[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

TURBULENCE AHEAD: CONSEQUENCES OF DELAYING A LONG-TERM FAA BILL

=======================================================================

(118-35)

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON
AVIATION

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

__________

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

__________

Printed for the use of the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

Available online at: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-
transportation?path=/browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/
transportation

_______

U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

54-742 PDF WASHINGTON : 2024

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Sam Graves, Missouri, Chairman
Rick Larsen, Washington, Eric A. ``Rick'' Crawford,
Ranking Member Arkansas
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Daniel Webster, Florida
District of Columbia Thomas Massie, Kentucky
Grace F. Napolitano, California Scott Perry, Pennsylvania
Steve Cohen, Tennessee Brian Babin, Texas
John Garamendi, California Garret Graves, Louisiana
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr., Georgiavid Rouzer, North Carolina
Andre Carson, Indiana Mike Bost, Illinois
Dina Titus, Nevada Doug LaMalfa, California
Jared Huffman, California Bruce Westerman, Arkansas
Julia Brownley, California Brian J. Mast, Florida
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon,
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey Puerto Rico
Mark DeSaulnier, California Pete Stauber, Minnesota
Salud O. Carbajal, California Tim Burchett, Tennessee
Greg Stanton, Arizona, Dusty Johnson, South Dakota
Vice Ranking Member Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey,
Colin Z. Allred, Texas Vice Chairman
Sharice Davids, Kansas Troy E. Nehls, Texas
Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia, Illinois Lance Gooden, Texas
Chris Pappas, New Hampshire Tracey Mann, Kansas
Seth Moulton, Massachusetts Burgess Owens, Utah
Jake Auchincloss, Massachusetts Rudy Yakym III, Indiana
Marilyn Strickland, Washington Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon
Troy A. Carter, Louisiana Chuck Edwards, North Carolina
Patrick Ryan, New York Thomas H. Kean, Jr., New Jersey
Mary Sattler Peltola, Alaska Anthony D'Esposito, New York
Robert Menendez, New Jersey Eric Burlison, Missouri
Val T. Hoyle, Oregon John James, Michigan
Emilia Strong Sykes, Ohio Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin
Hillary J. Scholten, Michigan Brandon Williams, New York
Valerie P. Foushee, North Carolina Marcus J. Molinaro, New York
Mike Collins, Georgia
Mike Ezell, Mississippi
John S. Duarte, California
Aaron Bean, Florida

Subcommittee on Aviation

Garret Graves, Louisiana, Chairman
Steve Cohen, Tennessee, Ranking Memberric A. ``Rick'' Crawford,
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr., Georgiakansas
Andre Carson, Indiana Thomas Massie, Kentucky
Julia Brownley, California Scott Perry, Pennsylvania
Mark DeSaulnier, California Bruce Westerman, Arkansas
Greg Stanton, Arizona Brian J. Mast, Florida
Colin Z. Allred, Texas Pete Stauber, Minnesota
Sharice Davids, Kansas Tim Burchett, Tennessee
Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia, Illinois Dusty Johnson, South Dakota
Jake Auchincloss, Massachusetts Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Mary Sattler Peltola, Alaska, Lance Gooden, Texas
Vice Ranking Member Tracey Mann, Kansas
Hillary J. Scholten, Michigan Burgess Owens, Utah
Dina Titus, Nevada Rudy Yakym III, Indiana, Vice
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey Chairman
Salud O. Carbajal, California Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon
Robert Menendez, New Jersey Thomas H. Kean, Jr., New Jersey
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Anthony D'Esposito, New York
District of Columbia John James, Michigan
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida Marcus J. Molinaro, New York
Rick Larsen, Washington (Ex Officio) Mike Collins, Georgia
Aaron Bean, Florida
Sam Graves, Missouri (Ex Officio)

CONTENTS

Page

Summary of Subject Matter........................................ vii

STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE

Hon. Garret Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Louisiana, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Aviation, opening
statement...................................................... 1
Prepared statement........................................... 3
Hon. Steve Cohen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Tennessee, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Aviation,
opening statement.............................................. 3
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Hon. Rick Larsen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Washington, and Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, opening statement.............................. 6
Prepared statement........................................... 9

WITNESSES

Peter J. Bunce, President and Chief Executive Officer, General
Aviation Manufacturers Association, oral statement............. 11
Prepared statement........................................... 12
Rich Santa, President, National Air Traffic Controllers
Association, AFL-CIO, oral statement........................... 15
Prepared statement........................................... 16
Paul Bradbury, P.E., Airport Director, Portland International
Jetport, on behalf of the American Association of Airport
Executives, oral statement..................................... 34
Prepared statement........................................... 35
Gary Peterson, Executive Director, Transport Workers Union of
America, oral statement........................................ 42
Prepared statement........................................... 43

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD

Submissions for the Record by Hon. Steve Cohen:
Letter of November 27, 2023, to Hon. Charles E. Schumer,
Majority Leader, and Hon. Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader,
U.S. Senate, and Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, and Hon.
Hakeem S. Jeffries, Minority Leader, U.S. House of
Representatives, from Private-Sector Members of FAA's
Management Advisory Council................................ 47
Letter of November 29, 2023, to the U.S. Senate from Nicholas
E. Calio, President and Chief Executive Officer, Airlines
for America................................................ 49
Letter of November 29, 2023, to Hon. Charles E. Schumer,
Majority Leader, and Hon. Mitch McConnell, Republican
Leader, U.S. Senate, and Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, and
Hon. Hakeem S. Jeffries, Democratic Leader, U.S. House of
Representatives, from Eric Fanning, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Aerospace Industries Association........ 50
Statement of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association et
al. (general aviation organizations)....................... 51
Statement of Robert W. Rose, Cofounder and Chief Executive
Officer, Reliable Robotics Corporation..................... 51
Letter of November 29, 2023, to Hon. Sam Graves, Chairman,
and Hon. Rick Larsen, Ranking Member, House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, from Zane Kerby,
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Society of
Travel Advisors............................................ 53
Post-Hearing Correction of Remarks from Gary Peterson, Executive
Director, Transport Workers Union of America................... 57
Submissions for the Record by Hon. Scott Perry:
Article entitled, ``EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Airlines Set for Worst
Year Ever With More Than 1M Departures Delayed so far in
2023--Nearly a Quarter of All Flights--Fueling Holiday
Chaos Fears,'' by Lewis Pennock, DailyMail.com, November
11, 2023................................................... 89
Article entitled, ``Staffing and Technology Woes Threaten
Aviation Safety, Report Says,'' by Mark Walker, New York
Times, November 15, 2023................................... 91
Article entitled, ``Staffing Shortage at Air-Traffic Control
Means More Cuts of New York Flights,'' by Alison Sider,
Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2023.................... 92
Article entitled, ``U.S. Airline Staffing Is at Its `Highest
Level' in Decades. So Why the Flight Delays?'' by Maureen
O'Hare, CNN, July 22, 2023................................. 92

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November 27, 2023

SUMMARY OF SUBJECT MATTER

TO: LMembers, Subcommittee on Aviation
FROM: LStaff, Subcommittee on Aviation
RE: LAviation Subcommittee Hearing on ``Turbulence
Ahead: Consequences of Delaying a Long-Term FAA Bill''
_______________________________________________________________________

I. PURPOSE

The Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure will meet on Thursday,
November 30, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. ET in 2167 Rayburn House
Office Building to receive testimony at a hearing entitled,
``Turbulence Ahead: Consequences of Delaying a Long-Term FAA
Bill.'' The hearing will focus on the need for Congress to pass
a comprehensive long-term Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
reauthorization bill, the ramifications short-term extensions
have on the agency's operations, and the subsequent effects on
the aviation industry and the travelling public. The hearing
will also provide an opportunity for Members to discuss key
provisions of the House-passed FAA reauthorization bill--H.R.
3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American
Aviation (SGLRAA) Act. The Subcommittee will receive testimony
from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA); the
National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA); Portland
International Jetport on behalf of the American Association of
Airport Executives (AAAE); and the Transport Workers Union
(TWU).

II. BACKGROUND

The primary mission of the FAA is ensuring civil aviation
safety.\1\ The FAA has the responsibility to certify, monitor,
and regulate the safety and operations of the civil aviation
sector, including airlines, general aviation, unmanned aircraft
systems (UAS), airports, commercial space transportation,
repair stations, and aircraft manufacturers, as well as
establish licensing and training requirements for pilots and
other aviation related professionals.\2\ Congress periodically
reauthorizes the statutory authorities of the FAA and other
Federal civil aviation programs, including the authority to
collect aviation taxes which fund the Airport and Airway Trust
Fund (AATF), by passing an FAA reauthorization bill. The last
long-term FAA reauthorization bill, the FAA Reauthorization Act
of 2018 (P.L. 115-254) (hereinafter referred to as the ``2018
Act''), was passed by Congress and signed by the President on
October 5, 2018, authorizing the FAA until October 1, 2023.\3\
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\1\ Mission, FAA, (last updated Nov. 10, 2021), available at
https://www.faa.gov/about/mission.
\2\ See 49 U.S.C. Sec. 106 (g).
\3\ FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-254, 132 Stat.
3186.
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On June 9, 2023, Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member
Rick Larsen, along with Subcommittee on Aviation Chairman
Garret Graves and Ranking Member Steve Cohen, introduced the
SGRLAA Act--a bill to reauthorize the FAA through Fiscal Year
2028 with comprehensive policy solutions pertaining to all
major sectors of aviation. The Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure (T&I Committee) marked up and approved the
SGRLAA Act on June 14, 2023, by a recorded vote of 63-0 and the
House passed the bill on July 20, 2023, by a recorded vote of
351-69.\4\
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\4\ H. Comm. on Transp. & Infrastructure, Securing Growth and
Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, 282, 118th Cong. (2023) (H.
Rept. 118-138); Clerk, United States House of Representatives, Roll
Call 364, 118th Cong., 1st Sess, (July 20, 2023), available at https://
clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023364; see also 169 Cong. Rec. H3873-H3874
(July 20, 2023) (Roll Call Vote 364) available at https://
www.congress.gov/118/crec/2023/07/20/169/125/CREC-2023-07-20-pt1-
PgH3863-4.pdf.
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The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation (Commerce Committee), which has jurisdiction
over the FAA, was scheduled to mark up its FAA reauthorization
bill on June 15, 2023; however, the markup was immediately
recessed, and the Commerce Committee has not reconvened to
consider the bill. In the absence of passing and enacting a
long-term FAA reauthorization bill before the 2018 Act expired,
Congress enacted a clean three-month extension of the current
FAA's authorities in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024
and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 118-15) which was signed into
law on September 30, 2023.\5\ Pursuant to the Fiscal Year 2024
Continuing Resolution, the FAA's statutory authorities are now
set to expire on December 31, 2023.
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\5\ Div. B, Title II of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and
Other Extensions Act, Pub. L. No. 118-15, 137 Stat. 71.
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HOUSE PROCESS

In anticipation of needing to reauthorize the FAA by
September 30, 2023, T&I Committee leadership, under then
Aviation Subcommittee Chair Larsen and Ranking Member Graves,
jointly began soliciting priorities from the aviation community
in the 117th Congress, so that the Committee could begin
drafting an FAA reauthorization bill as soon as the 118th
Congress commenced. Chairman Sam Graves renewed that call at
the beginning of the 118th Congress.\6\ Chairman Graves
publicly stated in January 2023, that the House planned to pass
an FAA reauthorization by the beginning of July 2023.\7\
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\6\ Email from Staff, Majority Aviation Subcommittee, H. Comm. on
Transp. & Infrastructure to Aviation Stakeholders (Jan. 9, 2023, 11:52
a.m. EST) (on file with Comm.).
\7\ Aero Club of Washington: January Luncheon, (Jan. 26, 2023)
(public statement of Sam Graves, Chairman of H. Comm. on Transp. &
Infrastructure).
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In the Spring of 2023, the Committee also began soliciting
input from Members to help inform the development of the bill,
which included holding a Member Day in April 2023 where all
Members of the House were invited to provide testimony to be
considered before the bill's markup.\8\
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\8\ Email from Staff, H. Comm. on Transp. & Infrastructure to Comm.
Legislative Assistants (Mar. 3, 2023, 11:06 a.m. EST) (on file with
Comm.); Member Day: Hearing Before the H. Comm. on Transp. and
Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (Apr. 18, 2023).
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The Committee received over 2,000 requests from Members and
the aviation community for consideration. These requests formed
the foundation of the SGRLAA Act and helped determine the
Subcommittee's hearing agenda ahead of an FAA reauthorization
markup. The Subcommittee held five hearings over the first half
of 2023, each of which helped to inform specific titles of the
SGRLAA Act:
LFAA Reauthorization: Enhancing America's Gold
Standard in Aviation Safety; \9\
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\9\ FAA Reauthorization: Enhancing America's Gold Standard in
Aviation Safety: Hearing Before the H. Comm. on Transp. and
Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (Feb. 7, 2023).
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LFAA Reauthorization: Securing the Future of
General Aviation; \10\
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\10\ FAA Reauthorization: Securing the Future of General Aviation:
Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Aviation of the H. Comm. on Transp. and
Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (Mar. 9, 2023).
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LFAA Reauthorization: Navigating the Comprehensive
Passenger Experience; \11\
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\11\ FAA Reauthorization: Navigating the Comprehensive Passenger
Experience: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Aviation of the H. Comm. on
Transp. and Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (Mar. 23, 2023).
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LFAA Reauthorization: Harnessing the Evolution of
Flight to Deliver for the American People; \12\ and
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\12\ FAA Reauthorization: Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to
Deliver for the American People: Hearing Before Subcomm. on Aviation of
the H. Comm. on Transp. and Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (Mar. 30,
2023).
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LFAA Reauthorization: Examining the Current and
Future Challenges Facing the Aerospace Workforce.\13\
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\13\ FAA Reauthorization: Examining the Current and Future
Challenges Facing the Aerospace Workforce: Hearing Before Subcomm. on
Aviation of the H. Comm. on Transp. and Infrastructure, 118th Cong.
(Apr. 19, 2023).

Beginning on June 13, 2023, the Committee held a two-day
markup of the SGRLAA Act and considered 137 amendments.\14\ The
Committee unanimously voted to favorably report the SGRLAA Act
out of Committee on June 14, 2023.\15\ The SGRLAA Act was then
considered by the House beginning on July 19, 2023, and after
two days of debate and the adoption of 81 amendments, the House
passed the SGRLAA Act by a vote of 351 to 69 on July 20,
2023.\16\
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\14\ H. Comm. on Transp. & Infrastructure, Securing Growth And
Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, 282, 118th Cong. (2023) (H.
Rept. 118-138).
\15\ Full Committee Markup: Markup Before the H. Comm. on Transp.
and Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (June 13-14, 2023).
\16\ Clerk, United States House of Representatives, Roll Call 364,
118th Cong., 1st Sess, (July 20, 2023), available at https://
clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023364; see also 169 Cong. Rec. H3873-H3874
(July 20, 2023) (Roll Call Vote 364) available at https://
www.congress.gov/118/crec/2023/07/20/169/125/CREC-2023-07-20-pt1-
PgH3863-4.pdf.
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SENATE PROCESS

The Senate Commerce Committee also solicited input from
Senators and stakeholders throughout the Spring of 2023 and
held four hearings in preparation for considering an FAA
reauthorization bill:
LImplementation and Oversight of the Aircraft
Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act; \17\
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\17\ Implementation and Oversight of the Aircraft Certification,
Safety, and Accountability Act: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on
Commerce, Science, and Transp., 118th Cong. (Mar. 8, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LStrengthening the Aviation Workforce; \18\
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\18\ Strengthening the Aviation Workforce: Hearing Before the S.
Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transp., 118th Cong. (Mar. 16, 2023).
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LEnhancing Consumer Protections and Connectivity
in Air Transportation; \19\ and
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\19\ Enhancing Consumer Protections and Connectivity in Air
Transportation: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Commerce, Science, and
Transp., 118th Cong. (Mar. 23, 2023).
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LAdvancing Next Generation Aviation
Technologies.\20\
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\20\ Advancing Next Generation Aviation Technologies: Hearing
Before the S. Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 118th
Cong. (Mar. 29, 2023).

The Senate Commerce Committee scheduled a markup of their
FAA reauthorization bill, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2023,
for June 15, 2023, one day after the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee unanimously passed its own
proposal.\21\ However, upon gaveling into the markup, the
Committee quickly recessed subject to the call of the Chair.
The Senate Commerce Committee's markup remains in recess more
than five months later.
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\21\ Executive Session: FAA Reauthorization: Executive Session
Before the S. Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 118th
Cong. (June 15, 2023).
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While the House dealt with policy disagreements by voting
on issues through regular order, the Senate remains at an
impasse on resolving a small number of issues, notably
including pilot training requirements and the availability of
slots at Reagan Washington National Airport, that must be
resolved before the Commerce Committee will continue
consideration of an FAA reauthorization bill.

III. THE NEGATIVE EFFECT OF EXTENSIONS ON AVIATION

On September 30, 2023, Congress enacted H.R. 5860, a short-
term Continuing Resolution that included language to extend
FAA's statutory authorities through December 31, 2023, in the
absence of Congress enacting a long-term FAA bill before the
2018 Act expired.\22\ H.R. 5860 allows the FAA to obligate
Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant funding, maintain air
traffic controller hiring and training at a time when the FAA
continues to face staffing challenges, continue all contracted
work, avoid furloughs of non-essential employees working on
non-safety-related but still critical projects like rulemaking,
and prevents the AATF from losing over $50 million in aviation
excise tax revenues per day.\23\
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\22\ Div. B, Title II of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024
and Other Extensions Act, Pub. L. No. 118-15, 137 Stat. 71.
\23\ Id.
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However, continuous extensions only serve to prolong the
outdated status quo. Without a new, comprehensive
reauthorization, the newly confirmed FAA Administrator, Michael
Whitaker, lacks a roadmap of Congressional priorities spanning
the length of his five-year appointment. Another extension also
does not provide the FAA, its workforce, or the private sector
with the certainty that each requires and deserves to conduct
their business, nor does it provide protections for emerging
issues facing the traveling public. Furthermore, another
extension does not address systemic problems identified within
the FAA over the last few years, including the need to adopt
long overdue changes to policy and regulatory requirements to
ensure American aviation remains a global leader. Finally, an
extension does not provide for any necessary increases in
authorization levels for key civil aviation programs,
especially those that address crucial workforce, infrastructure
and strategic planning needs across the aviation sector.
Unfortunately, Congress has historically resorted to
enacting FAA extensions--ranging from a few days to a few
years--to maintain the integrity of programs and safety in the
National Airspace System (NAS) in the absence of long-term
reauthorization bills. From October 2007 through February 2012,
Congress passed and enacted 23 FAA authorization extension
bills. In 2015, the United States Government Accountability
Office (GAO) reviewed the impact of this series of extensions
(including a short-term lapse in FAA's authorization in 2011)
and the coinciding budgetary uncertainty. Amongst its findings,
the GAO found that ``[w]ithout a long-term authorization from
2007 through 2012, FAA delayed new investment decisions for FAA
sponsored airport projects'' and that ``[t]he lapse in FAA's
authorization in 2011 specifically led to the stoppage of work
on more than $10 billion in national airspace and support
projects, and $2.5 billion in grants to new airport projects
were withheld, according to FAA documentation [the GAO]
reviewed.'' \24\
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\24\ United States Government Accountability Office, Aviation
Finance: Observations on the Effects of Budget Uncertainty on FAA
(2015), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-16-198r.pdf.
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TIMELY ACTION NEEDED

Fiscal and contractual strain on the FAA are not the only
impacts of an extension. While Congressional inaction
continues, the United States aviation system continues to
evolve. Within the hundreds of provisions in the House-passed
reauthorization bill awaiting Senate consideration and action,
are important changes that continue to be delayed, and each
day, aviation policy falls increasingly out of step with the
system it is meant to manage. Congress must act expeditiously
to address a growing list of problems, including:
LAn increase in high-profile near miss incidents
at major United States airports that put the safety of the
traveling public at risk.\25\
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\25\ Press Release, Readout from the FAA Aviation Safety Summit
Breakout Panels, FAA, (Mar. 15, 2023), available at https://
www.faa.gov/newsroom/readout-faa-aviation-safety-summit-breakout-
panels.
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LGeneral aviation safety, the need for expanded
adoption of safety management systems, and the implementation
of technologies that will reduce accident rates like weather
cameras.\26\
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\26\ Safety Management Systems, 88 Fed. Reg. 1932 (Jan. 11, 2023).
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LEncouraging the adoption of technologies that
will improve safety during all phases of flight including the
use of additional runway safety technologies and alternative
ADSB solutions.\27\
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\27\ FAA Reauthorization: Securing the Future of General Aviation:
Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Aviation of the H. Comm. on Transp. and
Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (Mar. 9, 2023).
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LA significantly short-staffed air traffic
controller (ATC) workforce, an ATC hiring process hampered by
out-of-date workforce projections, and air traffic facilities
unable to maintain full operational capabilities and perform
on-the-job training due to a lack of personnel.\28\
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\28\ NATCA Statement on State of Air Safety and Staffing, NATCA,
(Aug. 21, 2023), available at https://www.natca.org/2023/08/21/natca-
statement-on-state-of-air-safety-and-staffing/.
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LThe lack of a regulatory framework for safe,
scalable unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations beyond
visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) and a process to determine
airworthiness commensurate with the risk profile of a UAS.\29\
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\29\ FAA Reauthorization: Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to
Deliver for the American People: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on
Aviation of the H. Comm. on Transp. and Infrastructure, 118th Cong.
(March 30, 2023) (statement of Adam Woodworth, Chief Executive Officer,
Wing).
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LThe lack of regulations for powered-lift aircraft
and regulatory certainty for aerospace innovators at a time of
heightened international competition in the advanced air
mobility (AAM) sector.\30\
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\30\ FAA Reauthorization: Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to
Deliver for the American People: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on
Aviation of the H. Comm. on Transp. and Infrastructure, 118th Cong.
(March 30, 2023) (statement of JoeBen Bevirt, Chief Executive Officer,
Joby Aviation).
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LThe growing challenges regarding the recruitment,
training, and retention of a skilled and robust United States
workforce in all segments of the aviation industry.\31\
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\31\ FAA Reauthorization: Examining the Current and Future
Challenges Facing the Aerospace Workforce: Hearing Before Subcomm. on
Aviation of the H. Comm. on Transp. and Infrastructure, 118th Cong.
(Apr. 19, 2023).
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LInsufficient investment in airports of all sizes,
to ensure accessibility for all users and address safety
risks.\32\
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\32\ FAA Reauthorization: Navigating the Comprehensive Passenger
Experience: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Aviation of the H. Comm. on
Transp. and Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (Mar. 23, 2023) (statement of
Kevin Dolliole, Director of Aviation, Louis Armstrong New Orleans
International Airport).
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LThe long-overdue installation and deployment of
NextGen technologies that aim to increase the safety,
efficiency, and sustainability of the Nation's air traffic
system.\33\
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\33\ Fed. Aviation Admin., National Airspace System Safety Review
Team, Discussion and Recommendations To Address Risk in the National
Airspace System (2023), available at https://www.faa.gov/
NAS_safety_review_team_report.pdf.
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IV. WITNESSES

LPete Bunce, President and Chief Executive
Officer, General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)
LRich Santa, President, National Air Traffic
Controllers Association (NATCA)
LPaul Bradbury, Director, Portland International
Jetport, on behalf of American Association of Airport
Executives (AAAE)
LGary Peterson, Executive Director, Transport
Workers Union (TWU)
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\33\ Fed. Aviation Admin., National Airspace System Safety Review
Team, Discussion and Recommendations To Address Risk in the National
Airspace System (2023), available at https://www.faa.gov/
NAS_safety_review_team_report.pdf.
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ADDENDUM

An overview of the primary titles of the House-passed FAA
Reauthorization bill, the SGRLAA Act.

