRMAN 

SEAPOWEA AI'JD PROJEC7101'l FORCES 

SuecoMI\tlfTEE 

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES 

FISHERI!:S. WrLDUFE, OCEANS, M.JD 

lr-~suLAA AFFAIRS SuscOfi..1MrTIEE 

CO-CHAIR, CONGRESSIONAL 

SHIPBUILDING CAUCUS 

1.t\fVVVV.WITfMAN.HOUSE.GOV 

Ms. Aloha Ley 

. ' . . ... . .... . ·. ·. ....... ·. . . 

illnttgrens .. uf t4.e lttuittb ~tatt.s 

.. · .:·1~uu.ffi iff, 1!\eprcnentati ues 

1!1!fas4ingtnn. 1lJQt 20515-4601 

June 8, 2012 

Associate Director 

Department of Transportation 

Small Community Program, W86-31 0 

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

Washington, DC 20590-0001 

Dear Ms. Ley: 

WASHINGTON OFf-ICE 

1317 lorJGWOR fH HOUSE OFFICE Bu11 DING 

W>\SHINGfON, DC 205'15 

(202) 225-4261 

DISTRIC f OFFICES: 

FkEOERICKSUUAG OFFICE 

3504 PLAt·JK RoAD, Sum' 203 

FREDERICKSBURG, VA 22407 

{540) 548-1086 

PENINSULA OFFICE 

4904-9 GEORGE WASHINGTON 

MEMORIAL HrGHVVA y 

YoRKTOWN, VA 23692 

(757) 874-6687 

MIDDLE PENINSUlA OFFICE 

GOB CHURCH lANE 

TAPPAHANNOCK, VA 22560 

(804) 443-0668 

I am writing to express my interest in the application submitted by the NewportNews/Williamsburg International Airport (P_HF) for funding under the Small Community Air 

Service Development Program. 

According to the· Newport-News/\\Zilliamsburg International Airport, the funding would 

be used to help replace over I ,000 daily departing seats lost when AirTran discontinued service 

after the Southwest Airlines Merger was approved by the Depatiment of Justice. The loss of seat 

capacity has resulted in a significant loss of business. Jobs have been eliminated and the 

economic impact in the area has been significant. The grant program has helped many airpmis 

and cottmiurrities jumpstat1 their efforts. · ;> 

Please give all possible consideration to the grant application submitted by the the 

Newport-News/Williamsburg International Airport and do not hesitate to contact my office at 

804-443-0668 with any questions you may have. 

With kind regards, I remain 

Sincerely, 

RJW: tcj 

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