Mounting concerns expressed as more details of Trump budget cuts emerge

As details of President Donald Trump’s $1.065 trillion budget trickle down to local communities across the state of Arkansas, concerned officials are speaking out against possible cuts that could decimate or eliminate several popular programs altogether.

One particular program that has caught the attention of municipal officials in Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Harrison and El Dorado-Camden is the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, established in 1978 to ensure that small communities could maintain air transportation service after deregulation occurred and major, legacy carriers left the markets.

Since that time, nearly 200 communities in the U.S. have come to rely on airline service on little known carriers such as Air Choice One, Southern Airways Express and Boutique Air. Airports in Harrison, Jonesboro, Hot Springs and El Dorado/Camden are all EAS communities and together are projected to receive nearly $10 million through early 2019 from the program, which caps the federal subsidy at $200 per passenger.

The Harrison, Hot Springs and El Dorado/Camden airports operate two daily nonstop, round-trip flights on a nine-passenger, single-engine plane to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The Jonesboro Municipal Airport has essentially the same schedule, but flies into the St. Louis International Airport.

On Tuesday, Air Choice One officials sent out a missive to local officials in a number of communities where it operates, asking them to contact lawmakers in Congress to let them know how vital it is to maintain air travel for rural communities that offer EAS service.

“EAS helps to ensure that smaller communities are able to maintain a vital piece of their transportation infrastructure,” said Shane Storz, CEO of the St. Louis-based carrier. “Much like highways, bridges, internet access mobile technology and a vast array of other components are necessary to help communities grow their economies, attract employers, and provide jobs for residents, air travel, too, plays a key part in the economic development journey.”

Today, Choice Air One operates at least three flights a day out of the Jonesboro Municipal Airport, which is owned by the city of Jonesboro. Scott Kolbe, spokesman for the small airline carrier, said there are now 18 roundtrip flights a week from Jonesboro to St. Louis, carrying a handful of passengers per flight.

Trump officials say EAS program has served its purpose, now subsidizing empty planes

Trump administration officials said the program is no longer needed because several EAS-eligible communities are close to major airports, and communities that have EAS could be served by other existing modes of transportation. Eliminating EAS from the federal budget would result in annual savings of $175 million.

“EAS flights are not full and have high subsidy costs per passenger,” said Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

In addition, Trump administration officials have pointed to a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report that says the EAS program is not necessary anymore because deregulation and other industry changes have brought down the costs of airline fares and most communities are now within driving distance of a commuter airport with service to a major airline hub. For instance, the Harrison and Hot Springs airport are only an hour away from the Northwest Arkansas Regional and Bill and Hillary Clinton airports in Bentonville and Little Rock, respectively.

“In summary, the EAS program has generally met its objective of ensuring that communities continue to receive subsidized service where market forces might otherwise have prevented airlines from offering any scheduled commercial service,” the GAO report notes.

However, Choice Air One officials pointed to a recent study performed by Duke University showing that cities with an airport tend to have stronger new economic development growth, not just for the towns in which they’re located, but also for the region as a whole.

“If the small markets served by Air Choice One and other providers who operate within EAS are left behind, their economies and communities will suffer,” Storz said.

In Hot Springs, officials there are also concerned about the loss of the EAS program. Beginning today, Memphis-based Southern Airways Express LLC will begin flying two daily nonstop, round-trip flights from Hot Springs to Dallas under a $2.3 million DOT contract.

“Commercial air service is vital to the economy of Hot Springs and the surrounding region,” said Jim Fram, president and CEO of the Hot Springs Metro Partnership. “The (EAS) money is vital to maintaining this important sector of our economy.”

Arkansas arts programs, pro bono legal aid also on Trump chopping block

But business owners are not the only ones concerned about possible cuts and downsizing of several popular programs by the Trump administration. Arkansas Arts Council Executive Director Patrick Ralston said he learned last week that the president’s budget includes the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

“Under the current federal budget law, 40% of NEA funds are allocated to state arts authorities like the Arkansas Arts Council (AAC) to be used for authorized purposes according to the state’s priorities,” Ralston said. “The AAC’s funding priorities include grants and services to support the arts as part of a well-rounded education, as an engine for tourism and economic development, and as a way to study and preserve our state’s rich artistic and cultural heritage.”

According to Ralston, AAC received $755,650 from NEA for arts and arts education grants and programs, constituting 30% of its operating budget and 35% of its statewide grants budget. During that same period, NEA has awarded 17 additional direct grants to Arkansas arts organizations totaling $327,500.

“The most recent economic report commissioned by NEA in 2016 found that every grant dollar awarded leverages more than $9 in matching funds and other contributions in the community served,” said Ralston, who was named director of AAC in late January. “The AAC, along with our national and regional partners, will continue monitoring the federal budget process, and will keep the public informed on any changes to our funding or grant programs.”

President Trump’s budget proposal, released on March 16, also calls for defunding the Legal Services Corp. That program, which is funded through the congressional appropriations process, was created in 1974 with bipartisan congressional sponsorship and the support of the Nixon administration. In fiscal 2015, LSC had a budget of $375 million to fund civil legal aid. More than 90% of its total funding is to 134 independent nonprofit legal aid programs, including the Center for Arkansas Legal Services and Legal Aid of Arkansas. Based in Little Rock and Jonesboro, respectively, those two programs offer free legal services to low-income Arkansas residents in all 75 counties.

Despite the president’s threat to eliminate funding to the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, LSC officials expressed confidence that Congress would continue to support the vital mission of the nation’s single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income people.

“I look forward to working with Congress to continue LSC’s work,” said LSC President James Sandman. “I am optimistic that the bipartisan support we have enjoyed in Congress for more than four decades will continue for years to come.”