Title I--Authorizations and FAA Organization Reform

The SGRLAA Act makes targeted changes to the FAA's
organizational structure to improve its overall efficiency,
better position the agency to innovate and streamline
regulatory processes. It clarifies the roles of offices within
the agency to streamline approval processes and spur decision
making; designates an ombudsman to support pilots, small
businesses, and other entities with applications before the
agency that aren't progressing; creates an innovation office
tasked with tackling cross-office policy issues; and
establishes a new Assistant Administrator to improve the FAA's
rulemaking processes. The SGRLAA Act also closes several
rulemaking projects that are no longer relevant and relieves
the agency from burdensome activities that are underutilized to
allow the FAA to prioritize its resources elsewhere.
The SGRLAA Act reauthorizes funding levels for the FAA that
better represent the agency's current work and makes historic
investments in the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) by
increasing this funding from $3.35 billion to $4 billion
annually.

Title II--General Aviation

America's aviation system would not be where it is today
without a healthy general aviation sector, and in fact, most of
all aviation professionals these days, including pilots and
mechanics, get their start in general aviation. The SGRLAA Act
recognizes that the success of the United States aviation
system is built upon a strong general aviation foundation. The
SGRLAA Act includes the first-ever general aviation title to
secure our aviation industry's long-term success by addressing
safety gaps and process inefficiencies in the general aviation
sector. These include provisions to expand BasicMed, ensure
transparency, and improve incentivize increased use of on-board
safety technology in the general aviation fleet.

Title III--Aerospace Workforce

The SGRLAA Act addresses workforce challenges by removing
barriers to pursuing aviation careers, increasing investment in
workforce development programs and creating a National Center
for the Advancement of Aerospace to ensure a robust talent
pipeline, directing FAA to reform its air traffic controller
hiring and staffing models, improving pilot training standards,
and supporting the career transition between the military and
civilian workforces.

Title IV--Airport Infrastructure

The SGRLAA Act authorizes a historic increase in funding to
$4 billion annually for the AIP, which has been stagnant since
2012. This funding increase includes provisions prioritizing
investments for small and GA airports and acts to streamline
grant requirements to expedite project deliveries. Furthermore,
the SGRLAA Act allows airports to use AIP funding for airport
resiliency projects and creates a minimum level of annual AIP
discretionary funding for certain airport programs. The bill
also adds a dollar-based categorical exclusion for airport
projects with limited Federal assistance, allowing airports to
finish projects more quickly.

Title V--Aviation Safety

The SGRLAA Act addresses several safety issues to ensure
the United States remains the world's gold standard in aviation
safety. The SGRLAA Act addresses the recent uptick in runway
incursions by expanding the use of new ground detection and
surveillance technologies and addressing underlying surface
safety risks. The SGRLAA Act addresses operational and
certification risks while ensuring the FAA appropriately
regulates industry stakeholders and encourages the agency to
improve its international engagement. It also requires the FAA
to better leverage safety data to predict and mitigate risks,
and addresses cybersecurity risks within both the FAA and
aviation industry. Additionally, the bill ensures that foreign
aircraft repair stations are subject to the same standards as
American repair stations. Furthermore, the bill helps to ensure
the safety of flight crews and passengers by requiring the FAA
to propose requirements for retrofitting secondary barriers on
airplanes, and to develop recommendations to prevent assaults
against airline personnel.

Title VI--Aerospace Innovation

The SGRLAA Act encourages safer and more efficient testing
and integration of new technologies, such as drones and AAM,
into the airspace to preserve our competitive edge in these
emerging sectors. The bill achieves this by creating a
regulatory framework that allows the FAA to pursue avenues for
the safe expansion of drone operations and applying realistic
deadlines for the agency to meet, requiring rules for BVLOS UAS
operations and risk-based operational approvals, ensuring there
are appropriate requirements for powered-lift aircraft entry-
into-service, and supporting the continued operation of
commercial space transportation.
Furthermore, the SGRLAA Act supports local communities'
efforts to leverage the benefits of new aviation technologies
by providing funding for state, local and Tribal governments to
use drones to visually inspect, repair and maintain critical
infrastructure, and funds grants for state and local
governments to plan for future AAM operations. It also ensures
the important voices of local communities and current airspace
users are heard as new entrants emerge in U.S. skies.

Title VII--Passenger Experience Improvements

The SGRLAA Act will preserve air travel as a reliable mode
of transportation by including reforms to holistically enhance
the passenger experience for all members of the travelling
public. It directs airlines to improve personnel training and
address damage to wheelchairs and mobility aids to improve
accessibility for passengers with disabilities, directs the FAA
to make improvements to the air traffic control system and
infrastructure, addresses the increased cost of Essential Air
Service while ensuring the program continues, makes targeted
reforms to small community air service programs.
Furthermore, the SGRLAA Act ensures the Department of
Transportation (DOT) recognizes that they too play a pivotal
role in on-time passenger travel. For instance, it directs DOT
to require airlines to develop policies addressing
reimbursement for passengers for hotel and meal costs when a
flight is cancelled or significantly delayed. The bill also
requires airlines to develop airline operation resiliency plans
to help prevent and limit the impact of mass flight disruptions
and requires airlines to establish policies on allowing
passengers to sit next to their young child if adjacent seats
are available.

Title VIII--Miscellaneous

The aviation system in the United States is complex and
diverse and requires Congressional attention in many areas. The
SGRLAA Act addresses several unique needs and challenges to
ensure our system remains the gold standard. It requires the
FAA to establish an updated internal telework policy, addresses
issues related to aircraft certification and manufacturing
standards, strengthens certain protections for crewmembers and
gate agents, and includes several studies and reports on issues
such as the FAA's aging information technology infrastructure,
congested airspace, the aviation workforce, aircraft noise,
airline mergers and air cargo operations to inform Congress's
and the FAA's work going forward.

Title IX--National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Amendments Act of
2023

As the independent Federal agency responsible for
investigating all civil aviation accidents, as well as
accidents in other modes of transportation, the NTSB plays an
important role in transportation safety. The NTSB was last
authorized for four years in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization
Act.\34\ The SGRLAA Act rectifies the lapse in NTSB
authorization and provides necessary updates such as requiring
the NTSB to address gaps in its workforce and technical
capabilities, establishing necessary oversight of the NTSB, and
improving delivery of family assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\34\ Pub. L. No. 115-254, 132 Stat. 3186.

TURBULENCE AHEAD: CONSEQUENCES OF DELAYING A LONG-TERM FAA BILL

----------

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Aviation,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:06 a.m. in
room 2167 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Garret Graves
(Chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Good morning. The Subcommittee on
Aviation will come to order.
I ask unanimous consent the chairman be authorized to
declare a recess at any time during today's hearing.
Without objection, so ordered.
I also ask unanimous consent that Members not on the
subcommittee be permitted to sit on the subcommittee at today's
hearing and ask questions.
Without objection, so ordered.
As a reminder, if Members wish to insert a document into
the record for the hearing, please also email it to
DocumentsTI@mail.house.gov.
I now recognize myself for the purposes of making an
opening statement.

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GARRET GRAVES OF LOUISIANA, CHAIRMAN,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION

Mr. Graves of Louisiana. I want to thank all the witnesses
for being here today. As you all know, we do an aviation bill
every 5 years, and the last bill we did was in 2018. I am not a
math wizard, but we need to do a bill this year. We are
currently operating under a temporary extension.
More importantly, we are doing an aviation bill not just
because there is an expiration, but because there's an
extraordinary amount of work to be done. Much of that work is a
result of the fact that we had challenges within the FAA with
the MAX incident, the fact that we have gone without a full
Administrator, have had an Acting Administrator for way too
long of a period of time. And I want to take a minute and say
that I am very excited about the Administrator that is there, I
appreciate the strong support that was demonstrated in his
confirmation in the United States Senate, and I look forward to
working closely with him.
But more importantly, we have seen innovators, as we are
going to hear more about today, develop technologies that go
well beyond the regulatory framework or the organizational
structure contemplated by the FAA. We have seen where air
traffic control capacity has limited or restricted flights into
areas like Florida, like in the Northeast Corridor, therefore
limiting options for consumers. We have seen where runway
incursions have threatened the safety and the lives of
passengers, and this is during a period where we have seen
extraordinary progress in safety in the last decade compared to
the previous decade. I think we had something like 140 deaths
two decades ago, whereas over the last decade, I think we had
3: an extraordinary difference and huge progress in safety.
We passed our bill in July, and here we have a House of
Representatives that is as polarized as I have ever seen it. We
can't even agree if gravity is real, yet we had a vote with 351
folks in support, and only 69 folks that were confused on that
legislation. And I want to thank Ranking Member Cohen and
Ranking Member Larsen, and, obviously, our chairman, Sam
Graves, for the hard work, and the entire aviation team and
Members. I reminded some of our Members yesterday we had 2,000
unique submissions from Members of Congress, stakeholders, and
others on this legislation. We put a bill together that got a
unanimous vote in the committee and an incredibly strong vote
in the House of Representatives.
This isn't about just passing legislation for the purposes
of being able to hang a memorial on the wall. This is about
innovation. It's about safety. It's about ensuring that the
United States maintains its leadership in aviation technology
and in aviation safety. And it is absolutely critical that the
United States Senate move this bill.
I am going to say it again. I think that safety is at risk,
I think that American leadership and aviation is at risk. And
I'm looking forward to hearing from our witnesses today to
learn more about their perspective, but we cannot continue to
remain stuck or remain sort of centered on a number of these
key issues that require decisions, that require law changes,
that require organizational changes. I can't emphasize enough
about the importance of moving this bill forward.
And clearly, when you look at issues that have been raised
including just recently, when new safety standards came out by
the National Airspace System Safety Review Team that issued a
scathing report looking at issues that needed to be fixed in
the aviation industry, when I look at our bill, I say, gosh,
actually, I think we got it right. We addressed a number of the
issues preemptively, or before the report was even issued. And
I think that we really have struck that right balance. I am not
going to tell you that the bill is perfect, but I will tell you
it is pretty damn close, and I am very excited about the
progress that we have made.
So, with that, I want to again thank the witnesses for
being here. I once again want to urge the United States Senate
to move forward as quickly as possible.
[Mr. Graves of Louisiana's prepared statement follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Garret Graves of Louisiana, Chairman,
Subcommittee on Aviation
I want to thank all the witnesses for being here today. As you all
know, we reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) every
five years, but we've operated under a temporary extension of the 2018
authorization since September.
We passed the U.S. House of Representatives FAA reauthorization
bill in July despite the chamber being the most polarized I've ever
seen it. Yet, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American
Aviation Act passed the chamber with an overwhelming vote of 351-69
after unanimous support in this committee.
That vote was the result of 2,000 unique requests from Members of
Congress and stakeholders. I want to thank Subcommittee Ranking Member
Steve Cohen, Full Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen, and our
Chairman Sam Graves, as well as the entire Aviation Subcommittee team
and our colleagues within the full committee for their work to support
such a comprehensive piece of reform.
Congress doesn't do an FAA bill just because the agency's
authorization lapses, but because there's an extraordinary amount of
work to be done. Over the past few years, the FAA has experienced an
immense set of challenges: the 737 MAX incidents, the bust-and-boom
nature of the pandemic, and restrictions on flight capacity--
particularly in Florida and in the Northeast--which have limited
options for consumers. Additionally, we have seen aviation innovators
develop technologies that go well beyond the regulatory framework or
the organizational structure of the FAA. Meanwhile, we were without a
U.S. Senate-confirmed FAA administrator for over a year and a half.
I look forward to working with the new administrator and am pleased
that he has focused first and foremost on safety. Two decades ago,
commercial aviation saw 140 deaths in a 10-year period; however, in the
past decade there were only three. This shows immense progress in
safety, and that needs to be maintained and strengthened. However,
recently there has been an alarming instance of runway incursions.
It is absolutely critical that the United States Senate move
forward to pass this reauthorization. Without a full reauthorization of
the FAA, safety is at risk and American leadership in aviation
technology and innovation is at risk. This agency cannot continue to
remain in limbo on a number of key issues that require decisions, law
changes, and organizational reforms. I cannot emphasize enough the
importance of moving this bill forward, especially where safety is
concerned.
Recently, the FAA's independent National Airspace System Safety
Review Team (SRT) issued a scathing report detailing a number of
aviation industry issues that need to be fixed.
When I look at the U.S. House's FAA reauthorization bill, I say,
`Gosh, actually, I think we got it right.' We addressed a number of
those issues in our bill before the report was even issued, and I think
we really have struck that right balance. I won't tell you that the
bill is perfect--but I will tell you that it is pretty close.
With that, I want to again thank the witnesses for being here. I
again want to urge the United States Senate to move forward on the FAA
bill as quickly as possible and look forward to hearing from our
witnesses on why this is such a critical issue.

Mr. Graves of Louisiana. I look forward to hearing from our
ranking member, Mr. Cohen, and recognize him for 5 minutes.

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE COHEN OF TENNESSEE, RANKING
MEMBER, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION

Mr. Cohen. Thank you, Chairman Graves. It is good to be
here with the Aviation Subcommittee.
We had four subcommittee hearings on this bill and one full
committee hearing on FAA reauthorization and had the
opportunity to examine and discuss various aviation priorities,
from ensuring safety, which is, of course, number 1, to
improving the passenger experience, which is 1(a), to general
aviation and the safe integration of emerging technologies and
more.
We worked in a bipartisan manner to pass our FAA
reauthorization out of the full committee and to the House,
where it had overwhelming support with 69 wayward people who
did not understand the issues, as Mr. Graves has clearly
pointed out. And we are here today because our colleagues in
the other Chamber have not made the same progress.
I have heard for years variations on a theme that the enemy
is not the other party, the enemy is the Senate. And in this
committee, it really is. When I come in here, I don't really
look at the division here between this side of the aisle and
that side of the aisle as a division. We are the Aviation
Subcommittee, and we are the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee. But the Senate, it's the Senate. So, we have to hope
that the Senate Commerce Committee will get its act together
and mark up this bill. They have had 5 months when they have
been in recess for those 5 months, and the House has dealt with
policy disagreements by voting on issues through regular order.
Reauthorizing the FAA in a timely manner is vital to the
continuity of the U.S. aviation industry and helps ensure
aviation safety, infrastructure, and workforce development
programs remain top priorities. Workforce development is so
important because we need more and more people as FAA
employees, working on flight safety--there are not enough
employees there right now. So, we need more, and we need to
bring them through the process, get them into the process, and
open it up to more and more people.
By passing short-term extensions, which we have already
done once to extend the FAA's authorities through December and
will likely have to do it again before the end of the year, we
continue to perpetuate the outdated status quo that jeopardizes
our global leadership in aviation. The absence of a long-term
FAA reauthorization is a disservice to the agency's hard-
working employees, the industry, and the traveling public.
So, we have got a new Administrator, Mr. Whitaker. He is at
a disadvantage, but he is going to be a good one. And we needed
a new Administrator, and we got a good one.
The extensions have temporarily worked in the past, but the
National Airspace System has advanced to a point where such
extensions fail to address systemic problems and new
challenges, especially those that require significant
regulatory and policy improvements to keep the U.S. on the
cutting edge of aerospace.
Furthermore, the use of continued extensions not only
creates uncertainty within the aviation industry, but often
results in the delay of FAA-sponsored airport projects that are
critical to proving airport infrastructure. If not evident
already, the overreliance on extensions has proven detrimental
and will result in the failure to address a litany of critical
issues, including:
LSafety concerns at airports such as runway near-
misses, and I guess that's the biggest thing we've got, and
that's the thing Mr. Whitaker spoke to me about as his first
priority was the runway near-misses, and that's serious
business. There are not enough folks there overseeing traffic.
LSafety management systems expansion,
LFostering technological advancements in the NAS,
and
LInsufficient investment in airports and NextGen
technologies.

For these reasons and more, there is the need to pass our
comprehensive bill, which is vital to the continuity and safety
of U.S. aviation.
Our House-passed bill makes historic airport infrastructure
investments; enhances safety; and protects consumers, including
those with disabilities, which is very important--and we just
saw some issue with a wheelchair being cavalierly tossed down a
ramp, and people need to be more concerned about that--
addresses environmental resiliency; ensures the safe operation
and integration of unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air
mobility aircraft; and improves the development of the U.S.
aviation workforce, especially in minority communities.
Just last week, the independent Safety Review Team,
assembled by the FAA in response to multiple close calls at
airports, issued a 52-page report calling on the FAA and
Congress to address safety risks in our Nation's aviation
system. In the report, the safety group highlighted a multitude
of issues such as staffing shortages among air traffic
controllers and outdated technology. As the Safety Review Team
stated, ``There are no easy short-term fixes to address many of
these challenges. Addressing risk in the [NAS] requires the
FAA, the administration, Congress, and others to work together
collaboratively.''
There is no better place to start than in Congress by
sending our House-passed, long-term reauthorization bill to the
President's desk. Our bill preserves and enhances America's
aviation system, which was the world's gold standard, probably
still is, but needs to have improvements. It contains hundreds
of provisions that will benefit our system and remains delayed
in the Senate.
So, this committee, I think, if it was a microcosm of
Congress, George Santos wouldn't have anything to talk about.
Instead, he lies and tells terrible things about the Congress.
If he was talking about the Senate, so be it, but not the House
of Representatives.
I yield back the balance of my time.
[Mr. Cohen's prepared statement follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Ranking Member,
Subcommittee on Aviation
Thank you. It's great to be here with Chairman Graves for another
Aviation Subcommittee hearing.
Earlier this year, we held four Subcommittee hearings and one full
Committee hearing on FAA reauthorization, where we had the opportunity
to examine and discuss various aviation priorities--from ensuring
safety to improving the passenger experience, to general aviation and
the safe integration of emerging technologies and more.
While we worked in a bipartisan way to pass our FAA reauthorization
bill out of our full Committee and in the House--with overwhelming
votes of support--we are here today because our colleagues in the other
chamber have not made the same progress.
The Senate Commerce Committee's markup on their FAA reauthorization
bill has been in recess for more than five months, and while the House
dealt with policy disagreements by voting on issues through regular
order, the Senate remains at an impasse.
Reauthorizing the FAA in a timely matter is vital to the continuity
of the U.S. aviation industry and helps to ensure aviation safety,
infrastructure, and workforce development programs remain top
priorities at such a critical juncture.
By continuing to pass short term extensions, which we have already
done once to extend the FAA's authorities through December, and will
likely have to do once more before the end of the year, we continue to
perpetuate the outdated status quo that jeopardizes our global
leadership in aviation.
The absence of a long-term FAA reauthorization is a disservice to
the agency and its hardworking employees, the aviation industry, and
the traveling public. Furthermore, it places the newly appointed FAA
Administrator, Mr. Mike Whitaker, at a disadvantage as he aims to
maintain aviation safety and ensure the efficiency of U.S. airspace.
Although extensions have temporarily worked in the past, the
National Airspace System (NAS) has advanced to a point where such
extensions fail to address systemic problems and new challenges,
especially those that require significant regulatory and policy
improvements to keep the U.S. on the cutting-edge of aerospace
technology.
Further, the use of continual extensions not only creates
uncertainty within the aviation industry, but often results in the
delay of FAA-sponsored airport projects that are critical to improving
airport infrastructure.
If not evident already, the overreliance on extensions for the FAA
has proven detrimental and will result in the failure to address a
litany of critical issues, including:
Safety concerns at airports, such as runway near-misses;
Safety management systems expansion;
Fostering technological advancements in the NAS; and
Insufficient investment in airports and NexGen
technologies.

For these reasons and many more, the need to pass a long-term
comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill is vital to the safety and
continuity of U.S. aviation.
Our House-passed bill makes historic airport infrastructure
investments, enhances aviation safety, protects consumers including
those with disabilities, addresses environmental resiliency, ensures
the safe operation and integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft, and improves the development
of the U.S. aviation workforce, especially in minority communities.
Just last week, the independent Safety Review Team assembled by the
FAA in response to multiple close calls at airports across the country
issued a 52-page report calling on the FAA and Congress to address
safety risks in our nation's aviation system.
In the report, the safety group highlighted a multitude of issues
such as staffing shortages among air traffic controllers and outdated
technology.
As the Safety Review Team stated, ``There are no easy short-term
fixes to address many of these challenges. Addressing risk in the [NAS]
requires the FAA, the administration, Congress and others across
industry to work together collaboratively.''
I can think of no better place to start than by Congress sending
our House-passed long-term reauthorization bill to the President's
desk.
Our bill preserves and enhances America's aviation system, which is
the world's gold standard, and ensures a robust and vibrant future for
U.S. aviation.
It contains hundreds of provisions that will benefit and improve
our aviation system now, but the bill remains delayed while we wait on
Senate action.
It is my hope that FAA extensions will be a thing of the past after
this year. I encourage our Senate colleagues to work swiftly to pass
their bill so that we can negotiate our differences in conference and
move forward with a robust five-year reauthorization.
I thank all the witnesses for being here today and look forward to
today's discussion.

Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Cohen, and I want
to thank you for raising the passenger experience issue that I
omitted. I am not going to comment on the rest of your speech,
particularly the closing, but I do want to thank you for
raising that, because that needs to remain our primary focus
here.
With that, I yield 5 minutes to the ranking member of the
full committee, the gentleman from Washington, Mr. Larsen.

