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HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM     351

If one thinks of putting a pad on one post office, it is difficult to decide where it should be.

Senator MONRONEY. We don't talk about that.  What I would suggest is nothing that couldn't be collected rather easily and brought to the pad.

I wouldn't think of trying to land a helicopter 8 or 10 or 12 times to pick up the metropolitan mail.  I would suggest maybe by picking it up on surface from your nearby stations to the central helicopter pad might prove advantageous in speeding up a certain amount of the mail beyond what is done today.

Mr. BELEN. May I offer a suggestion, Mr. Chairman?  I think a meeting of all these helicopter people with our staff, just to talk about the problems, and to get their ideas, and if they could give us some input where we could save money or get the airmail out better than we are, we would be amenable.  When we look into it, it won't be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that they think it is.

Senator MONRONEY. They haven't been here complaining.  The chairman was exploring all avenues of revenue.

Mr. BELEN. Do you think this would be a good way for us to do it, to have them come in with their ideas, what they can forecast?  We will sit around the table and discuss the entire subject.

Senator MONRONEY. The Deputy Postmaster General has shown the genius that he showed when he was a member of the Congressional staff.

Mr. BELEN. Thank you.  I am glad that age hasn't failed me.

Senator MONRONEY. If you will try to take the business on your already crowded desk of trying to coordinate this and get the helicopter operators, through the help of the FAA, we hope the helicopter branch will be cooperative in this regard, and the CAB, I think it would clear the air.

Mr. BELEN. And, sir, we would like you to have any representative you designate.

Senator MONRONEY. We will have our staff representative as well. Thank you very much for your kindness in coming up here, and good luck to you when you go before my colleague, Tom Steed.

Mr. BELEN. Thank you.  I am representing our department on the supplemental for pay.  That is about 25 percent of all that supplemental.  So I am sure I will have a pretty good going over.

Senator MONRONEY. Thank you very much.

We would like to hear rebuttal by the distinguished representative of the director of the Port Authority of New York.

Mr. Wiley ask for rebuttal of the FAA comments.  This is on the matter of whether the Port of New York Authority is freeloading on the helicopters at the expense of others.

FURTHER STATEMENT OF JOHN R. WILEY, DIRECTOR OF AVIATION, PORT OF NEW YORK AUTHORITY

Mr. WILEY. This is simply a correction of a statement that the distinguished Administrator of the FFA made when he said that it was very difficult to get financial data from the Port of New York Authority.

I should submit Mr. Halaby has not done his homework.  At the request of Senator Allott, in hearings before the Subcommittee on