The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and the Airports Council International -- North America (ACI-NA) are submitting a legislative proposal to Congress and the Bush Administration that would reduce aviation system gridlock. The goal is to speed runway construction and other critical expansion projects at the nation’s most congested airports by both streamlining and expediting current environmental reviews.

The proposal, titled the "Expedited Airport System Enhancement (EASE)" initiative, would give priority to national airport capacity projects identified as most critical and streamline reviews of these projects without relaxing or changing existing environmental laws. In addition, the proposed bill would improve procedures at FAA and elsewhere in the federal government to make sure that these critical airport projects receive prompt attention.