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RICK LARSEN OF WASHINGTON, RANKING
MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you, Chair Graves, for
calling today's hearing to reinforce the need for a long-term,
comprehensive FAA reauthorization.
The last few years have exacerbated ongoing challenges
facing our aviation system, and Congress has a responsibility
to address these challenges to ensure the U.S. remains the gold
standard in aviation. This committee engaged in a thoughtful
and holistic process to draft the Securing Growth and Robust
Leadership in American Aviation Act earlier this year. While
there are certainly times when we disagreed, we put those
issues to a vote. We accepted the outcome of those votes, and
moved the final product in a bipartisan way to the floor of the
House, and passed it on the floor 351 to 69.
There is a need to act. Last February, a Boeing 767 cargo
plane almost landed on a Boeing 737 passenger plane at Austin
International Airport. Without the quick action by the cargo
plane pilots, 131 lives could have been lost. Similar near-miss
accidents have occurred at Philadelphia, Memphis, Miami,
Chicago, New York, and Las Vegas.
As a result of the spike in these incidents, the FAA
commissioned an independent Safety Review Team, or SRT, this
past April to recommend ways to enhance safety and reliability
of the Nation's air traffic system. Those recommendations,
delivered earlier this month, validate much of what this
committee found as it engaged with stakeholders during the FAA
reauthorization process.
One of those conclusions bears highlighting today: `` . . .
the current erosion in the margin of safety in the [National
Airspace System] caused by the confluence of these challenges
is rendering the current level of safety unsustainable.'' So, I
commend newly appointed FAA Administrator Whitaker as the FAA
announced six steps it will take to start addressing the
report's findings, especially regarding air traffic controller
hiring and training.
One of the critical findings in the SRT report is that
``the combined effect of irregular operations [caused] by
[controller] staff shortages erodes the margin of safety in the
NAS.'' It then calls on stakeholders in the aviation ecosystem
to take immediate action to ensure the U.S. remains the gold
standard in aviation safety.
The House-passed FAA reauthorization is precisely what the
report calls for, taking significant steps towards keeping the
U.S. aviation system the safest in the world.
Section 314 specifically addresses the staffing challenges
that the SRT found, requiring the FAA to hire the maximum
number of air traffic controllers and to adopt the most
appropriate controller staffing model, as determined by an
independent third party, to ensure our controller workforce
accurately reflects the system's growing needs.
Section 501 addresses another finding in the report by
requiring the installation of surface surveillance technology
at all medium- and large-hub airports to help prevent future
runway incursions.
Section 221 addresses the report's equipage findings by
renewing the ADS-B rebate program to incentivize broader
equipage of onboard safety technologies for all aircraft.
These are crucial reforms, and this committee did its work.
Now, safety goes hand in hand with other critical needs in
the air transportation system also addressed in the House bill.
Last December, Courtney Edwards, a 34-year-old airport ramp
worker and mother of three, was pulled into an Embraer E175 jet
engine and killed while working at the ramp at Montgomery
Regional Airport. This tragic incident highlights the dangers
that our aviation workforce braves every day to ensure the
safety of the traveling public. The House-passed bill includes
a ramp safety call to action. It makes robust investments in
preparing and protecting the next generation of pilots,
maintenance technicians, manufacturing workers, and other
critical professions to support the rapidly evolving global
aviation sector.
Just this week, a passenger in Miami allegedly assaulted
and knocked a gate agent unconscious, causing ``a significant
amount of blood'' and delaying the flight by several hours. As
unruly passengers continue to pose a threat to flightcrews and
other frontline workers, our bill protects workers by creating
a task force to prevent assaults and mandating that airlines
establish employee assault and response plans.
And in recent years, flight cancellations and delays have
shaken the flying public's confidence in our system. I recall
last December's meltdown that left thousands of passengers
stranded and ruined many Americans' holiday travel plans. To
get us back on the right course, our House bill requires
airlines to create resiliency plans to help prevent mass flight
disruptions and have policies to reimburse passengers for
expenses incurred from these disruptions.
While preventing mass flight disruptions is one way to
protect consumers, we must do more to ensure all passengers can
travel safely and with dignity. Last week's video appearing to
show a wheelchair being intentionally mishandled in Miami made
clear that more work is needed to ensure dignified travel for
all Americans. The House bill improves training for airline
personnel and contractors on assisting travelers with
disabilities and mobility devices, and directs the DOT to
create a roadmap for airlines to reduce damage to wheelchairs
and mobility aids.
And as the impacts of climate change are felt in
communities nationwide, this bill makes groundbreaking
investments in sustainability, including allowing Federal
funding for hydrogen and unleaded fuel infrastructure.
The bill also increases funding for the Airport Improvement
Program from $3.35 billion to $4 billion annually, of which at
least $150 million in discretionary funds, the largest portion
ever required before, is to be used to support airport
environmental and noise programs.
In conclusion, the current and future challenges facing the
U.S. aviation system are significant. I believe we can meet
them. It requires urgent and decisive action by all of
Congress. The House did its job. This committee did its job.
Congratulations on that. I look forward to hearing from today's
witnesses on the consequences of further delaying FAA
reauthorization, and I look forward to someday soon
conferencing with the Senate to get a long-term bill to the
President's desk.
With that, I yield back.
[Mr. Larsen of Washington's prepared statement follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Rick Larsen of Washington, Ranking Member,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Thank you, Chairman Graves, for calling today's hearing to
reinforce the need for a long-term, comprehensive FAA reauthorization.
The last few years have exacerbated ongoing challenges facing our
aviation system. Congress has a responsibility to address these
challenges to ensure the United States remains the gold standard in
aviation safety and air transportation.
This Committee engaged in a thoughtful and holistic process to
draft the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation
Act earlier this year.
While there were certainly times when we disagreed, we put those
issues to a vote, and we accepted the outcome of those votes.
And the final product has overwhelming bipartisan support, passing
unanimously out of this Committee in June and passing the House floor
in July by a vote of 351 to 69.
There is a need to act. Last February, a Boeing 767 cargo plane
almost landed on a Boeing 737 passenger plane at Austin International
Airport. Without the quick action by the cargo plane pilots, 131 lives
could have been lost that day.
Similar near miss incidents have occurred at Philadelphia, Memphis,
Miami, Chicago, New York, and Las Vegas.
As a result of the spike in these incidents, the FAA commissioned
an independent Safety Review Team (or SRT) this past April to recommend
ways to enhance the safety and reliability of the nation's air traffic
system.
Those recommendations, delivered earlier this month, validate much
of what this Committee found as it engaged with stakeholders during its
FAA Reauthorization process.
One of those conclusions bears highlighting today--`` . . . the
current erosion in the margin of safety in the [national airspace
system] caused by the confluence of these challenges is rendering the
current level of safety unsustainable.''
I commend newly appointed FAA Administrator Whitaker, as the FAA
announced six steps it will take to start addressing the report's
findings, especially regarding air traffic controller hiring and
training.
One of the most critical findings in the SRT report is that ``the
combined effect of irregular operations [caused] by [controller] staff
shortages erodes the margin of safety in the NAS.'' It then calls on
all stakeholders in the aviation ecosystem to take immediate action to
ensure the United States remains the gold standard in aviation safety.
The House-passed FAA Reauthorization is precisely what the report
calls for, taking significant steps towards keeping the U.S. aviation
system the safest in the world.
Section 314 specifically addresses the staffing challenges the SRT
found, requiring the FAA to hire the maximum number of air traffic
controllers and to adopt the most appropriate controller staffing
model, as determined by an independent third party, to ensure our
controller workforce accurately reflects the system's growing needs.
Section 501 addresses another finding in the report by requiring
the installation of surface surveillance technology at all medium and
large hub airports to help prevent future runway incursions.
Section 221 addresses the report's equipage findings by renewing
the ADS-B rebate program to incentivize broader equipage of onboard
safety technologies for all aircraft.
These are crucial reforms and this Committee did its work.
Safety goes hand-in-hand with other critical needs in air
transportation also addressed in the House's bill.
Last December, Courtney Edwards--a 34-year-old airport ramp worker
and mother of three--was pulled into an Embraer E175 jet engine and
killed while working the ramp at Montgomery Regional Airport. This
tragic incident highlights the dangers our aviation workforce braves
every day to ensure the safety of the traveling public.
The House-passed bill includes a ramp safety call to action and
makes robust investments in preparing and protecting the next
generation of pilots, maintenance technicians, manufacturing workers
and other critical professions to support the rapidly evolving global
aviation sector.
Just this week, a passenger in Miami allegedly assaulted and
knocked a gate agent unconscious--causing a ``significant amount of
blood'' and delaying the flight by several hours.
As unruly passengers continue to pose a threat to flight crews and
other frontline workers, our bill protects workers by creating a task
force to prevent assaults and mandating that airlines establish
employee assault and response plans.
In recent years, flight cancellations and delays have shaken the
flying public's confidence in our aviation system. Recall last
December's meltdown that left thousands of passengers stranded and
ruined many Americans' holiday travel plans.
To get us back on the right course, the House bill requires
airlines to create resiliency plans to help prevent mass flight
disruptions, and to have policies to reimburse passengers for expenses
incurred from these disruptions.
While preventing mass flight disruptions is one way to protect
consumers, we must also do more to ensure all passengers can travel
safely and with dignity.
Last week's video appearing to show a wheelchair being
intentionally mishandled in Miami made clear that more work is needed
to ensure dignified travel for all Americans.
The House bill improves training for airline personnel and
contractors on assisting travelers with disabilities and mobility
devices and directs the DOT to create a roadmap for airlines to reduce
damage to wheelchairs and mobility aids.
As the impacts of climate change are felt in communities
nationwide, this bill makes groundbreaking investments in
sustainability, including allowing federal funding for hydrogen and
unleaded fuel infrastructure.
The bill also increases funding for the Airport Improvement Program
(AIP) from $3.35 billion to $4 billion annually, of which at least $150
million in discretionary funds--the largest portion that's ever been
required before--are to be used to support airport environmental and
noise programs.
In conclusion, the current and future challenges facing the U.S.
aviation system are significant. I believe we can meet them, but it
requires urgent and decisive action by this Congress. The House did its
job, the Committee did its job--congratulations on that.
I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses on the
consequences of further delaying FAA Reauthorization.
And I look forward to conferencing soon with my Senate colleagues
to get a long-term bill to the President's desk.

Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Larsen.
Briefly, I want to take a minute to explain our lighting
system to our witnesses. There are three lights in front of
you: green means go, yellow means you are running out of time,
and red means conclude your remarks.
I ask unanimous consent that the witnesses' full statements
be included in the record.
Without objection, so ordered.
I ask unanimous consent that the record of today's hearing
remain open until such time as our witnesses have provided
answers to any questions that may be submitted to them in
writing.
Without objection, so ordered.
I also ask unanimous consent that the record remain open
for 15 days for any additional comments and information
submitted by Members or witnesses to be included in the record
of today's hearing.
Without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Cohen. As your written testimony has been made part of
the record, the subcommittee asks you to limit your remarks to
5 minutes.
With that, Mr. Bunce, you are recognized for 5 minutes.

TESTIMONY OF PETER J. BUNCE, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER, GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION; RICH
SANTA, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION,
AFL-CIO; PAUL BRADBURY, P.E., AIRPORT DIRECTOR, PORTLAND
INTERNATIONAL JETPORT, ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF
AIRPORT EXECUTIVES; AND GARY PETERSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA

TESTIMONY OF PETER J. BUNCE, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER, GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION

Mr. Bunce. Chairman Garret Graves, Ranking Member Cohen,
Chairman Sam Graves, and Ranking Member Larsen, thank you for
calling this hearing to address this critical need for us to
get finished with the FAA reauthorization bill.
I have been doing this job at GAMA for now 19 years, and I
have never seen a time that is more important for us to get the
FAA reauthorized and address some of the critical issues that
both of you addressed in your opening remarks, along with
Ranking Member Larsen, but also many of the other things that
facilitate safety that aren't talked about in the press these
days.
To watch what this committee did earlier this year, as a
taxpayer, I was very proud to know the members of this
committee. To be able to go ahead and mark out a committee in a
unanimous form a very important piece of legislation is a model
of legislative governance. And then how you handled the
amendment process, in addition, really serves as testament not
only to this committee's members, but also this incredible
staff that you have that really worked together to produce a
great bill.
And the time could not be more critical to be able to
finish the job. When we look at the challenges that
Administrator Whitaker has in front of him, they are daunting.
And it was really important for all of us also to note that
over on the Senate side, his nomination was handled in a very
thoughtful process. It shouldn't be lost on anybody that
Chairman Sam Graves went over to introduce Mr. Whitaker to the
Senate, and the proof is in the pudding. They confirmed him in
a unanimous vote and gave him a mandate that he needs to be
able to fix a lot of the critical issues that are facing not
only the FAA, but also in its relationship with DOT and the
rest of the administration.
Earlier this week, the Management Advisory Council to the
FAA, of which both myself and Mr. Santa are privileged to be
members, sent a letter to the leadership of both the House and
Senate talking about the critical importance and what we need
Mr. Whitaker to focus on and not be distracted from.
If we don't get an FAA reauthorization bill done, the
Administrator has to handle all of the disruptions that are
handled with continuing resolutions, extensions. But also, when
you couple that with a potential for shutdowns, which--people
don't realize what kind of perturbations that forces upon
industry when something like that happens, but also to be able
to get stability through getting the fiscal year 2024
appropriations bill passed. They need the stability and the
resources to be able to complete the tasks of being able to
address the issues.
We have been for far too long without an FAA leader, but
also there was a domino effect. So, we had many of the
positions within the FAA and acting positions. That has now
sorted itself out with Mr. Whitaker being in place, and the
result is we can now move forward on fixing a lot of the
issues. This committee really addressed a lot of those issues
through previous hearings.
Of course, we all know that Mr. Santa's organization,
NATCA, and the controllers out there are understaffed and
overworked. And this bill, as Ranking Member Larsen talked
about, really starts to address that.
But also, the slow pace of employees getting back to work
in the office, especially in the certification directorate, is
critical--it is really hampering industry right now because the
workforce is so green, they have lost so much expertise right
now. We have got to be able to train them, which this bill
addresses.
And also, it addresses the regulatory process, which, right
now, we all know is so long and laborious that other leading
authorities in other nations are now starting to exert their
leadership in the global environment to be able to have their
regulations be preeminent.
The need to keep pace with technology is so important.
Technology can solve a lot of the issues, especially that
Ranking Member Larsen just talked about. We can provide
technology not only to Mr. Santa's controllers, but also to the
pilots to enhance their situational awareness. But we have got
to be able to get through the certification process to get that
done.
And the need for investments in the workforce to not only
focus on pilots and maintenance professionals, but also the
folks that work in our factories for manufacturing to be able
to get that complete.
So, in sum, getting this bill done is so critical to the
safety of this Nation, but also for our global leadership. The
United States has always been a leader in aerospace, and to
continue to do so, we have got to get this bill done.
Thank you.
[Mr. Bunce's prepared statement follows:]

Prepared Statement of Peter J. Bunce, President and Chief Executive
Officer, General Aviation Manufacturers Association
Subcommittee Chairman Garret Graves, Ranking Member Steve Cohen,
Chairman Sam Graves, and Ranking Member Rick Larsen, on behalf of the
General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and its member
companies, thank you for convening today's hearing which focuses on the
importance of Congress moving at maximum velocity operating speed to
enact a long-term Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization
bill. As I testified at the Committee's kickoff FAA Reauthorization
hearing on aviation safety in February, this legislation is critically
needed to support FAA leadership, direction, and stability and
facilitate the aviation sector's future path towards increasing levels
of safety and innovation.
By way of background, GAMA represents more than 140 of the world's
leading manufacturers of general aviation airplanes and rotorcraft,
engines, avionics, advanced air mobility aircraft (AAM), components,
and related services and technologies. GAMA members are also providers
of maintenance and repair services, fixed-based operations, pilot and
maintenance training, and aircraft management companies. GAMA companies
have facilities in 48 states and 27 countries. A recent economic impact
study determined that the general aviation industry supports $247
billion in economic output and 1.2 million jobs in the U.S.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ General Aviation's Contributions to the U.S. Economy [https://
gama.aero/wp-content/uploads/
General_Aviation_s_Contribution_to_the_US_Economy_FINAL_20200219.pdf],
2018 Price Waterhouse Coopers Study on behalf of Aircraft Electronics
Association (AEA), Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA),
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), General Aviation Manufacturers
Association (GAMA), Helicopter Association International
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We thank the leadership and members of this committee for their
bipartisan collaboration and efforts in facilitating passage of the
Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in Aviation Act (H.R. 3935) \2\.
Your timely work earlier this year reauthorizing the FAA is a
tremendous accomplishment and is deeply appreciated and strongly
praised by our membership. We support the strong general aviation focus
in the bill as general aviation is a critical point of entry for pilots
and mechanics interested in careers in the aviation industry as well as
a critical technology incubator with benefits not only to general
aviation but eventually the entire civil aviation industry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act,
H.R. 3935, 118th Congress [https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-
congress/house-bill/3935/text?s=9&r=1&q=%7B
%22search%22%3A%22hr+3935%22%7D]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
GAMA also applauds the U.S. Senate confirmation of Mike Whitaker to
be FAA Administrator. We commend the Senate for their quick action on
his nomination, and want to recognize members of this Committee,
particularly Chairman Sam Graves, for their strong advocacy of this
nomination.
Administrator Whitaker and the agency face a critical inflection
point in furthering our collective efforts to advance aviation safety,
sustainability, technology, and innovation. Congress must give the
Administrator the tools and support he and the agency need to be
successful. Enacting a long-term reauthorization by the end of the year
will provide a strong foundation for the agency and set a positive
trajectory at an important juncture in time. The significance of
enacting a timely passage of a multi-year FAA Reauthorization bill and
confirming an FAA Administrator was recently emphasized in a letter
from 28 aviation associations.\3\ Additionally, this week, the non-
governmental members of the FAA Management Advisory Council, of which I
am a member, sent a letter \4\ to House and Senate leadership
emphasizing the importance of action on FAA Reauthorization and a full
year appropriations bill for the agency.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ FAA Administrator Nomination and Reauthorization Industry
Letter [https://gama.aero/wp-content/uploads/FAA-Administrator-
nomination-and-Reauthorization-Sept-13-2023-Association-Letter.pdf]
\4\ Private Sector Management Advisory Council Letter [https://
gama.aero/wp-content/uploads/Private-Sector-MAC-Request-for-FAA-
Authorization-and-Appropriations-Nov-2023-Final.pdf]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For GAMA and its members, the stakes are clear: do we want
Administrator Whitaker to spend his time managing lapses in authority
and appropriations or focus his time on addressing the agency's
significant challenges and taking advantage of opportunities? As we
have seen in the past, if action is not taken now, it will have both
near-term and long-term impacts and set the agency back substantially.
As this Committee documented during its hearings and oversight, the
agency faces deep challenges. These include the considerable turnover
and loss of expertise at the agency, compounded by the slow pace of FAA
employees returning from remote work and insufficient employee training
and mentoring. Additionally, confirming a new Administrator took 19
months and during that time, many positions throughout the agency were
without permanent leadership. While some progress has been made, the
regulatory process faces continuing backlogs and still needs reform and
a better clarification of roles and responsibilities. All of this has
hindered FAA efforts to further its global engagement during a
transformative time for aviation. It is imperative that the FAA and the
U.S. Congress address these challenges.
We are heartened that both the House-passed FAA Reauthorization
bill and the Senate committee leadership bill, and accompanying
amendments, focus on many of these key challenges and issues. We look
forward to working with policymakers in a bipartisan and bicameral
fashion in enacting an FAA Reauthorization that contributes to
leadership, direction, and stability at the agency.
H.R. 3935 includes several provisions which we believe will
strengthen the management and operation of the FAA, provide strong
policy direction, and enhance aviation leadership with aviation
authorities around the globe. Specifically, H.R. 3935 includes the
establishment of a Deputy Administrator for Programs and Management, a
Deputy Administrator for Safety and Operations, and an Associate
Administrator for Rulemaking and Regulatory Improvement. This will help
better manage delays in confirming new political leadership at the
agency as well as facilitating more timely, transparent, and
accountable promulgation of rulemaking, policy, guidance, and related
materials. The House bill also directs reviews of the regulatory
process to gain further improvements.
H.R. 3935 also encourages robust FAA leadership in global civil
aviation through engagement with international civil aviation
authorities to facilitate validation of product and harmonize
requirements and processes with other authorities to the benefit of
aviation safety and industry. The House-passed bill also requires
development of an FAA strategic plan for international engagement to
measure compliance with international aviation safety agreements,
strengthen FAA's international offices' activity as well as improving
the delivery of technical assistance. These provisions, from our
perspective, will improve global civil aviation safety, environmental
sustainability, and facilitate U.S. aerospace competitiveness in this
dynamic era of rapid technological innovation.
H.R. 3935 includes needed direction to the FAA as our industry goes
through an era of development of innovation and technology that rivals
the dawn of the jet-age. For this reason, it is critical that FAA be
given and simultaneously set direction and embrace technological
development.
H.R. 3935 also provides direction by encouraging certification
improvements through the utilization of digital tools and software.
Given these methods are increasingly used in design and to document
certification activity, FAA evaluating and implementing their use on a
more consistent basis could evolve the current paper-driven and
transactional process to a more real-time review. This would better
leverage technology and have aviation safety benefits as well as
facilitating efficiencies and coordination amongst applicants and the
FAA.
GAMA also supports the committee's critical direction for Advanced
Air Mobility (AAM) vehicles. This includes mandating a rulemaking to
enable initial powered-lift operations by 2025 and a permanent
regulatory framework for commercial operations and the integration and
entry into the national airspace system for these vehicles within five
years. Additionally, H.R. 3935 provides direction on infrastructure,
including electrification, to support electric propulsion and vertical
flight including the development of vertiports.
We would also like to praise the inclusion, during floor debate, of
an amendment offered by Reps. Salud Carbajal, Rudy Yakym, and Sharice
Davids, to create a pilot program to deliver clearances via mobile
devices (e.g., tablets) through Internet Protocol. We appreciate the
collaboration and support of the National Air Traffic Controllers
Association (NATCA) on this amendment. FAA-funded trials have shown
that the functionality can be enabled safely and securely and deliver
fuel savings and operational efficiencies.
H.R. 3935 also underscores important workforce efforts for both FAA
and industry. For example, the measure extends and strengthens critical
aviation workforce development programs (Sec. 625) initially authorized
in 2018 that focuses on pilots and maintenance workers while also
expanding the program to add a focus on manufacturing which GAMA
strongly supports. The addition of a manufacturing element to the
existing program would complement the goal of improving continued
operational safety for design, production, operation, and maintenance,
and help build a future, more diverse workforce for the breadth of the
aviation sector.
From an FAA workforce perspective, the legislation directs an FAA
workforce assessment including staffing levels, competency, and skills
for critical safety positions in the Flight Standards Service and
Aircraft Certification Service and the promotion of expanded training
opportunities to enhance FAA's technical capabilities. In addition,
H.R. 3935 encourages an FAA telework policy that is based on job
functions, duties, and level of management.
H.R. 3935 also highlights the ongoing Eliminate Aviation Gasoline
Lead Emissions (EAGLE) \5\ initiative and encourages its work in the
development and implementation of a safe transition to unleaded fuel
for the piston-engine aircraft fleet by no later than 2030. This
direction is increasingly important given the recent Environmental
Protection Agency finding about lead-emissions from piston-powered
aircraft fuel, also known as avgas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) Initiative
[https://flyeagle.org/]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
GAMA has great hope that FAA Administrator Whitaker, Deputy
Administrator Thomson, and the rest of the agency can make great
progress in addressing these challenges. However, it is imperative that
Congress use all efforts to enact, in a bipartisan and bicameral
fashion, a bill to reauthorize the FAA and fully join them in these
critical efforts. Again, we appreciate and applaud the action that this
committee, and this body, have produced with the passage of the
Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act. Thank
you for the opportunity to express the importance of this effort, and
for your collective work to date. We look forward to working with you,
and your colleagues, to provide leadership, direction, and stability to
the FAA.

Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Colonel. Next, we have
Mr. Santa.
You are recognized for 5 minutes.

