Evan+&+Jonathan

=Contention 1: Inherency=

**Status quo funding for the Airport Improvement Program is insufficient and will remain so through 2015**

 * Compart, 12 ** – senior editor for Aviation Daily and editor for Aviation Week & Space Technology (Andrew, “Airport Funding To Take Hit Under Obama Administration Budget”, 2/20/12, Lexis) LP

**This means significant delays for vital security and modernization projects**

 * Liang, 11 ** – journalist for The Hill (Keith, “Airports Council: Fund improvement program in 2013”, The Hill, 8/22/11, []) // IIN

=Plan Text=

**The United States federal government should substantially increase its investment in the Airport Improvement Program.**
=Contention 2: Economic Competitiveness=

**Current flight demand exceeds supply causing chronic delays that ripple through the entire airline industry costing billions**

 * Ferguson, 12 ** – Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University (John, “A METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING ECONOMIC AND POLICY IMPACTS ON AIRLINE AND PASSENGER BEHAVIOR”, Spring 2012, []) // IIN

**Constraints in aviation prevent the U.S. from competing in global markets – kills economic competitiveness**

 * DRI, 2 ** – Global Insight Company (Desert Research Institute, “The National Economic Impact of Civil Aviation”, July 2002, [])

**First is protectionism: American economic leadership allows the U.S. to project its economic model – the alternative is Chinese mercantilism, which empirically leads to protectionism**

 * Posen, 9 ** – Deputy director and senior fellow of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (Adam, “Economic leadership beyond the crisis”, []) // EK

**Protectionism leads to conflicts over resources, genocide, and environmental destruction – causes nuclear war**

 * Panzner, 8 ** – faculty at the New York Institute of Finance, 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets who has worked in New York and London for HSBC, Soros Funds, ABN Amro, Dresdner Bank, and JPMorgan Chase (Michael, “Financial Armageddon: Protect Your Future from Economic Collapse,” p. 136-138) // EK

**Second is economic collapse: economic leadership prevents it—leadership is key to resilience**

 * Mandelbaum, 5 ** – Professor and Director of the American Foreign Policy Program at Johns Hopkins (Michael, “The Case for Goliath: How America Acts As the World’s Government in the Twenty-First Century”, p. 192-195)

**That goes nuclear without leadership**

 * Mandelbaum, 5 ** – Professor and Director of the American Foreign Policy Program at Johns Hopkins (Michael, “The Case for Goliath: How America Acts As the World’s Government in the Twenty-First Century”, p. 224)

**An increase in federal investment in the AIP is key to solve capacity problems at airports – delayed investment means escalating costs in the future**

 * Bennett, 99 ** – (Grant D., “Funding Airport Infrastructure: Federal Options for Solvency”, Journal of Engineering and Public Policy, August 5th, 1999, []) // IIN

====**Empirically, investment in the AIP propels economic growth but current funding is not enough to ensure airports have the infrastructure they need to deal with massive increases in passengers and cargo – substantial investment is key**====
 * Principato 12 ** – President of Airports Council International-North America, which represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports (Greg, “Why we should invest today in 'Airports Inc.'”, The Hill, 3/27/12, []) // BW

=Contention 3: Terrorism=

**Currently security at small general aviation airports is practically nonexistent making them prime targets for terrorism – empirically proven**

 * Elias, 9 ** – specialist in aviation policy (Bart, Federation of American Scientists, “Securing General Aviation”, Federation of American Scientists, 3/3/09, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL33194.pdf) Megan

**Terrorists will use GA aircraft for chemical, biological, or nuclear attacks**

 * Elias, 9 ** – specialist in aviation policy (Bart, Federation of American Scientists, “Securing General Aviation”, Federation of American Scientists, 3/3/09, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL33194.pdf) Megan

**One bioterror attack with a crop dusting plane could kill more than WWII and would tank the economy**
====**Graham et al., 9** – Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation & Terrorism (Bob, Jim Talent, Graham T. Allison, Robin Cleveland, Stephen G. Rademaker, Wendy Sherman, and Henry D. Sokolski, “The Clock is Ticking”, 10/21/09, http://www.pharmathene.com/CPWMD_Interim_Report.pdf) Megan ====

**Terrorism escalates to nuclear war**

 * Ayson, 10 ** – Professor of Strategic Studies and Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand at the Victoria University of Wellington (Robert, “After a Terrorist Nuclear Attack: Envisaging Catalytic Effects,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Volume 33, Issue 7, July 2010, Available Online to Subscribing Institutions via InformaWorld)

**Lack of sufficient funding to AIP has created internal tradeoffs gutting security – a substantial increase allows for funding of both security and projects enhancing capacity**

 * Kirk, 9 ** – Specialist in Transportation Policy for the Congressional Research Service (Robert S., “Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Reauthorization Issues for Congress”, Congressional research service, 5/29/09, []) // MSO

=Contention 4: Solvency=

**AIP is the best federal funding mechanism to improve airports – national needs are prioritized**

 * Kirk, 9 ** – Specialist in Transportation Policy for the Congressional Research Service (Robert S., “Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Reauthorization Issues for Congress”, Congressional research service, 5/29/09, []) // MSO

**AIP key – alternative funding sources unreliable**

 * USGAC, 96 ** – United States General Accounting Office (“letter from USGAC to Chairman of the US Committee on Appropriations Mark O Hatfield”, 7/31/96, []) // MSO