By Rick Manning
The U.S. Senate will be voting on legislation which would wipe out legal small businesses due to bureaucratic malice, but this doesn’t have to happen.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the key negotiator on the bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. One of the foremost champions standing up to big government in Washington, D.C., Cruz is the right person in the right spot to stop language inserted into the bill, which would end the practice of buying desirable, short(er) airplane identification numbers (known as N-numbers) and reselling them to willing purchasers.
Ironically, the practice has generated millions in new revenues for the federal government, as it benefits both from the purchase of additional numbers at $10 each from the FAA, but the tax revenue from profits generated through re-selling.
The beauty of the system is that there are more than 400,000 identification numbers available at any time through the FAA for the $10 each price tag, so no one is compelled to purchase a vanity number.
In spite of the fact that no one is harmed through the innovative online pricing system developed by these entrepreneurs, the version of the FAA reauthorization bill which passed the House of Representatives would make the practice of reselling N-numbers illegal.
This should frighten every small business which makes the mistake of getting noticed by the federal government for building a better mousetrap. All it takes is a carefully placed paragraph in a 500 page bill, and poof, your business could become illegal or at least be adversely impacted.Â
The alarms were first set off about this assault on commonsense in the House by Representative Scott Perry (R-PA), who upon noticing the obscure language buried deep in the bill, offered a last minute amendment on the House floor which attracted 64 votes against the provision.
Now, there is an attempt to hammer out final legislative language which the House and Senate can agree upon. This negotiation between the Democrat Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee Maria Cantwell, House Transportation Committee Chair Sam Graves, House Transportation Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen and the formidable Senator Cruz who is the Senate Committee Ranking Member will determine the fate of these innovators who turned a moribund system into gold for everyone including taxpayers.
Many may wonder why they should care if a few entrepreneurs get wiped off the map, it is indeed troubling that a paragraph tucked away in relatively obscure piece of legislation threatens to destroy legal businesses which generate additional dollars to the federal treasury and harm no one.
And while this issue might seem like a small one, it stands as a proxy for every time those with power seek to destroy those who just want to be left alone.Â
Thank goodness America has Senators like Ted Cruz and Representatives like Scott Perry who fight every day to stop those who seek to gain unchecked federal power. It is because of them that every once in a while, the little guy wins one against an ever encroaching federal government. Let’s hope that this N-number issue becomes one more example that you can fight Washington, D.C. and win.
Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.