TESTIMONY OF RICH SANTA, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION, AFL-CIO

Mr. Santa. Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, Chairman
Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, and members of the subcommittee,
thank you so much for the opportunity to testify today.
NATCA, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, is
extremely pleased that the House has already taken the most
important action that you can for the safety of the National
Airspace System by passing a long-term, comprehensive FAA
reauthorization bill with an overwhelming bipartisan majority
that directly addresses several key aspects of air traffic
control staffing, including requiring the FAA to use the
Collaborative Resource Workgroup, the CRWG, as the basis for
its controller workforce plan, and to maximize controller
hiring for the duration of this bill.
I want to individually thank the Members, committee
leadership, and staff who took the time to understand the
critical staffing and reporting issues, evaluated and
formulated the solutions consisting of max hiring and required
CRWG reporting, and ultimately crafted and supported the
approved language in the FAA reauthorization bill. Thank you.
There are over 1,000 fewer certified professional
controllers today than there were a decade ago. Continuing to
follow the same flawed model utilized by the FAA after more
than a decade of missed hiring goals and missed staffing
projections will continue this downward staffing trend. A new
approach is desperately needed. The FAA must adopt the recently
updated and more accurate operational staffing targets that
were jointly developed by the Collaborative Resource Workgroup,
which was comprised of the FAA's Air Traffic Organization and
NATCA. The MITRE Corporation verified and validated this
group's work.
The facility staffing targets the FAA utilizes today were
developed almost a decade ago. It is beyond time to update
them. The new CRWG staffing targets need to be used as the
basis for the FAA's controller workforce plan moving forward,
so that Congress and industry have a complete and accurate
understanding of the condition of ATC staffing and the
requirements of the NAS.
Understaffing requires the FAA to assign mandatory overtime
to controllers, including 6-day workweeks, which leads to
fatigue. Several FAA facilities require 6-day workweeks every
single week. Air traffic control is already a highly stressful
profession. Controllers that are required to work 200 hours per
month amplifies that fatigue, and it inserts additional risk
into the NAS as a result of this understaffing.
In June, the DOT IG issued an audit concluding that, while
the United States has one of the safest air traffic systems in
the world, a lack of fully certified controllers poses a
potential risk to the national operations.
Earlier this month, the FAA's National Airspace System
Safety Review Team concluded that, under FAA's most recent
controller workforce plan that was submitted to Congress, when
retirements and other attrition are accounted for, the hiring
plan produces a negligible improvement over today's
understaffed levels, resulting in a net increase of fewer than
200 air traffic controllers by the year 2032.
Let me repeat that: The current plan presented to you
results in a net increase of fewer than 200 air traffic
controllers by the year 2032.
We applaud the T&I Committee for its bill that directs the
FAA to adopt controller staffing targets to resolve these
issues identified by both the DOT IG and the NAS Safety Review
Team.
But the FAA must also be transparent with its need for
increased funding for its F&E budget. Congress has always met
the FAA's stated need, but the agency has consistently
requested less than it needs for runways, radar systems,
towers, and all of its infrastructure.
In fact, for the past 15 years, the FAA hasn't even
adjusted their request to account for normal inflation.
Utilizing a fix-on-fail model has led the FAA's inability to
maintain and replace critical safety equipment that has
exceeded its expected life, again introducing risks into the
system. The failure of the U.S. NOTAM system earlier this year
was a glaring example of that risk. FAA funding requests have
delayed the FAA from designing and implementing new
technologies to improve safety. One such example is an airport
surface surveillance awareness tool that addresses runway
incursions, a top safety concern.
Finally, I want to stress the need to avoid an FAA shutdown
at the end of this year that would force the FAA to suspend
hiring, close its training academy, and delay modernization
even more, which would be a major setback.
Thank you again for helping us to resolve these issues. I
look forward to your questions.
[Mr. Santa's prepared statement follows:]

Prepared Statement of Rich Santa, President, National Air Traffic
Controllers Association, AFL-CIO
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the National
Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO (NATCA) at today's hearing
titled ``Turbulence Ahead: Consequences of Delaying Long-Term FAA
Bill.''
NATCA is the exclusive representative for nearly 20,000 employees,
including the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic
controllers, traffic management coordinators and specialists, flight
service station air traffic controllers, staff support specialists,
engineers and architects, and other aviation safety professionals, as
well as Department of Defense (DOD) and Federal Contract Tower (FCT)
air traffic controllers.
Executive Summary
The National Airspace System (NAS) moves over 45,000 flights and
2.9 million passengers, and more than 59,000 tons of cargo every day
across more than 29 million square miles of airspace. Although it is
the safest, most efficient, and most complex system in the world, we
should always strive to bolster safety, mitigate risk, and improve
efficiency.
The single most important action Congress can take for the safety
of the NAS would be to pass a long-term, comprehensive FAA
Reauthorization bill into law before the end of the year.
NATCA applauds the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and
the House of Representatives for its passage of ``Securing Growth and
Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act'' (H.R. 3935) with an
overwhelming bipartisan majority.
For the better part of two decades, the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), like much of the federal government, has faced an
unstable and unpredictable funding stream. Whether due to the risks of
lapsed appropriations or authorizations, such interruptions have
negatively affected all aspects of the Agency, making it increasingly
difficult to maintain the safety and efficiency of the NAS.
Even when the Agency is not facing the threat of a shutdown,
multiple administrations from both parties have submitted insufficient
FAA budget requests to Congress. FAA's requests have often fell well
short of the resources need to meet the full needs of the NAS.
Historically, Congress provides the Agency with the resources it
requests through both authorization of top-line numbers and the annual
appropriations process. However, because FAA consistently requested too
little, there are significant backlogs of NAS system sustainment and
ATC facility sustainment, in addition to mounting delays in the
implementation of NAS modernization and system improvements as well as
ATC tower and radar facility replacement.
Air traffic controller (ATC) staffing is another area in which this
troubling dynamic persists within' the FAA, as evident by the fact
there are more than 1,000 fewer Certified Professional Controllers
(CPC) than a dozen years ago. Continuing to follow the flawed
controller staffing model developed annually by FAA's Office of Finance
and Management after more than a decade of missed hiring goals and
staffing projections, followed by reduced expectations the following
year would be deeply problematic. Reducing air traffic capacity due to
understaffing, as FAA did this past summer in the New York airspace,
undermines the efficiency of the NAS.
To further complicate matters, understaffing forces the FAA to
assign mandatory overtime to controllers on a regular basis, which
leads to fatigue. Fatigue, of course, also adds unnecessary risk into
the NAS.
To address the persistent staffing shortage of air traffic
controllers, the FAA must adopt the new, more accurate operational
staffing targets developed by the Collaborative Resources Workgroup
(CRWG). These staffing targets should form the basis for FAA's annual
Controller Workforce Plan (CWP) moving forward, so that Congress and
the aviation industry have a complete and accurate view of the FAA's
ATC staffing needs.
We applaud the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee's
inclusion of the CRWG's staffing targets in its long-term FAA
reauthorization bill, the ``Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in
American Aviation Act'' (H.R. 3935), which passed the House in July
with an overwhelming bipartisan majority. If FAA uses the CRWG as the
basis for its CWP, Congress will finally get a complete and accurate
picture of the FAA's controller staffing needs. H.R. 3935 also provides
for maximum hiring of air traffic controller trainees for the full
five-year duration of the bill. This is a critical component as part of
a comprehensive hiring and training strategy to meet the operational
needs of the NAS.
In addition to limiting NAS capacity, understaffing also requires
FAA to assign mandatory overtime to controllers on a regular basis,
which leads to fatigue. Fatigue increases unnecessary risk in the NAS.
FAA must be transparent with its need for improved funding for its
Facilities and Equipment (F&E) budget, which provides resources for
physical infrastructure repairs and sustainment, equipment
modernization, and major capital projects. NATCA estimates that FAA
requires approximately $4.5 billion for F&E activities in Fiscal Year
(FY) 2024, and this number will approach nearly $6 billion in the near
future. Despite this increasing need, for the past decade, FAA has
consistently requested only approximately $3 billion per year in annual
appropriations.
Congress has always met the Agency's stated need, but that has
prevented FAA from meeting its own equipment sustainment, replacement,
and modernization needs, creating a significant backlog. That backlog
will worsen if FAA continues to submit annual budget requests that do
not reflect its true needs moving forward. Failing to maintain and
replace critical safety equipment that has exceeded its expected life
introduces unnecessary risk into the system. Further, funding
limitations prevent the FAA from designing and implementing new
technologies that will improve safety, such as an airport surface
surveillance situational awareness tool to address wrong surface
landings--a top safety concern.
NATCA's testimony will focus on: (1) the current controller
staffing crisis and training challenges and how they could affect
safety and efficiency; (2) the negative effects of equipment and
infrastructure backlogs and how those affect critical modernization and
infrastructure programs, including significantly delaying the
development and implementation of new safety technology that will
improve surface surveillance at airports and help mitigate the risks of
runway incursions; and (3) the negative effects that a potential
shutdown--due to a lapse in authorization or appropriations--would have
on the NAS, as well as on the nearly 20,000 air traffic controllers and
other aviation safety professionals represented by NATCA.
I. Controller Staffing and Training Hampered
For years, NATCA has been alerting policymakers that the controller
staffing shortage negatively affects all aspects of the NAS. Despite
meeting its self-imposed air traffic controller hiring goals for much
of the past decade, the FAA has not kept up with attrition.
Consequently, as of the end of fiscal year (FY) 2023, there were more
than 1,000 fewer CPCs employed by the FAA than at the end of FY 2012.
Currently, many of FAA's fully certified controllers are working
mandatory overtime hours, frequently 6-day workweeks and 10-hour days,
to make up for the staffing shortage. Some have even been working those
schedules for their entire careers. Over the long-term, this will
continue to introduce unnecessary risk into the system.
When there are too few fully certified professional controllers
(CPCs), positions have to be combined, resulting in divided attention
between different responsibilities. Most commonly, controller staffing
shortages are mitigated through reducing efficiency--meaning flight
delays. Chronically understaffed facilities also introduce unnecessary
safety risks into the system.
Although the FAA has taken steps in the right direction, such as
upwardly adjusting its hiring goals for each of FY 2024-2026 to 1,800
new hires, a protracted shutdown would cause immediate and irreparable
harm to the FAA's near-term plans to address controller staffing. At
minimum, the FAA's training academy in Oklahoma City discontinues
operations during a shutdown and the students are sent home, while new
classes of controller trainees in the pipeline will have their start-
dates significantly delayed, leading to additional attrition among the
scheduled new hires.
Even before the current funding uncertainty began, according to the
FAA's Controller Workforce Plan, 40% of those who were members of a
hiring class between 2014 and 2017 were removed from the FAA, resigned,
or are still in training, meaning FAA can only expect about 60% of
controller trainees to reach full certification within five to seven
years of their hire. As a result, because it takes between one and
three years for a new FAA Academy graduate to reach full certification,
an increased hiring goal would take several years to have any positive
effect on CPC totals. If the Academy is closed and hiring stops, the
FAA's CPC shortage will become even more pronounced for the next five
to seven years.
A lapse in authorization or appropriations certainly would not be
the first major disruption that has harmed controller staffing levels.
In 2013, across-the-board spending cuts as a result of Sequestration
forced the FAA to institute a hiring freeze and shutter the FAA Academy
between March and December of that year. This came at a time in which
the FAA was struggling to replace retiring controllers, and the Agency
has never made up for that sequester-related hiring freeze. In fact, in
its 2013-22 Controller Workforce Plan, FAA stated to Congress that it
planned to hire 1,315 controller trainees in 2013 and 1,263 in 2014.
Yet, when it hired only 554 controller trainees in 2013, missing its
target by over 700 because of sequestration, the following year it only
amended its 2014 hiring target to 1,286 adding merely 23 additional new
trainees--a goal it missed by over 170.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

Note: Annual hires and losses are a relatively small proportion of the
total controller workforce. Forecast does not include the effects of
sequestration.

A Plan for the Future, 10-Year Strategy of the Air Traffic Control
Workforce 2013-22, Chapter 3: Staffing Requirements, at 13.

It's also important to note that in 2013, FAA projected essentially
a flat total headcount including CPCs and trainees over the next
decade. Instead, it immediately missed even that modest pace in 2013,
hovered between 700-800 below that goal for much of the decade, and
then once COVID-19 began, fell about 1,400 behind.
But, if you go back further to the 2009 CWP, the same table showed
targets of significantly more hiring and total on-board headcount of
between 15,365 to 15,692 for each year over the next decade.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

Note: Annual hires and losses are a relatively small proportion of the
controller workforce.

A Plan for the Future, 10-Year Strategy for the Air Traffic Control
Workforce 2009-2018, Chapter 3: Staffing Requirements, at 12.

Sequestration also forced the FAA to issue a ``save money
furlough'' affecting every employee, including air traffic controllers.
During the week of April 21-27, 2013, delays nearly tripled at our
nation's airports, from 5,103 to 13,694, when compared to the same week
the year before and the year after.
Then, again, in late Sept. 2013, because Congress had not passed
appropriations bills to fund the government for FY 2014, the government
was forced to shut down for 16 days shuttering much of the FAA along
with it, which resulted in furloughs to FAA employees. The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) estimates that these furloughs cost the
government a total of $2.5 billion.
In early 2018, Congress and the White House failed--on two separate
occasions--to enact funding legislation and the government was shut
down for three days between Jan. 20-22, and then again on Feb. 9. On
March 23, Congress narrowly avoided its third federal government
shutdown in a two-month period when it passed an omnibus spending
package that funded the government and extended FAA authorization
through Sept. 30, 2018. Prior to that, Congress was on its fifth
consecutive CR and fifth consecutive extension to FAA authorization.
From Dec. 2018 through Jan. 2019, the NAS suffered through the
longest government shutdown in U.S. history, exacerbating a controller
staffing crisis that continued to go from bad to worse.
By the 2019-2028 CWP, FAA Finance had long abandoned its goals of
approximately 15,500 total on-board headcount including CPCs and
trainees from a decade earlier and even abandoned the total on-board
headcount including CPCs and trainees from 2013 of approximately
14,800. Without justification or explanation, it had adjusted that
target all the way down to under 14,000. What prompted this reduced
staffing target? Only FAA Finance can answer that question, but you
won't find it in any CWP. Instead, you only will find justification for
a new headcount number each year, because presumably FAA Finance
assumes Congress will not compare past CWPs or notice its consistent
failure to meet its stated hiring targets and goals.

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Air Traffic Control Workforce Plan 2019-2028, Chapter 3: Staffing
Requirements, at 15.

Fourteen months later, the COVID-19 Pandemic forced the FAA to
close its training Academy again and, even after it reopened,
enrollment capacity was reduced by 50% to maintain health and safety
protocols.
Although FAA reduced its hiring goals in three different years
(2013, 2019, and 2021) reacting to a major disruption, the Agency
curiously chose not to increase its hiring goals in the following year
even though it has significantly more capacity at the Academy to do so.
See Staffing Fact Sheet (Appendix B).
A longitudinal review of FAA's CWPs from 2009 through 2021 reveals
that FAA Finance has always projected that FAA only needs approximately
the same number of controllers that it has at that moment in time
(Appendix C). As it consistently missed its hiring targets and
otherwise failed to keep up with attrition, the on-board controller
number has decreased throughout that time. FAA Finance consistently
said it only needs the new, lower controller headcount number each year
and looking forward over the next decade. The long-term effect of this
practice has led to the FAA's current state: an untenable one in which
many controllers work mandatory 10-hour days, and six-day workweeks.
Those requirements are based on a system that FAA Finance created of
its own device. And, it's one they most likely would have continued but
for the scrutiny of this Subcommittee in recent years.
By 2022, after the staffing attrition due to the pandemic, FAA
finally acknowledged it needed more controllers and reset its long-term
target by 2031 back to 14,739, essentially what it said FAA needed back
in 2012. But, having never reached its prior targets and only driving
those numbers down year after year after year, NATCA and this
Subcommittee have no guarantee that FAA will maintain this new target
for the remainder of the next decade, given its consistent practice to
change its plan in each of the previous 15 years.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

Air Traffic Control Workforce Plan 2022-2031, Chapter 3: Staffing
Requirements, at 15.

Moreover, we know from the last shutdown that some of our most
experienced controllers decided to retire, while others tendered their
resignations well-short of their retirement age to meet their financial
obligations and provide for their families. Cumulatively, these delays
to controller training, early retirements, and unexpected attrition
wreak havoc on controller staffing throughout the system.
Recognizing that controller staffing is a major problem for the
FAA, in Dec. 2022, then-Acting Administrator Billy Nolen directed the
FAA's Air Traffic Organization (ATO) to restart the CRWG and partner
with NATCA to collaboratively determine the number of CPCs needed to
meet operational, statutory, and contractual requirements, including
resources to develop, evaluate, and implement processes and initiatives
affecting the NAS. In the weeks that followed, the parties diligently
worked with the MITRE Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System
Development to develop CPC operational staffing targets at each of
FAA's 313 air traffic control facilities. The CRWG completed its work
at the end of January and presented its report to the then-Acting
Administrator and NATCA President in mid-February. The FAA has not yet
adopted the jointly developed CRWG's CPC targets as the basis for its
annual CWP to provide Congress and the aviation industry with a more
complete and transparent view of FAA's operational workforce needs.
We hope that new FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker will recognize
the important collaborative work done by the FAA and NATCA and adopt
the CRWG's targets, while dispensing with the failed FAA Finance model.
As we highlighted above, the current CWP is flawed because it
relies on a ``finance driven'' staffing model that the FAA uses to
develop facility-by-facility staffing. That model, developed by FAA's
Office of Finance and Management (AFN or FAA Finance) incorrectly
combines CPCs and CPC-ITs (controllers who were fully certified at a
previous facility but are ``in training'' and not yet fully certified
at their new facility). The CWP also ignores existing CPC staffing
targets that were developed nearly ten years ago, which the
reconstituted CRWG report updated based on current needs. Most
importantly, it rejects FAA's own Air Traffic Organization's analysis
that the system is severely understaffed.
The Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT
OIG) issued a report in June that agreed with the CRWG's analysis. The
DOT OIG's Audit Report AV2023035, titled ``FAA Faces Controller
Staffing Challenges as Air Traffic Operations Return to Pre-Pandemic
Levels at Critical Facilities'' concluded that ``while the United
States has one of the safest air traffic systems in the world, the lack
of fully certified controllers, operational supervisors, and traffic
management coordinators pose a potential risk to air traffic
operations.'' DOT OIG Audit Report at 18.
Regarding controllers, the DOT IG wrote, ``FAA continues to face
staffing challenges and lacks a plan to address them, which in turn
poses a risk to the continuity of air traffic operations.'' DOT OIG
Audit Report at 6 (emphasis added). For example, the DOT IG
``determined that 20 of 26 (77 percent) critical facilities are staffed
below the Agency's 85-percent threshold'' and that ``managers we
interviewed at 16 of the 17 facilities likewise told us their
facilities were not adequately staffed. For example, at several
facilities, controllers were working mandatory overtime and 6-day work
weeks to cover staff shortages.'' DOT OIG Audit Report at 5, 8.
The FAA's National Airspace System Safety Review Team (SRT) report,
issued earlier this month reinforces what NATCA has been saying about
air traffic control staffing for a decade when it wrote that ``these
issues are eroding the margin of safety and injecting risk into the
system, and the ATO must take action to urgently address this staffing
crisis.''
The SRT found that controller staffing shortages lead to diminished
air traffic capacity and inefficient operations. The SRT also found
that overtime is at historically high levels, as a result of the
staffing shortage, concluding that it introduces additional risk into
the NAS.
The SRT reinforced what the Department of Transportation Inspector
General concluded in its audit issued this past June when it concluded,
``FAA has made limited efforts to ensure adequate controller staffing
at critical air traffic control facilities.''
The SRT found that ``when retirements and other attrition is
accounted for, the [FAA's] hiring plan produces a negligible
improvement over today's understaffed levels, resulting in a net
increase of fewer than 200 air traffic controllers by 2032. The [Air
Traffic Organization] must determine staffing needs based on actual
system needs rather than on Academy throughput and budgetary
constraints.''
Without rationale, in its 2023-32 CWP, FAA Finance revised its
staffing targets upward after the CRWG issued its report. Not
coincidentally, it also was after the T&I Committee and Senate Commerce
Committee both introduced legislative language to require the FAA to
adopt the CRWG targets as the basis for the CWP. Nevertheless, FAA
Finance continued with its intentionally misleading blending of CPCs
and CPC-ITs into one group, despite pending legislation that requires
them to report both groups separately.
As soon as Congress inevitably turns its attention to other
pressing matters, NATCA is concerned that FAA Finance will begin
lowering its targets again consistent with past practice.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

Air Traffic Control Workforce Plan 2023-2032, Chapter 3: Staffing
Requirements, at 15.

Referencing the above chart, notice that FAA Finance now believes
it needs over 15,400 total headcount (not the 13,800 total headcount it
thought it needed just a few years ago). This is the same total it
needed, and had, in 2009, but the Agency won't be able to achieve those
totals for probably another decade due to the failures of its finance-
driven staffing model.
This is entirely disingenuous, because FAA has needed that many
total controllers the entire time and FAA Finance intentionally reduced
the targets every year until Congress was forced to intervene in recent
years.
Continuing to follow FAA Finance's hiring plan--constructed by a
line of business that has no experience operating or managing the air
traffic system--after more than a decade of missed goals, incorrect
projections, and reduced expectations is a fool's errand.
II. Cascading Delays to Critical Modernization and Infrastructure
Programs Jeopardize Safety of the NAS
Stop-and-go funding negatively affects critical modernization and
infrastructure programs such as delaying development, testing, and
implementation of new technologies, as well as delaying the sustainment
and repair of existing safety-critical equipment. Delays to these types
of programs have real world consequences.
Each year, the NAS experiences hundreds of safety events such as
wrong-surface landings and runway incursions. It is important to note
that a shutdown of the FAA would significantly delay development,
testing, and implementation of a new surface surveillance situational
awareness tool that will help controllers identify and detect when and
where aircraft and ADS-B equipped vehicles are on airport surfaces.
Although it is still in its infancy of development, this
situational awareness tool would fulfill a similar role as the Airport
Surface Detection System-Model X (ASDE-X) and Airport Surface
Surveillance Capability (ASSC) at airports that do not currently have
any surface surveillance technology. However, unlike ASDE-X and ASSC,
this tool would be limited only to visual indicators and will not
include ``safety logic'' enhancements, which is the predictive software
that alerts controllers and provides an audible alarm as soon as the
safety risk is detected by the program.
To draw a parallel to motor vehicle technology, these tools are
similar to the differences in a car's blind spot warning system. Today,
many cars have some form of blind spot detection system. Some systems
provide a warning light, an audible alarm, and automatic collision
assistance, while other systems simply provide a flashing light on a
side mirror. Both systems help prevent vehicle accidents, and although
one certainly provides more redundancy than the other, both are
significantly safer than what drivers had access to prior to the first
such system in 2001.
As of today, only 44 airports across the NAS have either ASDE-X or
ASSC, and despite being a recent technological upgrade, these programs
are in a sustainment-only posture within the FAA. The FAA does not have
the funding nor contractual capability to expand these programs to new
facilities. As a result, the aviation industry, NATCA, and the FAA
began working on the development and implementation of a situational
awareness tool to help air traffic controllers mitigate these risks.
The successful and timely implementation of this situational
awareness tool likely will hinge on two factors: the availability of
sufficient funding for this program, and an intentional acceleration of
the FAA's acquisitions management process so that this tool can reach
air traffic facilities sooner rather than later. Even if these
formidable hurdles are cleared, the current timeline for first-facility
installation is June 2024, at the earliest. Any delays to FAA
authorization, funding disruptions, or budgetary shortfalls, including
a flat Facilities and Equipment (F&E) budget due to a long-term
Continuing Resolution, will delay this timeline significantly.
Moreover, in the event of a delay to FAA authorization or further
funding disruptions, the programs listed below will experience the
following negative effects, just to name a few:
En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM)--Testing and
build deployment at air traffic facilities must be rescheduled, which
will cause delays.
Standard Terminal Automation Replacement (STARS)--
Deployment of a new wrong surface alerting tool know as Arrival Runway
Verification (ARV) will be delayed.
DataComm--Facility training at Jacksonville Center (ZJX)
and Fort Worth Center (ZFW) would stop and additional classes would be
necessary. Cleveland Center (ZOB) implementation would be delayed
approximately 60 days.
Enterprise Information Display Systems (E-IDS)--Software
testing events must be delayed.
Airspace--New instrument procedure development will be
negatively affected, although the extent of the harm and the length of
the delay will vary depending on each facility's ability to adjust to a
new timeline.

