In the most recent federal budget battle, an unlikely target emerged for elimination: Essential Air Service (EAS), a program that for nearly 40 years has ensured passenger service to smaller communities across the country. In Minnesota, that includes Brainerd, Bemidji, Hibbing, Thief River Falls and International Falls.

Critics say EAS is an example of "wasteful and unnecessary spending." But a deeper look reveals instead a program that has rather cleverly used a modest government subsidy to leverage significant economic activity, lessen rural isolation and enable businesses to locate far from urban centers — an essential element in bridging the rural-urban divide. Without EAS, air service would be cost-prohibitive in smaller communities. Some might contend that is the free market at work, but it is that kind of market Darwinism that has hollowed out so many rural communities.

When Congress deregulated the airline industry in the 1970s, it knew that left to their own devices, airlines might easily bypass regional airports in favor of more lucrative routes. In a rare bit of foresight, Congress created EAS to subsidize air travel and make it possible for airports such as Thief River Falls Regional Airport to offer daily service. "Look, I don't like subsidies, either," said Joe Hedrick, airport director. "But this is a great example of a user-funded system that is helping access to rural parts of the country and making small communities competitive. If we lost this money, it would be devastating. You'd see a death spiral for air service in communities like ours." Hedrick points out that in addition to user fees, 40 percent of the program is funded from fees paid by foreign carriers that operate in the U.S.

Digi-Key, one of the largest electronic component distributors in North America, has 3,200 employees in Thief River Falls and is planning a $200 million expansion. "Would they do that if they had to drive in a car for five hours every time they had to take a business flight?" Hedrick said.

Brainerd is one of the newest entrants to the EAS program, having started in 2013, when its carrier converted to larger, 50-seat passenger jets. "We might not have been able to continue air service without it," said Steven Wright, director of the Brainerd Regional Airport. For Brainerd, a tourist destination, planes are full in the summer, but half-empty in the winter, Wright said. For critics, that alone is proof of the program's wastefulness. But that is not the overarching measure of the program's efficacy. Essential Air Service is needed precisely because airlines can't fill every seat every time.

Wright points to a different measure, taken from a recent study. The $288 million spent on EAS ($113 million supplied by foreign airlines) leverages $1.7 billion in direct economic activity. Brainerd alone accounts for $15.4 million. "I'd say that's a pretty good return on investment," he said.

That's true. If Republicans are serious about helping communities outside urban and suburban centers, they should support EAS for punching above its weight and making smaller communities more attractive to business.