Is Obama good for private pilots?

President Obama's recent budget proposal plans to raise $7 billion in "direct user charges". In the spirit of transparency, the Obama administration has made the budget proposal available for public scrutiny. Aviation groups rose to the challenge and found the mention of user fees on page 129 of the document (available here).

The charges, which total about half of the FAA's budget, would begin being collected in 2011. User fees face stiff opposition by the aviation community and previous proposed legislation has failed in the Congress. Lobbying against these fees has already begun.