During a shutdown, work on Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs
(VSRPs), which provide for critical communication between air traffic
safety action program review teams and furloughed staff, is deferred,
resulting in the inability to properly identify and mitigate safety and
training deficiencies. The safety reporting program for NATCA
represented engineers and service area support staff also does not
operate; all work on existing reported safety issues and associated
mitigation activities is suspended during a shutdown.
The FAA is behind schedule and continues to suffer through
budgetary shortfalls on many critical modernization and infrastructure
programs. Over the past 14 years, the FAA's F&E budget has not kept
pace with inflation. In FY 2009, the F&E budget was $2.942 billion. It
subsequently was lower than that in each fiscal year through 2017,
before it peaked at $3.3 billion in FY 2018. However, since then it has
remained just above or below $3 billion. Estimating for a modest 2%
average annual inflation rate over the last 14 years, the FAA's F&E
budget should be over $3.8 billion based on its 2009 budget.
This loss of spending and buying power for modernization and
infrastructure programs forced FAA into a ``fix-on-fail'' model by
requiring it to prioritize mandatory costs such as subscription
services and leases, basic ATC facility sustainment, salaries, travel,
and major support contracts, along with NAS system sustainment. This
prioritization leaves little to no money for important programs such as
ATC facility replacement, the NAS facility sustainment backlog, the NAS
system sustainment backlog, NAS system improvements, radar and
surveillance sustainment and replacement, and Air Route Traffic Control
Center (ARTCC) and Terminal Radar Approach Control facility (TRACON)
consolidation, just to name a few.
NATCA was pleased to see the Biden Administration's budget request
for $3.46 billion for F&E for FY 2024, which in addition to $1 billion
from the Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) for facilities meets FAA's
$4.5 billion need in FY 2024. We support the Senate's Transportation,
Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD)
appropriations bill that would meet this need for the time being. We
are concerned, however, because NATCA projects FAA's F&E budget will
need to be increased between to $5.5 and $6 billion in the near future,
and the IIJA funding will expire at the end of FY 2027.
In the coming years, FAA also will face unprecedented technological
challenges. The continued development and rapid proliferation of
advanced air mobility, drones, and other new entrants could jeopardize
NAS safety and efficiency if not integrated properly. NATCA must be
involved in all discussions surrounding the safe and efficient
integration of these programs.
III. Negative Effects of a Shutdown on Aviation Safety
We know first-hand the kind of irreparable harm that a shutdown
would have on the NAS because we have experienced them numerous times
over the past two decades. In only the past five years, we have
experienced three government shutdowns, while enduring 19 additional
threatened lapses in appropriations, four threatened lapses in FAA
authorization, and a narrowly averted debt ceiling crisis this past
summer. See Appendix A.
For example, the 35-day government shutdown from Dec. 2018 through
Jan. 2019 eroded critical layers necessary to support and maintain the
safety of the NAS. When the longest shutdown in U.S. history finally
ended, the NAS--as well as the frontline FAA workforce represented by
NATCA--was on the verge of unravelling, as many programs that reduce
risk and increase safety completely stopped.
NATCA members work hard to mitigate distractions and reduce fatigue
in our workforce, but shutdowns increase fatigue and create unnecessary
distractions for controllers while they are working airplanes. The
added pressure and stress that a shutdown introduces into the NAS is
intense.
During this lengthy shutdown, many air traffic controllers were
understandably distracted because they were thinking about the shutdown
and how they would struggle to pay their mortgages, car payments, and
other household expenses. Federal employees are paid bi-weekly and by
the time the shutdown ended, they had missed more than two-full pay
periods of income. To earn income and take care of their families, in
addition to performing their regular stressful duties of separating and
sequencing traffic, some controllers also were driving an Uber or Lyft
or waiting tables before and after their FAA shifts.
Air traffic control is a complex, high-consequence occupation
requiring multiple layers of safety processes and procedures (i.e.,
safety reporting, quality control, quality assurance, training) to
ensure we deliver the highest level of safety to the flying public.
Many of these supporting functions are suspended during a shutdown
because they do not meet the criteria to continue operating during a
lapse in appropriations. You would never ask a surgeon to perform a
surgery without their surgical team. As such, you also should not ask
controllers to perform their critical safety work without their support
team.
NATCA is extremely concerned about the negative and cumulative
effects that a shutdown next year would have on the current controller
staffing crisis and training challenges.
Unlike air traffic controllers who continue to work without pay
during a shutdown, NATCA also represents approximately 3,000 additional
aviation safety professionals who would be furloughed, and whose
critical safety work is not performed. For instance, NATCA represents
FAA staff support specialists who work at air traffic control
facilities to provide tactical, strategic, and administrative support
for training; quality assurance/quality control of air traffic control
and traffic management; manage and redesign airspace and air traffic
control procedures; support operational automation, military
operations, and air traffic safety management systems.
NATCA also represents aircraft certification engineers, who assist
in design, production approvals, and airworthiness certification of
aircraft and their components, as well as aerospace engineers who
design and construct critical infrastructure necessary for safe flight
operations including air traffic control towers, radar maintenance and
installation, navigational aids, and communications systems. These FAA
employees are furloughed during a shutdown and are prohibited from
completing their important work.
Moreover, beyond the immediate harms to controller staffing and the
frontline workforce, shutdowns also delay the implementation of
critical modernization technology, as well as the sustainment and
repair of existing safety-critical equipment. For instance, certain
programs would experience significant negative effects because of a
shutdown such as En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM), Standard
Terminal Automation Replacement (STARS), DataComm, Enterprise
Information Display Systems (E-IDS), and multiple airspace
modernization efforts at individual facilities across the NAS. A
shutdown also will significantly delay development, testing, and
implementation of a new situational awareness tool that will help
controllers identify, detect, and mitigate runway incursions on airport
surfaces.
IV. Conclusion
To enhance aviation safety, Congress must pass a long-term,
comprehensive FAA Reauthorization bill by the end of the year that
directs the FAA to adopt the CRWG operational staffing targets and
provides for maximum hiring of air traffic controller trainees to meet
those operational needs. It must also ensure that FAA addresses its
backlog of equipment maintenance, repair, and replacement. Further,
Congress must avoid another harmful government shutdown and ensure
robust FAA funding levels, especially for the operations and F&E
budgets, so that the FAA and NATCA can continue their critical safety
and modernization work.
We thank the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the
Subcommittee on Aviation for its commitment to transparent controller
staffing through the adoption of the CRWG CPC staffing targets in its
FAA reauthorization bill and for the foresight to require controller
``max hiring'' to accomplish these critical goals.
NATCA looks forward to working members of this Committee, as well
as all other Members of Congress who are off committee, aviation
stakeholders, and the FAA to achieve these and many other mutually
beneficial goals.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
APPENDIX A--Historical Shutdown Timeline
2007-2015
Congress temporarily extended FAA authorization 23 times,
while the system endured a partial FAA shutdown due to a lapse in
authorization, a government-wide shutdown due to a lapse in
appropriations, sequestration mandated across-the-board spending cuts,
air traffic controller furloughs that caused crippling flight delays,
and a hiring freeze, as well as numerous threatened shutdowns.
2018
January 20-22: THREE DAY SHUTDOWN.
February 9: SHUTDOWN.
March 23: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
March 31: Threatened lapse in FAA authorization.
October 1: Threatened lapse in FAA authorization.
October 7: Threatened lapse in FAA authorization.
December 7: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 22: 35-DAY SHUTDOWN.
2019
February 15: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
October 1: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
November 21: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 20: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
2020
October 1: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 11: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 21: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 27: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
2021
September 30: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 3: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
2022
February 18: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
March 11: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
September 30: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 14: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 23: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 30: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
2023
June 2023: Debt ceiling crisis narrowly averted.
October 1: Threatened lapse in appropriations & FAA
authorization.
November 17: Threatened lapse in appropriations.
December 31: FAA AUTHORIZATION EXPIRES.
2024
January 19: GOVERNMENT FUNDING EXPIRES.
APPENDIX B--Staffing Fact Sheet

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FISCAL YEAR
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-Board.................................... 15,236 15,063 14,461 14,059 14,010 14,050 14,009 14,285 14,193 13,830 13,715 13,418
CPC......................................... 11,639 11,753 11,522 11,192 10,833 10,619 10,544 10,483 10,419 10,268 10,580 10,578
CPC-IT...................................... 965 1,143 1,187 1,200 1,218 1,259 1,205 1,320 1,414 1,309 1,031 943
DEV (Including AG).......................... 2,632 2,167 1,741 1,667 1,959 2,172 2,260 2,482 2,360 2,253 2,104 1,897
AG.......................................... 676 671 440 665 936 878 883 980 882 873 917 643
Retirement Eligible......................... 3,064 3,224 3,077 2,982 3,355 2,915 2,410 1,842 1,004 1,143 1,000 631
FAA Planned To Hire......................... 829 981 1,315 1,286 1,772 1,619 1,781 1,701 1,431\ FAA reduced its FY 2019 hiring target from 1,431 to 907 following the 35-day government shutdown.
\\ FAA reduced its FY 2021 hiring target from 910 to 500 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased its hiring targets for FY 2022-2024.

These data are prior to the Collaborative Resource Workgroup's
recommendation to establish new CPC staffing targets for FAA's 313 air
traffic control facilities.

CPC: Certified Professional Controller
CPC-IT: Certified Professional Controller in Training (fully certified
elsewhere, transferred to a new facility and began training there)
DEV: Developmental (trainee)
AG: Graduate of the FAA Initial Classroom Training Academy in Oklahoma
City, newly hired, and started at their first facility as a trainee
APPENDIX C

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Mr. Cohen. Thank you, Mr. Santa, for being here. We know
this is the beginning of a very busy period for you.
Mr. Bradbury, you are recognized for 5 minutes, please.

TESTIMONY OF PAUL BRADBURY, P.E., AIRPORT DIRECTOR, PORTLAND
INTERNATIONAL JETPORT, ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF
AIRPORT EXECUTIVES

Mr. Bradbury. Good morning, and thank you for the
opportunity to testify today on behalf of AAAE. It is truly an
honor to be here.
I serve as vice chair of AAAE's Federal Affairs Committee,
and in my day job I lead the Portland International Jetport in
Portland, Maine, a vibrant and growing small-hub airport. I
have been at the airport, PWM, for more than 30 years, the last
15 as airport director.
First, I want to say thank you to the leaders and members
of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for
developing and passing meaningful bipartisan FAA
reauthorization legislation through the House. Chairmen Graves
and Graves and Ranking Members Larsen and Cohen deserve immense
credit for their leadership. The overwhelming votes in
committee and on the House floor are a testament to the strong
consensus that exists for this important legislation.
For airports, the House bill increases Federal investment
after decades of static, authorized funding levels, and makes
important programmatic changes. These investments will fund
improvements from tarmacs to terminals, enhancing safety,
modernizing airport facilities, and increasing capacity while
reducing environmental impacts.
With safety concerns on the forefront, I want to emphasize
that additional AIP resources will help airports upgrade
runways, taxiways, and lighting to mitigate runway incursions
and enhance safety. These investments on the ground complement
efforts in the bill to enhance capabilities in the skies by
adding to the controller workforce and upgrading technology.
Both are important and extremely necessary.
We also appreciate your work to reduce redtape, promote
small community air service, improve the Contract Tower
Program, expand the aviation workforce, and protect the
environment.
Airport executives are encouraged by the action that the
committee has taken, but we are concerned about the looming
December 31st deadline for enacting a long-term FAA bill. The
Nation's aviation system is too important to leave on autopilot
or to interrupt funding and unnecessarily increase costs. The
challenges that the current uncertainty creates are evident at
my airport and others, with limited construction seasons and
tight operational windows to complete projects.
In Portland, we need to commence projects in early spring
and complete them by the end of September. Even a small delay
can postpone a project until the next construction season,
since operationally we can't begin a project that won't be
paved and ready for operation by the time paving plants close
in the fall. This upcoming construction season is critical at
Portland, as we are reconstructing our taxiway Alpha, the
parallel taxiway for our primary runway that moves aircraft
from the runways to our terminal apron. The project must start
on time, and has not only a tight seasonal weather schedule,
but a tight operational schedule due to our extremely busy
summer tourism season. Already we are coordinating the project
construction schedule with our airline partners, which must
adjust their flight schedules and aircraft to accommodate the
project.
My taxiway project is an example of just one airport. It is
not unique. There are many airports with similar critical
airfield infrastructure projects that can't move forward
without the certainty of funding availability. Ultimately, this
means projects that improve system efficiency and safety could
be deferred. Sadly, this is not the first time airports have
been challenged by short-term extensions and continuing
resolutions.
I will be blunt. It is not cost effective, practical, or in
some cases, even possible to construct a project based on
funding uncertainty or based on arbitrary partial year
allotments. It is hard to buy half an air rescue firefighting
truck or use only half of our short construction season.
Surprisingly, some of the largest expenses on our major
airfield projects are startup costs, which amount to 15 to 20
percent of overall costs. Our contractors must have their
equipment, safety/security fencing/barriers, materials, and
support facilities onsite and ready to go before construction
begins. If the project is delayed, forcing contractors to
remobilize in the next construction season, the costs are
doubled. When you multiply these impacts across hundreds of
airports, the effects are significant: increased costs, delayed
or deferred projects, and numerous operational challenges.
Mr. Chairman, the aviation industry is in a period of
intense challenge and opportunity. We need long-term certainty
to plan, prepare, and build projects that increase efficiency
and enhance safety. Our passengers, users, and communities
expect and deserve these necessary investments. We are grateful
for your work toward that end and appreciate the opportunity to
be here today. Thank you.
[Mr. Bradbury's prepared statement follows:]

