The two-year contract to provide air service to the Great Bend Municipal Airport and other Essential Air Service facilities in Western Kansas expires at the end of September, and three carriers want the air travel business in those communities.But, this all may be a moot point. Congress is debating the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Bill, which includes EAS funding, and there is pressure to reduce or eliminate the program that provides subsidies for flight connections from smaller communities to larger ones.The deadline to submit bids to provide EAS to Great Bend was May 13 and officials have until June 15 to decide which bid to approve, said Great Bend airport Manager Martin Miller. The same processes is underway in Dodge City, Garden City, Hays, Liberal and Salina, the only other EAS airports in Kansas.“The United States Department of Transportation seeks bids,” Miller said.