Prepared Statement of Paul Bradbury, P.E., Airport Director, Portland
International Jetport, on behalf of the American Association of Airport
Executives
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to participate in this hearing
on the consequences of delaying a long-term Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. It is an honor for me to be
with you today.
My name is Paul Bradbury, and I am the Airport Director of the
Portland International Jetport (PWM)--a vibrant and growing small hub
commercial service airport in the largest city in the great state of
Maine, affectionately known as ``Vacationland.'' We had almost 983,000
enplanements in 2022. With increasing numbers of business and leisure
passengers, especially during the busy summer travel season, we expect
that our 2023 enplanements will total nearly 1.1 million and be in line
with the record we set in 2019.
I am testifying today on behalf of the American Association of
Airport Executives (AAAE), where I proudly serve as a Vice Chair of the
association's Federal Affairs Committee. AAAE is the world's largest
professional organization representing individuals who manage and
operate more than 875 public-use commercial and general aviation (GA)
airports across the country.
While I am eager to highlight some of the disruptions that
temporary extensions of FAA programs have on my airport and others
across the country, I would note that the National Airspace System
Review Team recently issued a report that documents how unpredictable
funding adversely impacts system safety and efficiency. It also
highlights issues with air traffic controller staffing and the
disruption to necessary equipment upgrades.
The independent report points out that the start-and-stop funding
``makes it extremely difficult for the FAA to effectively conduct long-
term business planning and execution.'' With traffic levels growing and
operations becoming ever more complex across the national airspace
system, Congress shouldn't be content to leave the FAA operating on
autopilot or interrupt funding for critical programs especially while
the agency and aviation stakeholders continue to focus on aviation
safety.
Unfortunately, repeated short-term FAA extensions have been the
norm in recent years. The resulting funding disruptions are
particularly hard on PWM and other airports in locations with short
construction seasons, and I applaud this subcommittee's efforts to get
an FAA reauthorization bill enacted into law as soon as possible. AAAE
and airports across the country are eager to continue working with you
to achieve that goal and to avoid disruptions in infrastructure
investments and policy initiatives aimed at enhancing aviation safety,
improving the passenger experience, and promoting increased efficiency
across the aviation system.
H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American
Aviation Act
Mr. Chairman, let me begin by commending and thanking you, Chairman
Sam Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Ranking Member Cohen, and members of
the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for your outstanding
work in crafting H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership
in American Aviation Act, and for shepherding it through the House
prior to the initial expiration of FAA programs on September 30. The
fact that your bipartisan bill sailed through the full committee with
unanimous approval and received overwhelming bipartisan support on the
House floor is a testament to the determination and leadership of the
committee.
The FAA reauthorization bill is a shining example of how lawmakers
can reach across the aisle, find common ground, and work together to
produce strong, forward-looking, bipartisan legislation. The T&I
Committee has a rich history of working collaboratively to develop and
advance meaningful legislation. The leaders and members of the
committee deserve immense credit and our gratitude for honoring that
tradition and legacy.
The legislation developed by this committee is strongly supported
by the airport community and would benefit the entire aviation
industry. After the House approved the measure in June, full committee
Chairman Graves correctly pointed out that the legislation will improve
``the safety of our system, our airport infrastructure, and the quality
of service for passengers.''
I completely agree with that summary and his further assessment
that the legislation includes key provisions that will help address the
shortage of pilots, air traffic controllers, mechanics, and other
aviation workers. That's a top priority for the entire aviation
industry and particularly for smaller commercial service airports that
have experienced air service reductions due, in part, to the shortage
of commercial airline pilots.
Helping Commercial Service and General Aviation Airports
Airport Infrastructure Funding: H.R. 3935 includes an extensive
list of provisions to help commercial service and GA airports. AAAE and
Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) have made
increasing funding for airport infrastructure projects one of our top
priorities for the FAA bill. Airports appreciate that the House-passed
measure proposes to increase annual Airport Improvement Program (AIP)
funding from $3.35 billion to $4 billion annually and authorize $100
million per year for supplemental AIP discretionary grants.
Increasing AIP funding will help airports accommodate rising
infrastructure needs, increase capacity, reduce airline delays, and
improve the passenger experience for our customers. The FAA's latest
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) indicates that
federal infrastructure investments will also allow airports to
``enhance airfield safety and support the Agency's goal of reducing
accidents, fatalities, and runway incursions.''
At a time when Congress, the FAA, airports, and other aviation
stakeholders are rightfully focused on addressing near misses and
runway incursions, this federal investment will provide airports with a
boost in annual AIP funding that will enhance aviation safety. Among
other important upgrades and enhancements, additional AIP funding will
help airports improve runways, taxiways, and lighting to reduce the
chances of runway incursions.
These critical investments on the ground at airports complement
other provisions in the House bill that will enhance safety in the
skies. A modest increase in traditional AIP funding will also reverse a
longstanding trend of flat or reduced AIP authorization levels in
recent years and acknowledge the enormous infrastructure needs that
airports are facing.
According to the NPIAS, airports have $62.4 billion in capital
needs--or approximately $12.5 billion annually--over the next five
years. Those estimates include projects that are eligible for funding
under AIP and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. However, the overall
capital need is significantly greater when you factor in other
necessary infrastructure projects that aren't eligible for federal
funding. The proposed AIP funding in the FAA reauthorization
legislation along with the BIL resources will help airports meet some
of those rising needs.
The House bill also includes multiple AIP formula changes that
would update the way the FAA distributes federal funds to commercial
service and GA airports. These proposed formula changes combined with
higher annual funding levels would help airports of all sizes and
ensure that the AIP funding formula is keeping up with evolving
financial needs.
For instance, H.R. 3935 would reduce the so-called ``PFC turnback''
for large and medium hub airports. This proposal would allow larger
commercial service airports that collect Passenger Facility Charges
(PFCs) to keep a greater share of their annual AIP entitlements. The
proposal comes at a time when airports have current and future PFC
collections pledged to existing projects and are precluded from
generating more local revenue for infrastructure projects due to the
arbitrary and outdated federal cap on local PFCs.
The House bill would also help smaller commercial service airports.
Under the current AIP formula, the minimum entitlement for commercial
service airports with more than 10,000 annual enplanements is $1
million. The House-passed bill would increase that amount to $1.3
million and eliminate the financial ``cliff'' for airports that fall
below the 10,000-enplanement threshold. Both proposals would translate
into more infrastructure funds for smaller commercial service airports.
We commend you and your colleagues for including a GA title in the
bill and for acknowledging the important role that the country's nearly
3,000 nonprimary airports in the NPIAS play in the aviation industry.
The House-passed bill proposes to help GA airports by proposing to
increase the nonprimary entitlement from 20 percent to 25 percent of
available AIP funds--a significant bump.
Coupled with an increase in overall AIP funding, these two steps
will help funnel more federal funds to GA airports that need additional
assistance. These important airports are in communities across the
country and serve many important purposes as AAAE highlighted in
testimony before the committee earlier this year.
Regulatory Reform: During consideration of the last FAA bill--H.R.
302, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018--Congress expanded PFC
streamlining provisions that previously had been available only to non-
hub airports to small, medium, and large hubs to help reduce the time
it takes airports to navigate the PFC application process.
Unfortunately, the FAA decided to apply the expedited procedures to
only a narrow range of projects at those airports.
Airports are pleased that H.R. 3935 would take corrective action
and fulfil the intent of the previous FAA reauthorization bill by
allowing airports of all sizes to ``file a notice of intent to impose a
PFC rather than file an application to do so.'' This welcome provision
would reduce unnecessary federal red tape and process requirements and
dramatically speed up the time it takes airports to move forward with
PFC-funded projects while lowering their overall costs.
The previous FAA bill included another important regulatory change
designed to give airports more control over nonaeronautical land that
they purchased without federal funds. Rather than implementing the
proposal as intended to remove federal intervention where it was not
warranted and give airports more control over land procured on their
own without federal assistance, the FAA has added new process
requirements that have slowed project approvals. H.R. 3935 includes
welcome language that would revisit this issue by prohibiting the
Department of Transportation (DOT) from regulating the acquisition,
use, lease, transfer, or disposal of property that airports purchased
without federal funds except to ensure safety and efficiency and that
fair market value is received.
Airports are also pleased that the bill includes steps to reduce
unnecessary red tape. For instance, the bill directs the FAA to take
the lead on coordinating and scheduling the environmental review
process with other federal agencies. And it increases the number of
airport projects that are presumed to be covered by categorial
exclusions. Both are reasonable steps to help prevent delays in
critical safety and other airport infrastructure projects.
Small Community and Workforce Development Programs: Small
commercial service airports work hard to retain and attract commercial
air service to ensure their communities have access to reliable air
service. The House-passed bill authorizes funds for the Essential Air
Service and Small Community Air Service--two longstanding programs
designed to help airports in rural and less populated areas.
We're also grateful that H.R. 3935 would take important steps to
expand the aviation workforce. The measure would authorize $15 million
annually for three Aviation Workforce Development Programs aimed at
increasing the number of pilots, mechanics, and manufacturing workers.
FAA Contract Tower Program: I would like to thank members of this
committee for being strong supporters of the FAA Contract Tower (FCT)
Program--a successful public private partnership that enhances aviation
safety at GA and commercial service airports around the country. Both
the House-passed bill and the pending Senate FAA reauthorization bill
include welcome bipartisan proposals to address controller staffing and
equipment needs at contract towers.
The recent National Airspace System Review Team report highlights
the air traffic controller staffing crisis and the impact it is having
on our aviation system. The report mentions that ``the instability of
the air traffic controller workforce in the FAA is also leading to
increased instability at the FAA Contract Tower Program, which results
in both greater churn and higher costs in these towers.''
Both the House and Senate versions of the FAA reauthorization bill
include provisions to help address the staffing challenges at contract
towers. For instance, H.R. 3935 would require DOT to work with the
Department of Labor to review the outdated wage determination for
controllers who serve at contract towers. Controller wages have not
kept up with inflation, and we believe this review would be a key step
toward fixing that deficiency.
The House-passed bill also calls on the DOT Inspector General to
initiate an audit of the workforce needs of the FCT Program. The Senate
version of the bill would go a step further by requiring DOT to
coordinate with contractors to create air traffic controller training
programs that would allow contractors to train certain controllers to
stringent FAA standards.
We strongly believe that these thoughtful proposals would help
address staffing challenges at contract towers. They would also help
enhance the pipeline of controllers who work at FAA-staffed facilities
since so many younger contract tower controllers go on to work at
larger airports. In other words, proposals that help improve staffing
at contract towers ultimately help enhance staffing at FAA-staffed
towers.
The House and Senate bills would also take important steps to
upgrade equipment in contract towers to increase situational awareness
for controllers and enhance aviation safety. Considering the rise in
operations at contract towers and the variety of commercial, private,
student, and military pilots who use contract tower airports, it is
critical that their towers have the same type of technology found in
FAA-staffed towers.
Environmental Initiatives: Finally, the legislation includes
provisions to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and several
initiatives to mitigate aircraft noise on local communities as AAAE and
ACI-NA recommended. For instance, the bill would allow AIP funding to
flow to environmental initiatives such as resiliency projections. It
also proposes to expand the Voluntary Airport Low Emission program to
all commercial service airports including those outside of non-
attainment areas. And it calls on the FAA to coordinate with the Army
Corps of Engineers to examine the resiliency of coastal airports.
Short-Term Extensions Adversely Impact Airports
Mr. Chairman, I commend the House for passing its version of the
FAA reauthorization bill well before the initial September 30 deadline.
Although Congress has had to pass one short-term extension, I am
hopeful that you and your Senate colleagues will be able to pass a
final five-year reauthorization bill before the current extension
expires on December 31.
As you know, it took Congress three years and six short-term
extensions before completing the previous FAA reauthorization bill in
2018. Congress passed 23 separate, short-term extensions over four-and-
a-half years before it cleared the prior FAA reauthorization bill in
2012. Those numerous stop-gap measures, coupled with partial FAA
shutdowns, were disruptive to airport operators who routinely saw their
AIP grants delayed because of prolonged uncertainty in Washington.
(Attached is a list of FAA extensions during the last 20 years that was
provided by the Eno Center for Transportation.)
In previous years, the FAA has indicated that the agency needs one
extension or multiple extensions with a duration of at least six months
before the agency can begin distributing AIP entitlement grants to
airports. And even with six months of authorization and appropriations
in place, airports would only be eligible to receive a portion of their
AIP entitlements early in the year.
Previously, the FAA gave airports three options during these
scenarios: 1) take their AIP grants based on prorated calculations; 2)
wait and see if Congress passes a multi-year FAA reauthorization bill
or more extensions to get through the fiscal year; or 3) declare their
intention to defer or carryover their AIP entitlements. None of those
options are particularly good choices for airports.
With so many challenges facing airports and the entire aviation
industry, we simply cannot afford to go through years of multiple
short-term extensions. Repeated short-term extensions and FAA shutdowns
make it exceptionally challenging for airport operators to plan and
complete their capital projects. Funding uncertainty is particularly
difficult on smaller airports and those with short construction
seasons.
Impacts on Portland International Jetport: Funding uncertainty is a
particular challenge for PWM and other northern tier airports with
limited construction seasons and tight operational windows to complete
their projects. But other airports around the country are also impacted
by annual weather constraints including those in the west located at
high elevations and those in the southeast and other areas of the
country impacted by hurricanes.
In Portland, we need to start our pavement projects in early
spring, typically in mid-May, and complete them by the end of September
when the weather worsens. With such a tight operational window, even a
small delay could force us to postpone a project until the next
construction season in the following year. We are unable to start a
paving project in Portland that can't be completed and ready for
operation by the time our nearby paving plants close in the fall. The
postponement of any paving project affects the operational efficiency
of the airport, delays necessary safety enhancements, and dramatically
increases our costs.
Some of the largest expenses tied to a major airfield project are
startup costs related to mobilization, safety, and security measures,
which can amount to 15 to 20 percent of the overall cost. For instance,
contractors work to have all their equipment, safety/security fencing/
barriers, materials, and support facilities on site, installed, and
ready to go before the actual airport construction project begins. But
if a construction project is delayed and contractors are forced to
remobilize in the next construction season these startup costs are
doubled.
Next year is a critical construction season for PWM since we are
planning to reconstruct our taxiway A. This is the parallel taxiway for
our primary runway 11/29 that moves aircraft from the runways to our
terminal apron. We must start this $13.3 million project on time
because we have a tight seasonal weather schedule and a narrow
operational timeline due to our extremely busy summer tourism season,
which runs from June to October. With construction slated to begin
early next year, we are already coordinating with our airline partners
so they can adjust their May flight schedules and move equipment to
accommodate the project.
PWM's taxiway project is just one project at one airport that could
be impacted by funding delays. But it is not unique. There are many
airports across the country with similar critical projects that can't
move forward without funding certainty. At the end of the day, a series
of short-term FAA extensions mean that airport capital projects that
improve our national aviation system's efficiency and enhance aviation
safety will be delayed or deferred.
From past experiences I know it is not cost effective, practical,
or in some cases even possible to construct a project based on funding
that is administered in partial year allotments. As you can imagine,
airports are unable to use a portion of their AIP funding to purchase
half of an Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting vehicle. And it's hard for
airports to construct their infrastructure projects with only half of
an already short construction season. That is why it critical that
Congress pass a long-term FAA reauthorization as quickly as possible
and remove the uncertainty surrounding AIP funding.
Price of Inaction
The impacts I described above are just some of the reasons why a
series of short-term extensions is bad for airports like PWM that are
trying to plan and complete airfield and other infrastructure projects.
But there is the price of inaction, too. I already mentioned some of
the provisions in the House-passed bill that will help airports meet
their infrastructure needs and improve their facilities. But those
proposals will sit on the sidelines until a final FAA reauthorization
bill is enacted into law.
One of the top issues facing the aviation industry today is the
shortage of aviation workers. Unfortunately, proposals in the House-
passed bill to help increase the pipeline of pilots, controllers, and
aerospace workers will also be stuck in neutral until a final bill is
cleared. The changes that lawmakers have proposed to enhance aviation
safety, including those aimed at improving safety at contract tower
airports, will be delayed until the FAA reauthorization bill is
completed.
This year, the FAA and the aviation industry have witnessed an
uncharacteristic rise of near misses and runway incursions across the
National Airspace System. AAAE has joined with FAA and National
Transportation Safety Board officials for discussions about the
challenges the aviation industry is facing and the actions that are
necessary to ensure that our system continues to operate safely.
The aviation system is in a period of intense challenge and
opportunity. We have new workers and leaders, new entrants that are
fundamentally changing our aviation system, and new products and
technologies that can help reduce the impacts of aviation on the
environment. But during this time of rapid change, we need stability
and long-term certainty to carry out our traditional and future
missions. Passing a multi-year FAA reauthorization bill before the
current extension expires at the end of the year would help us secure
that much-needed predictability.
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and members of the
subcommittee thank you again for inviting me to participate in today's
hearing and thank you for the work you have done to advance a
bipartisan multi-year FAA reauthorization bill. Like my colleagues at
airports around the country, I look forward to working with you and
your Senate counterparts to ensure that the next FAA reauthorization
bill is enacted into law as soon as possible so we can meet the
challenges ahead and avoid unnecessary disruptions and delays.

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
AUTHORIZATION LAWS SINCE 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Signed Into Public Law
Congr. Bill Number Time Period Covered Duration Law #
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ``Vision 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act''
108th HR 2115................. 12/12/2003-9/30/2007 3.8 years.............. 12/12/2003 108-176
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Short-Term Extensions of the ``Vision 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act''

1.................................... 110th HJRes 52................ 10/1/2007-11/16/2007 1.5 months............. 9/29/2007 110-92
2.................................... 110th HR 3222................. 11/17/2007-12/14/2007 1 month................ 11/13/2007 110-116
3.................................... 110th HJRes 69................ 12/15/2007-12/21/2007 1 week................. 12/14/2007 110-137
4.................................... 110th HJRes 72................ 12/22/2007-12/26/2007 1 week................. 12/21/2007 110-149
5.................................... 110th HR 2764................. 12/26/2007-2/29/2008 2 months............... 12/26/2007 110-161
6.................................... 110th HR 5270................. 3/1/2008-6/30/2008 4 months............... 2/28/2008 110-190
7.................................... 110th HR 6327................. 7/1/2008-9/30/2008 3 months............... 6/30/2008 110-253
8.................................... 110th HR 6984................. 10/1/2008-3/31/2009 6 months............... 9/30/2008 110-330
9.................................... 111th HR 1512................. 4/1/2009-9/30/2009 6 months............... 3/30/2009 111-12
10................................... 111th HR 3607................. 10/1/2009-12/31/2009 3 months............... 10/1/2009 111-69
11................................... 111th HR 4217................. 1/1/2010-3/31/2010 3 months............... 12/16/2009 111-116
12................................... 111th HR 4957................. 4/1/2010-4/30/2010 1 month................ 3/31/2010 111-153
13................................... 111th HR 5147................. 5/1/2010-7/3/2010 2 months............... 4/30/2010 111-161
14................................... 111th HR 5611................. 7/4/2010-8/1/2010 1 month................ 7/2/2010 111-197
15................................... 111th HR 5900................. 8/2/2010-9/30/2010 2 months............... 8/1/2010 111-216
16................................... 111th HR 6190................. 10/1/2010-12/31/2010 3 months............... 9/30/2010 111-249
17................................... 111th HR 6473................. 1/1/2011-3/31/2011 3 months............... 12/22/2010 111-329
18................................... 112th HR 1079................. 4/1/2011-5/31/2011 2 months............... 3/31/2011 112-7
19................................... 112th HR 1893................. 6/1/2011-6/30/2011 1 month................ 5/31/2011 112-16
20................................... 112th HR 2279................. 7/1/2011-7/22/2011 3 weeks................ 6/29/2011 112-21
(There was a two-week Airport and Airway Trust Fund shutdown in late July and early August 2011)
21................................... 112th HR 2553................. 8/5/2011 / 9/16/2011 2 months............... 8/5/2011 112-27
22................................... 112th HR 2887................. 9/17/2011-1/31/2012 4.5 months............. 9/16/2011 112-30
23................................... 112th HR 3800................. 2/1/2012-2/17/2012 2 weeks................ 1/31/2012 112-91
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ``FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012''
112th HR 658.................. 2/14/2012-9/30/2015 3.5 years.............. 2/14/2012 112-95
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Short-Term Extensions of the ``FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012''

1.................................... 114th HR 3614................. 10/1/2015-3/31/2016 6 months............... 9/30/2015 114-55
2.................................... 114th HR 4721................. 4/1/2016-7/15/2016 3.5 months............. 3/30/2016 114-141
3.................................... 114th HR 636.................. 7/16/16-9/30/2017 14.5 months............ 7/15/2016 114-190
4.................................... 115th HR 3823................. 10/1/2017-3/31/2018 6 months............... 9/29/2017 115-63
5.................................... 115th HR 1625................. 4/1/2018-9/30/18 6 months............... 3/23/2018 115-141
6.................................... 115th HR 6897................. 10/1/2018-10/7/2018 1 week................. 9/29/2018 115-250
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ``FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018''
115th HR 302.................. 10/5/2018-9/30/2023 5 years................ 10/5/2018 115-254
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Short-Term Extensions of the ``FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018''
1.................................... 118th HR 5860................. 10/1/2023-12/31/2023 3 months............... 9/30/2023 118-15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Source: Eno Center for Transportation)

Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Bradbury.
Mr. Peterson, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

TESTIMONY OF GARY PETERSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TRANSPORT
WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA

Mr. Peterson. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Graves,
Ranking Member Cohen, and members of the subcommittee. Thank
you very much for holding this hearing today on the importance
of reauthorizing the FAA administration as quickly as possible.
I am Gary Peterson, executive director of the Transport
Workers Union of America. Our members include over 155,000
transportation workers across the country. We are the largest
union in the U.S. aviation industry, and we represent
mechanics, flight attendants, ramp workers, dispatchers, fleet
service workers, pilots, simulator instructors, meteorologists,
and others who safely deliver people and goods to their final
destination every day.
On behalf of the entire TWU, I want to start by applauding
the committee's diligent and collaborative efforts to pass H.R.
3935, the 2023 FAA reauthorization. Your legislation includes a
number of historic provisions the TWU has been advocating for
for over decades. Our union has strongly endorsed H.R. 3935,
and we hope to see it swiftly enacted into law.
The provisions of your legislation are not only historic,
but urgently needed. Every day that the FAA continues to run on
a short-term extension is another day that our members face
assault, unsafe work conditions, and impossible economic
conditions that are incentivizing companies to offshore good
aviation maintenance jobs.
Since the late 1980s, the FAA has outrageously encouraged
airlines to perform their maintenance outside the United States
by selectively enforcing safety regulations. Today, there are
nearly 1,000 FAA certified repair stations abroad. It is at
best disingenuous, and more often an outright lie, when
airlines tell the FAA or the flying public that they maintain
the highest maintenance standards. The truth is that no one has
insight into the work performed at many of these facilities
outside the U.S. There are no random inspections, no minimum
qualifications for mechanics, and absolutely no expectation
that the work is being done to U.S. standards.
China has been the largest beneficiary of this lack of
enforcement, and now employs nearly 22,000 workers at
facilities repairing and overhauling U.S. aircraft, roughly the
same amount of aviation maintenance workers as the States of
California and Texas combined. This is work that absolutely
should be done on U.S. soil by qualified U.S. workers.
H.R. 3935 would close these loopholes and reiterate
existing FAA standards. Your legislation requires companies
abroad that request the rights and privileges associated with
an FAA certification also meet U.S. standards. This provision
will return thousands of good jobs to the U.S. and raise the
level of safety in our airspace.
On this subcommittee, the TWU particularly appreciates the
work of Representatives Marc Molinaro and Julia Brownley, who
led this fight on the issue in this Congress.
Additionally, H.R. 3935 will save airline workers' lives.
For customer-facing airline workers, violent and unruly
passengers have become all too common. While the number of
formerly reported cases of unruly passengers has dropped since
its peak in calendar year 2021, 2023 is on pace to record
nearly 2,000 incidents of unruly behavior in our air system, a
63-percent increase over 2019. H.R. 3935 takes meaningful steps
to end the threat of assault on airline workers, including
updates to employer assault prevention and response plans.
Although the bill could take stronger action in preventing
these assaults, there is no doubt that the legislation will
reduce the number and severity of assaults on ground workers
and flight attendants.
The situation on airport ramps is even more dire. Early
this year, the TWU mourned the tragic loss of Michal Ingraham,
an American Airlines ramp worker who was crushed by a
malfunctioning ramp service vehicle that pinned him to a jet
bridge at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. This tragedy
was the result of a failure on all levels, including that of
the FAA. Ramp workers like Michal are often invisible to the
public. Sadly, three other workers, ramp workers, have also
died in this past year alone, including one just this last
month.
It has been far too long since these rules keeping these
workers safe have been reviewed and updated. H.R. 3935 mandates
the FAA issue a call to action to review ramp worker safety
procedures, bring stakeholders to address longstanding
deficiencies in FAA policy, update training programs, and
increase visibility for safety markings. For ground workers,
these changes cannot come soon enough.
My written testimony details the many ways H.R. 3935 will
immediately improve safety and worker rights in our airspace. I
again applaud your work by directly tackling all of the major
issues facing airline workers today. It is significant that
your legislation earned the unanimous vote of this full
committee and an overwhelming vote on the House floor. Our
members are proud to support the House version of the FAA
reauthorization.
Thank you again for holding this hearing, and I look
forward to answering any questions.
[Mr. Peterson's prepared statement follows:]

Prepared Statement of Gary Peterson, Executive Director, Transport
Workers Union of America
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and members of the House
Subcommittee on Aviation, thank you very much for holding this hearing
on the importance of reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). Airline workers generate 5% of our nation's economy and ensure
that our airspace remains the safest form of transportation in the
world. It is critical that Congress reauthorize the FAA immediately to
enable these workers to continue their essential work.
My name is Gary Peterson, and I am the Executive Director of the
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU). The TWU represents more than
155,000 members across the country. We are the largest union in the
U.S. airline industry and I am here today representing airline
mechanics, flight attendants, ramp workers, dispatchers, fleet service
workers, pilot simulator instructors, meteorologists, and others who
safely enable people and packages to move around the world. I
appreciate the opportunity to address this committee today and to share
our concerns about several ongoing issues which threaten the safety and
security of our airspace--all of which are directly addressed as part
of the FAA reauthorization legislation which advanced unanimously from
this committee and was overwhelmingly approved by the full House.
The TWU applauds the diligent and collaborative efforts from this
committee to draft and pass H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust
Leadership in American Aviation Act. We worked closely with you and
your staff on a full, five-year reauthorization of the FAA that
acknowledges the roles our members play to make our airspace safe and
allow for a well-functioning air transportation system. We, alongside
dozens of other national organizations, have enthusiastically endorsed
that legislation because it takes bold, intentional action to address
the current problems in our air system and sets out a clear path to
grow good, union jobs in the industry going forward. It is a great
piece of legislation that we believe should be enacted into law
immediately.
The FAA is currently running on a short-term extension that expires
on New Year's Eve--just four weeks away. Every day that the FAA
continues to maintain the status quo is another day that our members,
the rest of the aviation workforce, and the traveling public are forced
to continue to deal with a litany of problems, not because the problems
are intractable but due to the Senate's inaction. We join the House in
calling on the Senate to fulfill its duty in passing an FAA
reauthorization bill--ideally, a bill substantially similar to H.R.
3935.
H.R. 3935 includes a number of historic provisions which the TWU
has been advocating for over decades.
H.R. 3935 will return airline maintenance jobs to the U.S.
Every Congress since 1986 has introduced legislation to address the
threat of offshoring aircraft maintenance. Air carriers have
increasingly moved heavy maintenance work out of the country, choosing
to have their aircraft maintained, repaired, and overhauled at any of
the almost 1,000 FAA-certified repair stations abroad instead of at one
of the nearly 4,000 such stations here at home. Alarmingly, the Chinese
Communist Party is the principal beneficiary of the FAA's
certification, employing more than 7% of the global workforce
repairing, maintaining, and overhauling U.S. aircraft.
Current government practice incentivizes airlines to move this work
out of the U.S. Despite issuing identical certificates with the same
set of privileges to all of the repair stations it oversees globally,
the FAA does not hold repair stations outside of the country to the
same safety standards as those in the U.S. The result is significant
cost-savings on compliance and risk when the work is done abroad,
effectively directing the airlines to offshore thousands of jobs going
back decades.
While the FAA nominally requires that all repair stations,
regardless of location, maintain aircraft to the same standard, foreign
repair stations do not have to comply with several requirements to
which U.S.-based maintenance facilities are held, including:
Mandatory security background checks for workers;
Risk-based safety and security evaluations for
facilities;
Employee drug and alcohol testing;
Unannounced FAA inspections; and
FAA certification standards for maintenance technicians
and support personnel

TWU members and others in the aviation workforce have seen
firsthand the consequences of the lack of evenhanded regulations. Their
discoveries include:
Critical engine components held together with tape and
wire;
Parts on the aircraft exterior doors installed
incorrectly, resulting in mid-flight cabin depressurization;
Aircraft covered with flammable paint; and
Drugs hidden behind panels in aircraft wheel wells,
avionics bays, cargo compartments and lavatory walls

H.R. 3935 would close these loopholes, raising the level of safety
in our airspace and returning good mechanic jobs to the U.S. Every day
that goes by under the current non-enforcement regime is pushing more
work out of the country. Completing work on H.R. 3935 would immediately
return some of these jobs and begin a long-term process to restore U.S.
leadership to aircraft maintenance. The TWU appreciates Representatives
Marc Molinaro and Julia Brownley for leading the fight on the House
side to return these jobs in the 118th Congress.
H.R. 3935 will help protect workers from assault
For customer-facing airline workers, violent, unruly passengers
have become all too common, threatening worker safety. Videos and
stories of airline workers being physically or verbally assaulted for
doing their jobs have become a regular feature in the media, with many
more incidents going undocumented. While the number of formally
reported cases of unruly passengers has gone down since its peak in
calendar year 2021, when commercial air travel picked up significantly
after its COVID-induced nadir, the number of cases is still well above
pre-COVID levels; so far in 2023, the FAA has received 1,820 reports of
unruly passengers; in 2019, the agency received 1,161 reports. This
issue is not going away on its own.
In light of these troubling trends, aviation workers have proposed
a number of solutions, including a no-fly list and mandatory crew self-
defense training. H.R. 3935 takes meaningful steps to end the threat of
assault on airline workers, including updates to employer assault
prevention and response plans. Although the bill could take stronger
action to prevent these assaults, we have no doubt that the provisions
of this bill will reduce the number and severity of assaults in our air
system. Workers will see none of the benefit of these changes, however,
until these provisions are enacted into law.
H.R. 3935 will prevent ramp worker deaths
Earlier this year, the TWU mourned the tragic loss of one of our
members: Michal Ingraham, a 37-year-old man of faith who worked at
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Michal was performing his
duties safely when his service vehicle malfunctioned, slamming on the
gas, jumping its brakes, and crushing Michal into a concrete column of
the jet bridge. His body was pinned for several hours. Powerless to do
anything, his coworkers had to continue working scheduled flights at
other gates and had to see this gruesome scene. Just last month, an
airport employee was struck by a fuel truck and pronounced dead at the
scene. Two other ramp workers have also died recently after being
ingested by jet engines. All of their deaths are tragedies that we all
mourn.
Ramp workers are often invisible to the public; their work is
performed under the wing and in secure areas of the airport out of view
from travelers. As a result, it has been far too long since the rules
keeping these workers safe have been reviewed and updated. H.R. 3935
mandates the agency to issue a Call-to-Action safety review of ramp
worker safety, bringing together stakeholders with the goal of
assessing deficiencies in FAA policies, training programs, and safety
markings. A delay in getting this bill passed risks unnecessarily
endangering the lives of ground workers across the country who rely on
the adequacy of their employers' training programs.
H.R. 3935 will end unsafe dispatching practices
Qualified, well-trained, and highly focused aircraft dispatchers
play a key role in ensuring the safety of our air traffic system, as
evidenced by their bringing every plane in the national airspace to an
emergency landing in mere hours following the terrorist attacks on 9/
11. Concerningly, as employers across industries began to implement
work-from-home policies in response to the spread of COVID, the FAA
authorized two airlines--Republic Airways and SkyWest--to allow their
dispatchers to maintain operational control of flights from mobile
workstations--that is, away from secure facilities in the airline's
operations center. While the FAA originally allowed only 20 percent of
dispatchers during any shift to dispatch remotely, months later it
increased the authorization to 60 percent, all without any conditions
or assurances that this change in a tried-and-true system of work would
meet FAA standards. Dispatching from home raises significant safety
concerns, ranging from outside distractions, lack of random and
reasonable-suspicion drug and alcohol testing to data overloading home
networks.
H.R. 3935 explicitly prohibits air carriers from dispatching
aircraft from any location that is not a designated dispatch or flight
following center, putting an end to FAA's troubling and continuing
authorization of dispatching from home. Today, under the short-term
extension, air carriers can--and undoubtedly will--continue to take
advantage of the status quo and allow their dispatchers to maintain
operational control in less secure environments.
H.R. 3935 will clean up cabin air
The quality of cabin air circulated inflight has long been of
concern for TWU members. To create breathable air 40,000 feet above sea
level, aircraft pull air from the surrounding atmosphere, heat it over
the engines, compress it, and circulate it into the cabin--a process
known as bleed air. When the mechanical pieces of this process
malfunction, contaminants can be introduced, pumping toxic air into the
cabin for passengers and crewmembers to breathe. Despite this alarming
reality, the FAA requires shockingly minimal training, reporting, or
correcting of these incidents.
When gasified, engine oil, hydraulic fluid, fuel, and other
aircraft fluids become potent nerve agents that can cause respiratory,
neurological, and psychiatric symptoms, as well as cancer. These nerve
agents can be absorbed both by inhalation and contact with skin.
Repeated or prolonged exposure to these agents--such as that endured by
flight attendants--can have devastating health effects. We have
documented cases of TWU flight attendants who have suffered both severe
and career-ending disabilities due to this chemical exposure.
Passengers, too, are at equal risk of the negative health effects
from the fumes caused by bleed air. Because these fumes can smell like
dirty socks or other everyday items, travelers may not recognize the
health threat as it is happening. In fact, some passengers mistake the
symptoms of toxic fume exposure for jet lag.
H.R. 3935 requires the FAA to create a system for inflight crew and
mechanics to report fume events on board commercial aircraft while
safeguarding submitting parties' information should an air carrier
request details on a reported fume event. Additionally, the bill
mandates a study of the occurrence of fume events and subsequent
issuance of recommendations to improve cabin air quality. As a direct
consequence of unnecessary delay in the long-term reauthorization of
the FAA, however, inflight crew and the flying public will continue to
deal with fume events and the lingering health effects.
H.R. 3935 supports the next generation of good aviation jobs
The TWU believes that advanced air mobility (AAM) has the potential
to create a new mode of transportation. Such an innovation, however,
must be carefully reviewed and overseen by regulators in order to
ensure both that it will be safe and it will benefit our economy
through the creation of good jobs. Regulators must hold new entrants in
the national airspace system to the same level of safety that we expect
from existing stakeholders and ensure that workers are prioritized in
the development and implementation of policies affecting AAM. The TWU
strongly believes the maintenance and dispatching standards that govern
commercial airlines should be applied to AAM operators. Additionally,
regulators must contend with how AAM comports with existing labor
standards at legacy transit modes--chiefly, public transportation and
commuter rail lines--in communities where this new technology seeks to
penetrate the market.
The TWU applauds the House for the thoughtful approach to AAM. This
language stands in stark contrast to Senate proposals that would
empower new entrants at the expense of safety and workers. H.R. 3935
will not be the last piece of legislation Congress considers on AAM,
but it is the appropriate legislation that workers need now to prepare
for the next generation of flight. We will continue to advocate for
robust regulatory guardrails that guarantee the nation's continued
leadership in aviation and protect jobs and hard-fought labor
standards.
H.R. 3935 reestablishes the clear right of states and localities to
establish labor standards
In states and localities across the country, air carriers are
actively fighting to exclude their workers from labor laws. These laws
governing minimum wage rates, meal and rest breaks, family and medical
leave have long been understood to be state issues. Airlines have
invented an anti-worker argument that has been rejected by nearly every
court where it has been raised. As a result, they turned to Congress to
attempt to overturn half a century of precedent. H.R. 3935 firmly
rejects this effort and solidifies the right of airline workers to
benefit from state and local labor laws.
Exempting airline workers from state and local labor laws would
significantly dampen efforts to recruit new mechanics, dispatchers,
ramp workers, and flight attendants who would not be able to rely on
the benefits that are enshrined in state and local statute for workers
in every other industry. In many localities, were the airlines'
proposal enacted into law, airline work would instantly become sub-
minimum wage work. It would instantly cause a mass exodus of workers
moving to every other job in an area that guaranteed health care, sick
leave, and other state-level benefits. Rejecting this proposal has not
only saved the current generation of airline workers from poverty, but
has also ensured that there will be a next generation of airline
workers.
Airline workers need H.R. 3935 enacted into law now
We know the solutions to the well-documented problems affecting
aircraft mechanics, ground workers, flight attendants, customer service
agents, dispatchers, and other airline employees. In many cases, we
have known these solutions for years. H.R. 3935 is a bold piece of
legislation that enacts these solutions. A fully reauthorized FAA with
the powers, authorities, and direction included in H.R. 3935, will
provide certainty to the industry, equip the agency with the policy
tools necessary to ensure the safety and economic well-being of our air
system, and prepare airline workers for the next generation of American
leadership in the aviation industry.
Short-term extensions are anathema to all of these goals. While it
may be politically expedient to continue to extend the FAA's existing
authority, neither airline employees nor the traveling public stand to
gain from the status quo. Once again, the TWU greatly appreciates the
House of Representatives for its diligent work in passing an FAA bill
earlier this year. We join you in calling on the Senate to finish its
work and get a bill--ideally H.R. 3935--to the President's desk.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the subcommittee on
these important issues. The TWU looks forward to continuing to work
with the committee to advance policies that will improve workers'
safety and well-being in the airline industry and beyond.

Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Peterson.
Mr. Cohen. I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record
the following: a letter from members of the Federal Aviation
Administration's Management Advisory Council in their personal
capacity from November 27, 2023; a letter from Airlines for
America, November 29, 2023; a letter from Aerospace Industries
Association from November 29 of this year; a letter from
associations representing the general aviation industry from
November 30 of this year; a letter from Reliable Robotics from
November 30 of this year; and a letter from the American
Society of Travel Advisors, all supporting the timely passage
of a long-term and comprehensive authorization.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Without objection, so ordered.
[The information follows:]

Letter of November 27, 2023, to Hon. Charles E. Schumer, Majority
Leader, and Hon. Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, and
Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, and Hon. Hakeem S. Jeffries, Minority
Leader, U.S. House of Representatives, from Private-Sector Members of
FAA's Management Advisory Council, Submitted for the Record by Hon.
Steve Cohen
November 27, 2023.
The Honorable Chuck Schumer,
Majority Leader,
United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
The Honorable Mitch McConnell,
Minority Leader,
United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
The Honorable Mike Johnson,
Speaker,
United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries,
Minority Leader,
United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
Dear Senator Schumer, Senator McConnell, Speaker Johnson, and
Representative Jeffries:
We are private sector members of the Federal Aviation
Administration's Management Advisory Council (MAC), established by
Congress to provide guidance to the FAA about critical aviation issues.
Appointed by the Secretary of Transportation, our members have years of
experience in virtually all aviation sectors. We are, however, writing
this letter in our personal capacities.
We commend the strong, bipartisan vote in the Senate to confirm
Mike Whitaker as FAA Administrator. Given our involvement with the MAC,
we call to your attention the urgent need for Congress to act upon
legislation to reauthorize the FAA and approve a FY2024 appropriations
that fully funds the agency at the President's requested level before
the end of 2023 to give Administrator Whitaker the tools to support his
and the agency's efforts.
Congress has held numerous hearings this year on the many
challenges facing the FAA, and the House-passed FAA Reauthorization
bill and the version pending before the Senate Commerce Committee
address many of these. These include a focus on addressing critical
aviation safety issues such as air traffic controller staffing, runway
incursions, and cybersecurity, as well as investments in airports and
improvements to the agency's regulatory and certification processes and
aging air traffic infrastructure. Finally, both bills address critical
efforts to advance the FAA's and industry's workforce and enhance the
FAA's standing internationally as well as U.S. industry efforts to
remain global leaders in aviation safety and innovation.
We were hopeful that Congress would enact reauthorization
legislation well before the 2018 law expired. We were also hopeful that
the repeated threat of a government shutdown would be avoided.
During the last government shutdown, FAA's air traffic controllers
and aviation safety inspectors worked without pay. And while they
eventually received backpay, we remain very concerned with the added
stress and distraction that working without a paycheck will place on
them and their families. This is compounded by the fact that current
air traffic controller staffing is woefully inadequate (over 1,000
fewer than a decade ago) and they are now being asked to work 10-hour
shifts, six days a week. National Transportation Safety Board Chair
Jennifer Homendy raised these fatigue concerns for controllers and
other aviation workers in her recent Senate testimony before the
Aviation Subcommittee.
Even though aviation users pay for the vast majority of FAA's
budget, there has been unstable and unpredictable funding for over two
decades due to lapsed appropriations, short-term CRs, and short-term
authorizations. If ever there was a time and opportunity to reverse
this troubling trend it is now.
Every FAA action we expect the agency to take to maintain and
enhance our nation's aviation system requires passage of a robust
authorization and a fully funded, full-year appropriations.
Congress needs to act now, and we very much appreciate your
consideration of our views. If you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely yours,
Donna McLean.
Linda Hall Daschle.
Peter Bunce.
Will Ris.
Jeffrey N. Shane.
Linda P. Jojo.
Huntley A. Lawrence.
Rich Santa.
Brian P. Wynne.
Chris Hart.

CC: The Honorable Patty Murray, Chair, Senate Committee on
Appropriations

The Honorable Susan Collins, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on
Appropriations

The Honorable Brian Schatz, Chair, Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

The Honorable Cindy Hyde-Smith, Ranking Member, Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development

The Honorable Maria Cantwell, Chair, Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation

The Honorable Ted Cruz, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation

The Honorable Tammy Duckworth, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on
Aviation

The Honorable Jerry Moran, Ranking Member, Senate Subcommittee on
Aviation

The Honorable Kay Granger, Chair, House Committee on
Appropriations

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member, House Committee on
Appropriations

The Honorable Tom Cole, Chair, House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

The Honorable Mike Quigley, Ranking Member, House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

The Honorable Sam Graves, Chair, House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure

The Honorable Rick Larsen, Ranking Member, House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure

The Honorable Garret Graves, Chair, House Subcommittee on Aviation

The Honorable Steve Cohen, Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on
Aviation

Letter of November 29, 2023, to the U.S. Senate from Nicholas E. Calio,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Airlines for America, Submitted
for the Record by Hon. Steve Cohen
November 29, 2023.
United States Senate,
Washington, DC 20510-1304.
Dear Senator:
As we approach the end of the calendar year and the expiration of
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization, Airlines for
America (A4A) urges Congress work to pass a five-year FAA
reauthorization as quickly as possible. We are grateful for the work
that has been done thus far and are hopeful more progress can be made
to ensure a long-term, bipartisan and commonsense bill.
The goals of the U.S. airline industry remain the same: the FAA
reauthorization should provide long-term safety, stability and a
congressional understanding of `do no harm' by excluding policies that
could adversely impact the consumers and airline employees that are so
important to our industry. Reforming inefficient government processes,
retiring outdated technology and demanding public sector accountability
while providing for the global gold-standard of safety will help to
drive domestic economic growth, promote job creation and--most
importantly--improve the travel experience for the millions of
Americans who fly or ship cargo every day.
The importance and need for a long-term FAA reauthorization cannot
be overstated, especially at this crucial moment in time for the
agency. Because of its size and the multitude of responsibilities
ranging from regulator to operator, the FAA must be able to operate in
a stable and predictable environment. History has shown that even minor
disruptions to FAA funding and/or authorizations can have lasting
impacts on the agency's ability to provide its most basic services.
Without a long-term reauthorization, the agency will continue to be a
safety regulator that is behind schedule on existing mandates and is
struggling to maintain a legacy air traffic control (ATC) system, let
alone operationalize NextGen priorities or address the acute and
material air traffic controller shortage.
Our aviation system moves over 45,000 flights, 2.5 million
passengers, and more than 59,000 tons of cargo every day across more
than 29 million square miles of airspace. Commercial aviation in the
U.S. contributes 5% to the domestic gross domestic product, accounting
for $1.25 trillion in 2022, while also supporting more than 10 million
American jobs. We have the safest, most efficient and most complex
system in the world. A requisite component of that vast U.S. aviation
system is a well-funded FAA with long-term policy stability and
accountability measures in place that will allow it to catch up, adapt
and modernize.
As you prioritize Congressional action through the rest of the
118th Congress, we implore you to take action and complete a
bipartisan, commonsense long-term FAA reauthorization.
Respectfully,
Nicholas E. Calio,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Airlines for America.

Letter of November 29, 2023, to Hon. Charles E. Schumer, Majority
Leader, and Hon. Mitch McConnell, Republican Leader, U.S. Senate, and
Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, and Hon. Hakeem S. Jeffries, Democratic
Leader, U.S. House of Representatives, from Eric Fanning, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace Industries Association, Submitted
for the Record by Hon. Steve Cohen
November 29, 2023.
The Honorable Chuck Schumer,
Majority Leader,
United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
The Honorable Mitch McConnell,
Republican Leader,
United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
The Honorable Mike Johnson,
Speaker,
United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries,
Democratic Leader,
United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
Dear Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Schumer, Republican Leader
McConnell, and Democratic Leader Jeffries:
The Aerospace Industries Association's nearly 330 member
companies--from America's leading manufacturers of commercial aircraft,
engines, avionics, and air traffic control systems to family-owned
businesses comprising our supply chain--applaud the leadership of the
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for their years-long
work in developing bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
reauthorization legislation that will help move the aviation industry
forward. We are grateful for the House-passed Securing Growth and
Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act and hope that the Senate
will soon pass its own version of this legislation before current
aviation tax authorities expire on December 31, 2023. Reauthorization
of the FAA is Congress' critical tool for setting civil aviation on a
long-term course to success. Improved regulatory and safety processes,
a stronger workforce pipeline, and restored global leadership at the
FAA--all key tenets of this year's reauthorization legislation--should
not be held up any longer.
The aviation industry is critical to the country's economic
prosperity. In 2022 alone, our industry generated $418 billion in
economic value, representing 1.6 percent of total gross domestic
product (GDP) in the U.S.\1\ Throughout the history of flight, the
United States has led the way in aviation safety and innovation, thanks
in part due to the ingenuity of American industry, but also in part due
to appropriately tailored policies and regulations provided via the FAA
reauthorization bill. Today, not only are we maintaining our role as
the gold standard for safety and certification, but the industry is
also on the cusp of incredible technological advancements that will
change the way Americans travel. Enacting FAA reauthorization this year
is critical to advancing America's leadership in aerospace and
unlocking this potential.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.aia-aerospace.org/industry-impact/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On November 15, 2023, the FAA's National Airspace Safety Review
Team released a report stating that Congress' stop-and-start process of
funding and authorization activity ``has slowed down the implementation
of key technology modernization programs'' amongst other challenges.\2\
Both the House and Senate legislation include key provisions to
understand how technologies like model-based systems engineering will
enhance safety in the certification process. Both bills would also
ensure that the Advanced Air Mobility industry can work with the FAA to
make that new sector of aviation a reality by ensuring proper oversight
of the Powered-Lift Special Federal Aviation Regulation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ NAS Safety Review Team Report FINAL 20231115docx (faa.gov)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The aviation workforce pipeline would also be strengthened by
broadening the FAA's current Workforce Development Grant Program to
aviation manufacturing. This is vital as our industry seeks to attract
the next generation of talent for high-paying, highly skilled jobs. To
further strengthen our global leadership in aviation, FAA
reauthorization legislation will improve enforcement of bilateral
aviation safety agreements, ensuring we can continue to compete on the
world stage. Now that the FAA has a confirmed Administrator in place,
we believe it is vitally important to give him these new tools and
authorities without further delay, to make our aviation system safer
and more competitive.
These provisions represent only a snapshot of the bipartisan
benefits both the House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills will bring
to the traveling public, the aviation industry, and to our economy
generally. I urge you to make this bill a priority so that it can be
enacted by the end of this year.
Sincerely,
Eric Fanning,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace Industries
Association.

Statement of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association et al. (general
aviation organizations), Submitted for the Record by Hon. Steve Cohen
Chair Graves and Ranking Member Cohen,
Our organizations collectively represent the broad spectrum of the
general aviation industry including business and personal
transportation, pilots and aircraft owners, aviation businesses, and
state aviation officials. Our community fully supports the completion
of a long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) as it is important to safeguarding the operations of the National
Airspace System (NAS). As we have seen in the past, short-term
extensions challenge the certainty that industry and the FAA depend on
to enable long-term planning and investment in many critical areas
required to ensure the safety of the NAS and America's global
leadership in aviation.
The general aviation industry contributes an estimated $247 billion
in economic output and supports 1.2 million jobs in the United States
while supporting critical services and providing an essential lifeline
to thousands of communities nationwide. Operating at our nation's
network of more than 5,000 public-use airports, 13,000 private airports
and airstrips, and 5,500 heliports, general aviation is an integral
part of the national transportation system that connects rural areas
with air travel options and forges links between businesses, their
suppliers, and their customers. General aviation operations include
emergency medical personnel and supplies delivery, disaster relief and
recovery, search and rescue, agricultural aviation activities,
recreational pursuits, personal transportation, and more. In addition,
the industry supports commercial aviation by training a significantly
large percentage of airline pilots.
We commend the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure and its leadership on the passage of
the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act,
H.R. 3935. This bipartisan legislation reauthorizes the FAA's aviation
safety and infrastructure programs for five years and provides the
multi-year structure, resources, and direction the FAA needs.
Additionally, H.R. 3935 recognizes the vital national role of our
industry by including the first-ever general aviation title, which
makes critical reforms to FAA services of specific interest to our
industry segment. This bill enables the FAA to move forward on areas of
significant importance to general aviation including workforce
development, regulatory process improvement, airspace modernization,
and the development and enabling of new technologies.
On behalf of the general aviation industry, we thank Chairman
Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen,
and the subcommittee for holding this hearing and highlighting the
importance and urgency of completing long-term FAA Reauthorization.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Experimental Aircraft Association.
Helicopter Association International.
National Association of State Aviation Officials.
National Air Transportation Association.
National Business Aviation Association.

Statement of Robert W. Rose, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer,
Reliable Robotics Corporation, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Steve
Cohen
Chairman Garret Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and members of the
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on
Aviation:
Thank you for holding this hearing to discuss the importance of
passing a long-term bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). Reliable Robotics appreciates the dedication of
House Aviation Subcommittee members and staff on the bipartisan passage
of the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act
(H.R. 3935), which provides a long-term authorization and targeted
policy direction to the FAA. Our nation's leadership in aviation is not
guaranteed, and advancing a FAA reauthorization bill that provides the
agency with the tools, resources, and focus to safely integrate
advanced technologies and operations into the National Airspace System
(NAS) is crucial for United States competitiveness.
Reliable Robotics was founded in 2017 to develop and bring to
market aviation safety-enhancing technologies, including auto-land,
auto-taxi, and auto-takeoff, as well as high-integrity navigation and
remote piloting capabilities. Our technologies enhance aviation safety
by preventing controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and loss of control
in flight (LOC-I), which account for the majority of fatal aviation
accidents. In addition, high-integrity navigation will provide safer
access to thousands of general aviation airports in more weather
conditions without costly ground-based infrastructure.
Consideration of the FAA reauthorization bill comes at a pivotal
time for the United States as technologies that will significantly
improve aviation safety and connect more communities with air service
are within reach. Thanks to a detailed process to integrate stakeholder
inputs, H.R. 3935 meets today's challenges by providing the FAA with
the organizational structure, workforce and policy direction to fully
integrate advanced technologies into the NAS.
In addition to providing the dedicated FAA workforce with certainty
through a long-term reauthorization, H.R. 3935 includes specific
provisions that will expand United States competitiveness in advanced
aviation. For example, the bill includes targeted organizational
changes to modernize the agency, including creating an FAA Deputy
Administrator for Safety and Operations, which will improve
coordination across the FAA on the certification of safety-enhancing
technologies. This leadership position will be responsible for aviation
safety, aircraft certification, air traffic, and other critical agency
functions. Having a single reporting point for these functions will
improve coordination across the FAA, especially for projects involving
advanced technologies where engagement from aviation safety, air
traffic, and other lines of business is necessary for safe and
efficient airspace integration. The reporting structure for the new
Deputy Administrator and the fact that it is a career position will
also provide leadership continuity at the FAA.
Modernizing how the FAA communicates with applicants throughout the
certification process will streamline operations at the agency and
improve resource allocation. Through the newly established FAA
Ombudsman, H.R. 3935 will address this by advancing efforts to create a
portal that provides applicants and the FAA status information on
certification applications and other submissions. The agency currently
has multiple systems to track certification projects, but there is no
single source of data on project status or which FAA offices are
engaged in the review. Investing in this capability will modernize how
the FAA engages with applicants while improving responsiveness to
information requests. This portal and the requirement that the
Ombudsman ensures an initial 10-day response to covered submissions
represent significant improvements to the certification process.
As advanced technologies move from the FAA certification process
into operation, addressing delays in the FAA rulemaking, guidance and
technical standards approval processes are top priorities. The
Assistant Administrator for Rulemaking position created under H.R. 3935
will provide the leadership level attention the FAA requires to
streamline and focus these efforts on the highest priority issues to
advance aviation safety. Dedicating additional leadership resources to
the rulemaking process and related efforts to develop approved means of
compliance for advanced technologies such as Detect and Avoid Systems
are examples of how this bill is targeting airspace integration
challenges.
Along with necessary organizational changes, H.R. 3935 focuses on
the FAA's staffing levels by analyzing critical competencies and
focusing resources on safety-focused positions in the Flight Standards
Service and Aircraft Certification Service. The bill provides the FAA
with the tools to improve the recruitment and upskilling of inspectors,
engineers, and other positions focusing on safety-enhancing
technologies and advanced automation. Additional delays in the passage
of a long-term reauthorization bill will delay the implementation of
these provisions and place the FAA further behind in meeting its
staffing requirements.
Another important focus area in H.R. 3935 are the technologies and
public policies needed to integrate safety-enhancing technologies and
large UAS into the NAS. Specifically, the bill improves the two-way
sharing of NAS data between the FAA and industry which is necessary to
fully integrate large UAS into controlled airspace. Along with data
sharing, the bill focuses on increasing ADS-B Out equipage which has
safety and airspace integration benefits. Despite the proven safety
benefits of ADS-B, more than 50,000 civilian aircraft are not equipped
with ADS-B Out. While these aircraft cannot operate in airspace where
ADS-B is required or require specific exemptions, the lack of equipage
limits safety benefits, especially at thousands of non-towered
airports. Also, other vehicles, including unmanned free balloons,
ultralights, and gliders, are not required to be ADS-B Out equipped.
Recent events demonstrate the safety and national security benefits of
expanding the ADS-B Out to these operations. We appreciate the
significant focus on both of these areas in the Securing Growth and
Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act and believe that the
included provisions will improve aviation safety.
Improving the process that the FAA utilizes to engage with
stakeholders on topics such as airspace integration and training
standards for remote pilots is an opportunity for the agency to keep
pace with rapidly developing technology. While the federal advisory
committee process has a history of providing the FAA with this input,
we appreciate that H.R. 3935 seeks to improve this. Currently, the
FAA's Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee (AAAC) is charged with
providing advice on an extremely broad issue set, from small UAS to
advanced automation and community engagement.
Unfortunately, this broad purview has limited the AAAC's ability to
engage on issues important to the advanced aviation community,
including remote piloting training standards and the transition to
digital flight. Through re-scoping the AAAC as the ``Unmanned and
Autonomous Flight Advisory Committee,'' H.R. 3935 will enable the FAA
and industry to focus on issues that are foundational for advanced air
mobility and remote piloting.
These are just a selection of provisions in the Securing Growth and
Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act that will improve aviation
safety and integrate advanced technologies into the NAS. Further delays
in the passage of a long-term reauthorization bill slow the
implementation of these critical policies, which are necessary for the
United States to retain and grow its role as the world leader in
aviation. In the near term, Reliable Robotics looks forward to working
with members of this Subcommittee and the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science & Transportation to continue our progress towards final passage
of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill.

Letter of November 29, 2023, to Hon. Sam Graves, Chairman, and Hon.
Rick Larsen, Ranking Member, House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, from Zane Kerby, President and Chief Executive Officer,
American Society of Travel Advisors, Submitted for the Record by Hon.
Steve Cohen
November 29, 2023.
The Honorable Sam Graves and the Honorable Rick Larsen,
Chairman and Ranking Member,
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 2165 Rayburn
House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.
Dear Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen and Members of the
Committee:
On behalf of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) and the
more than 160,000 travel advisors across the country we represent, I
write to submit the following into the record in advance of the House
Transportation and Infrastructure hearing on November 30, 2023, titled
``Turbulence Ahead: Consequences of Delaying a Long-Term FAA Bill.''
Established in 1931, ASTA is the world's leading professional
travel trade organization. Our current membership consists of more than
8,000 companies representing more than 90,000 travel professionals,
from the smallest home-based businesses to traditional brick-and-mortar
storefront agencies to the largest travel management companies and
online travel agencies. Together, they account for an annual payroll
output of $5.5 billion and annual revenues of $17.7 billion.
Those numbers are only sure to increase. Despite economic
pressures, people are spending more on travel than any other
discretionary purchase, according to ASTA surveys. Travel advisors are
experiencing an increase in demand with 22 percent of U.S. travelers
having used an advisor. Over 30 percent of ASTA members report that
more than half of their clients are using a travel advisor for the
first time.
Which is why the current reauthorization could not have come at a
better time. As Americans are traveling now more than ever, consumers
are understandably confused about the myriad policies surrounding air
travel. From travel advisories and various restrictions to airline fees
and delays/cancellations, consumers want to travel but find it
increasingly confusing. Nearly 70 percent of Americans agree that
``planning a trip is more complex now.'' It should come as no surprise
that 54 percent of consumers agree that a travel advisor can help them
better understand the issues regarding airline fees.
Travel advisors are the key to cutting through that complexity.
Responsible for the sale of roughly half of air travel in the U.S.,
travel advisors serve an indispensable role in our country's commercial
aviation system and the broader travel and tourism industry. In 2019,
travel agencies sold nearly 830,000 airline tickets per day,
representing 48 percent of total sales and aggregate spending of more
than $97 billion.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). Airline Sales Statistics.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As such, ASTA's current legislative priority is reauthorization of
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and we applaud the Committee
for its swift bipartisan passage of the legislation in June, and for
now bringing to light the consequences of further delaying its
progress.
The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act
(H.R. 3935) includes many of the provisions for which ASTA has been
advocating on behalf of our members since the beginning of the year--
and in some cases far longer. While comprehensive in scope, the bill
recognizes the invaluable role travel advisors play in the larger
travel and tourism ecosystem while serving as a key voice for
consumers.
The following provisions would particularly benefit travel
agencies, individual travel advisors and other similarly situated
third-party intermediaries that make up ASTA's membership and are
regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT):
Travel Agency Seat on DOT Consumer Protection Advisory
Committee (Section 704)--Adds a seat for ``ticket agents and travel
management companies'' to the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection
Advisory Committee, based on freestanding legislation (H.R. 3780)
introduced by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV). This provision will provide
valuable insights that are missing today and help the Department meet
its consumer protection mission.
New Consumer Advisory Committee, including Travel
Agencies (Section 708)--Creates a new ``Passenger Experience Advisory
Committee'' at DOT, with a seat for ticket agents among its membership.
The goal of the committee would be to advise the Secretary of
Transportation on ways to improve the passenger experience in air
transportation customer service, via biennial reports.
Disclosures in Offline Ticket Transactions (Section
709)--Requires DOT to implement a streamlined system for fulfilling air
consumer disclosure requirements during ``offline'' transactions (over-
the-phone, face-to-face) within 18 months of enactment. For more on the
challenges faced by travel advisors regarding the multiple disclosures
they are required by law and regulation to make today and justification
for Section 709, see ASTA's February submission \2\ to the committees
of jurisdiction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ American Society of Travel Advisors. ASTA to House & Senate
Authorizing Committees re: FAA Reauthorization. February 24, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Travel Agency Refund Obligations (Section 710)--Makes
clear that a travel agency's obligation to issue a client refund for a
cancelled or significantly changed flight is limited to scenarios where
it is in possession of the funds in question, which addresses ASTA's
concern regarding a separate, pending DOT rulemaking on airline
refunds.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ American Society of Travel Advisors. Travel Advisors to DOT:
Don't Put Us on the Hook for Airline Cancellations [Press Release].
December 14, 2022.

We appreciate the time and effort that went into this
comprehensive, bipartisan bill as well as the collaborative approach
taken in terms of stakeholder feedback. We further appreciate the
attention the Committee is giving the widespread implications of
inaction. Should you or your staff have any questions about ASTA's
viewpoints or any issue related to the travel industry, please do not
hesitate to contact ASTA's Vice President, Advocacy, Jessica Klement.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
Yours Sincerely,
Zane Kerby,
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Society of Travel
Advisors.

Mr. Graves of Louisiana. I now recognize the gentleman from
Minnesota, Mr. Stauber, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much. I first want to recognize
and thank both Chairmen Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, and
Ranking Member Cohen for their leadership to get this bill not
only through this committee, but allowing the process to go
forward.
The amendments, Mr. Bunce, you mentioned watching the
amendment process. That is exactly how it's supposed to work.
And I want to give--I just want to say thanks to every one of
you here, because your patience on this--this has been sitting
on Senator Schumer's desk for 5 months. You see the damage that
is happening. As an airport director, you see what we can fix.
And so, it is frustrating that we have great leadership on this
committee in a bipartisan fashion pushing an important
reauthorization bill, and the Senate sits on it for 5 months.
Look how much farther we could have been ahead. That is why we
have to change the way this town delivers legislation for the
American people.
We know that general aviation, commercial aviation is only
going to grow in the years to come. And I want to just, before
I make my comments, thank you all for your leadership, as well,
pushing us to make sure that the legislation fits the demands.
And Mr. Peterson, I first want to thank you for talking
about the workers, because this bill takes care of the workers
above and below the wings, which are so important--they have to
work together. So, I want to thank you.
In Minnesota, our local news organization, KSTP, recently
reported on the shortage of airplane mechanics and technicians
impacting the Minnesota aviation industry, particularly general
aviation. In the House-passed FAA reauthorization bill, we
tripled authorized funding for the FAA Section 625 Aviation
Workforce Development Program. These aviation workforce
development grants for aviation maintenance technical worker
support proposals that generate and increase interest and
prepare students to pursue aviation maintenance careers.
Mr. Bunce, what would this increased investment in the
section 625 program mean to the general aviation industry?
Mr. Bunce. Thank you, Representative Stauber. If you look
at a facility like Cirrus that you have in the district--and
Mr. Burchett also has Cirrus in his district--if you just take
that, we have had competition so much for being able to get
qualified workers into our factories. We all know what happened
during the pandemic. We all know all industries are short. But
if you look at then who we have to work with in the FAA, they
have also had a great drain of resources.
So, what you have done in section 625 is be able to not
only emphasize the importance of pilots--and of course, the
pilot situation right now, we are building training aircraft.
Both of the companies that I mentioned, both of you see that we
are putting a lot of training aircraft out. And because of what
we are paying pilots right now, this is starting to be solved.
It won't happen overnight.
But when you look at maintenance workers and factory
workers in aerospace, we have a critical shortage. One of our
companies forecasts for the next 20 years almost 700,000
technicians is who we need out there. And of course, industry
then competes with the FAA for that expertise. So, we have got
to build it both within the Federal agency that regulates us
and within our workforce.
So, we are very appreciative of what was included there.
Mr. Stauber. Mr. Bunce, you mentioned Cirrus Aircraft. In
their new facility I toured within the last month, I asked the
question, if you could hire workers today in just this
facility, they said they would take 200 today. And that is all
across the country. And so, I appreciate your comments.
Mr. Peterson, what other aspects of the House-passed bill
do you think will increase participation in the aviation
workforce?
Mr. Peterson. Yes, so, I would say that the bill obviously
funds areas for the maintenance technicians that we have been
looking for for years, and this is an area that has been
lacking as work has gone overseas. And unfortunately, that is
where the development has gone to. So, the investment in our
U.S. workforce, and getting students and educating them on why
they want to enter the career field is critical.
I was young when I decided to go into this career field,
realized this is what I wanted to do. But the schools that were
out there when I was growing up are no longer there, similar to
other trades. Reinvesting in this type of work and our younger
generation to do this work is critical, and it is critical
across all of the aerospace fields, whether it be
manufacturing, air traffic control, maintenance technicians,
pilots. All of us are--it is borne in your system and, again,
it is having the accessibility which has been diminished
recently, and I would say over the last 15 years.
Putting the investment back into our workers is what is
critical for the future.
Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much, and my time is up.
I yield back.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Stauber. I
recognize the gentleman from Tennessee, Ranking Member Cohen,
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Cohen. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Bradbury, firstly I would like to say I read your
resume and am impressed with what you have done to bring the
Portland, Maine, airport up to snuff and in a green fashion.
Our FAA bill proposes significant increases in annual
Airport Improvement Program funding. How will these funding
increases benefit commercial services and general aviation
airports, and in what ways do they address the infrastructure
needs outlined in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport
Systems?
Mr. Bradbury. It really is critical. I mean, what we have
seen is the flat funding with AIP has really caused us to--$13
billion a year is what the program has. There is $30 billion of
needs. This is a huge step in getting that infrastructure
built.
For us personally, additional discretionary will come
forward to help with our important safety projects. As I
mentioned in my oral remarks, our taxiway Alpha is a huge and
important safety program for the airport, not just Portland,
but across the country. Really, airports are really thankful
and appreciative of this change, after 20 years, in increased
funding for AIP.
Mr. Cohen. Our bill also includes changes in the AIP
formula, such as reducing the PFC turnback for large- and
medium-hub airports. How do these proposed formula changes
contribute to fair and efficient distribution of Federal funds
among airports?
And what impact might they have on the infrastructure
improvements and safety measures at different sized airports?
Mr. Bradbury. Certainly, safety is important on the ground,
just as it is in the air, and it is critical that we have the
needed funding. The PFC hasn't increased in years, so, making
it that our medium and large hubs can use more of the AIP funds
is critical.
The additional funding is really funding more projects. At
the end of the day, that is the reality. It increases the
amount of funding for aviation safety on the ground, and
aviation safety on the ground is getting that infrastructure
built and in place. Hugely critical.
Mr. Cohen. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Peterson, in addressing the issue of assault on airline
workers, what steps or action items has your Transport Workers
Union put forth to update employer assault prevention and
response plans, and what specific provisions does our bill
include to mitigate the threats faced by customer-facing
airline workers?
Mr. Peterson. Yes. Again, developing a task force that
involves labor and management together to look at those
critical areas, the bill provides for that.
It also provides the opportunity for penalties to be
announced if somebody assaults a worker and whatnot.

Post-Hearing Correction of Remarks from Gary Peterson, Executive
Director, Transport Workers Union of America
Mr. Peterson. Yes. Again, developing a task force that involves
labor and management together to look at those critical areas, the bill
provides for that.
It also requires the FAA to incorporate in pre-takeoff briefings a
statement informing passengers that it is against Federal law to
assault a crewmember.

Mr. Peterson. And again, I think the addition of not just
in the air, but on-the-ground assaults of workers at airports
has recently become even more critical. These are all elements
that need to be addressed, and they are addressed in the bill.
But certainly, having individuals know what the penalty can and
will be, and a mechanism for that is addressed in the bill.
What is not addressed in the bill is a no-fly list and some
of the things that we would have liked to have seen. Maybe in
the future those things will happen. Or what I think, more
importantly, is the bill addresses a way to diminish what is
happening, bring that temperature down, and bringing that
temperature down will hopefully solve a lot of the issues that
we are facing today.
Mr. Cohen. Thank you, and thank you for all the members of
your union who do so much to make our flying----
Mr. Peterson [interposing]. Thank you.
Mr. Cohen [continuing]. Much more safe and convenient.
Mr. Bunce, Colonel, your statements about the impact of a
delayed long-term FAA bill were quite compelling, especially
the remarks made in reference to unleaded avgas. Since
sustainability is a key topic within aviation currently, can
you briefly explain GAMA's role in the Eliminate Aviation
Gasoline Lead Emissions initiative, and why the transition to
unleaded fuel for piston-engine aircraft is important for the
environment?
Mr. Bunce. Sir, the EAGLE initiative, Eliminate Aviation
Gasoline Lead Emissions, is a very important one that brings
together all of the general aviation associations along with
the FAA to be able to work along with the EPA, which recently
released its endangerment finding, to all work on a solution
together.
And I am very proud to report that just--we just had a
press release earlier this week that success has been achieved
with the Piston Engine Aviation Fuels Initiative with one of
the companies that is going through that testing, which we do
up at the FAA Tech Center, to be able to check the endurance of
the fuel that they are offering, the unleaded fuel that they
are offering, to be able to go and solve this problem.
There is such a strong commitment, and the support from
what we have seen from this committee not only will help work
getting rid of the lead out of the avgas, but then also the
work that this committee is doing on sustainable aviation fuel,
and trying to push that forward is absolutely critical, and we
really appreciate the support so that turbine aviation, which
the airlines use--and of course, our turboprop aircraft and our
business jets use and our rotorcraft--is absolutely paramount
to be able to achieve the goals that we, as industry, both
general aviation and civil aviation, have set to be net 0 by
2050.
Mr. Cohen. Thank you, and I would yield back the balance of
my time.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Cohen. The other
gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Burchett, is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. Burchett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate my
colleague from Tennessee, Congressman Cohen.
Yesterday, I was talking to some young students, college
students, a group of Jewish folks, and I was talking to them
about Israel, of course, but I invited them into my office. And
one of them actually pointed out a Cirrus aircraft, a model of
it that was on my desk, and that he actually flew one of those.
And I thought that was pretty cool, and I appreciate you
mentioning that. We are very proud of that in our district.
And I apologize, I am wearing a coat. I am a little cold.
Pete Stauber, he was basically in shirt sleeves over here,
burning up. Of course, he is from Minnesota, so, I guess that
tells you why. And I am from Tennessee, so, I am just a little
cold over here.
But, Mr. Bunce, what role does your industry play in
implementing the FAA reauthorization?
Mr. Bunce. We work very closely with the FAA. I think
people realize, obviously, Mr. Santa's controllers do a
phenomenal job of keeping us safe and everything, but we have
routine interactions with the FAA all the time in the
certification and flight standards area. So, that part of the
FAA is very critical to us, and that part of the FAA is the one
that has had a tremendous drain in mid-level management and
also younger people.
Industry competes on wages, and a lot of people have just
simply left for the private sector. And so, it is of paramount
importance to us that those technicians that we work with are
trained properly, are back in the office so that they can
collaborate together, and those older heads that are still
there can train that younger workforce to be able to work with
a sector where technology is progressing so rapidly. And the
only way we will be able to keep up and our regulatory
authorities can be able to remain the gold standard for
aviation across the planet is to be able to have that training
and that working in the office together.
Mr. Burchett. On the same track, what do you think is the
best way for Congress--for us--to work with industry on that
implementation?
Mr. Bunce. I think what you have done also with workforce
development. But also, the FAA responds very strongly to
questions from Congress and pressure. And really, as each one
of these reauthorizations go through the process, you require
some rulemaking that is done. A lot of us in industry come to
you to ask for that rulemaking because things aren't happening
fast enough. So, having the FAA report to you on some metrics,
just an ability to see how quickly they process all of the work
that has to be done, there has got to be some type of
accountability, especially within the certification workforce,
that they provide industry answers to things like issue papers
that we often are required to put forward, and they just go
back and forth within the bureaucracy, and we don't get an
answer.
And any answer is better than no answer. If they say no, we
try to figure out how to go ahead and give them a new approach
to be able to have a positive answer. This is important.
Mr. Burchett. Let me ask you. Will the reauthorization--
will it help support the private-sector innovation?
Mr. Bunce. Absolutely. There is a lot of emphasis that you
all put in technology here. And when we look at advanced air
mobility, when we look at unmanned aircraft systems, technology
will provide some answers that help provide to Mr. Santa's
workforce some new technology out there, new methods to be able
to go and have the situational awareness to be able to handle
the increased amount of vehicles we are going to put into the
airspace.
And so, being able to address the significant workforce
issues that we have, coupled with providing the technology both
to pilots in the air, those that control unmanned aircraft
systems, and also providing Mr. Santa's workforce with new
technology will help us maintain this safety that we have come
to know and appreciate.
Mr. Burchett. Thank you.
Mr. Bradbury, can you provide us some examples of some
unnecessary redtape that the FAA reauthorization should
address? I know Mr. Bunce mentioned things back and forth.
Mr. Bradbury. Certainly. There have been a couple of
circumstances where Congress has set forth on land that was
purchased or procured with airport funds, and being able to use
that and put it into exceptional and market use, that has been
a slower process than anticipated, and I think misinterpreted
by the FAA Congress' intent. So, that is just one example that
we have seen that we are expecting improvement on with this
bill.
Mr. Burchett. OK. Mr. Chairman, I yield the rest of my
time. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Burchett. I
recognize the gentleman from Washington, the ranking member of
the full committee, Mr. Larsen, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you, Mr. Chair. In hearing
our discussion and hearing your testimony, I am struck by a
line Stephen Colbert used on his first show, when he named a
President and asked, ``Great President or greatest President?''
The FAA bill is a great bill, or is it the greatest bill?
Frankly, it is the greatest.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Larsen of Washington. And we need to see some movement
on it in the Senate, and I think your testimony outlines that.
Mr. Santa, though, this month on the Safety Review Team,
which is independent, this independent entity, published its
report on assessing risks. More than half of its
recommendations, 13 out of 24 recommendations, specifically
focused on air traffic controller staffing and training. Can
you yourself elaborate a little bit on the SRT's findings with
regards to staffing and training, please, for us?
Mr. Santa. Yes, thank you for the question. That report
exemplifies precisely the problems we have had for the past 10
or 15 years.
The FAA Office of Finance and Management has a staffing
model that has attrited our workforce to unsustainable levels.
We want to work to new entrants. We want to service general
aviation, cargo, commercial traffic, anything that comes where
the professional air traffic controllers--and we love aviation,
we love this industry, but with the current staffing levels,
capacity is reduced. It is not sustainable to maintain the FAA
Office of Finance and Management's report in the controller
workforce plan.
That is why it is so essential that your bill has the new,
tested, transparent, traceable, Collaborative Resource
Workgroup numbers as the plan for the controller workforce
plan. That will ultimately bring transparency and understanding
to the health of our air traffic control facility staffing,
which is abysmal right now. Six-day workweeks and ten-hour days
are not sustainable. One-man sectors are not sustainable. We
need more people in our facilities. With the maximum hiring for
the duration of the bill, that will help us tremendously. Thank
you.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Do you have some insight on what
the Senate is considering?
Mr. Santa. I don't have any insight, but working with them,
we would like precisely what is written in the House bill.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Probably no disagreement up here.
Mr. Peterson, the aviation workforce, as well, continues to
face some challenges, ranging from workplace conditions,
concerns over workplace conditions, to whether workers are
guaranteed the proper training and compensation. What are some
major challenges facing your members, and can you remind us
what our bill did about that?
Mr. Peterson. I think one of the key components of the bill
is all the investment in training, recurrent training and
current training.
The investment in the future for maintenance technicians,
training in the area of--I know we talked a little bit about
the wheelchairs, right, handling wheelchairs. The ability to
handle wheelchairs sounds simple except for how do you get it
from the level of the aircraft down to the ground level. The
infrastructure at the airports isn't necessarily in place. That
gets addressed in the bill. The training for folks on how to
move those wheelchairs gets addressed in the bill.
Again, there is some investment in training for flight
attendants for self-defense and those types of things.
What I can say is my view of what is in this bill--and this
body has done a great job of addressing things that we have
been talking about, as the workforce, for years. And it hits on
all of those. So, I mean, I could go through step by step, but
you guys have hit on all marks. And that is why this bill is so
critical in getting it done.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Do you have any insights on what
the Senate bill, Senate discussion is?
Mr. Peterson. I do not.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Does anyone have any insight on
what the Senate is doing?
Sorry. That is good enough for me. I appreciate it, and I
will yield back.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Larsen. I recognize
the gentleman from South Dakota, Dusty Johnson.
Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr.
Ranking Member. I love, love, love the topic of this hearing,
because I do think it is worth reminding every--this town loves
to languish, right? We make progress, and then it seems like
inertia grinds us to a halt.
But this committee got an impressive bipartisan work
product done on time. And again, I want to thank the chairman
and the ranking member for that. It was a pretty impressive
package, as has been alluded to a number of times. It had major
provisions that accomplished the major priorities that our
leadership talked about. I do want to highlight quickly a few
of the things that I fought for.
First off, encouraging the FAA to develop a digital, cloud-
based, interactive platform to speed environmental review so we
can get more of these infrastructure projects done in a timely
manner; an increase to the General Aviation Non-Primary
Entitlement Program; greater flexibility on the Airport
Improvement Program funding; and then commonsense reforms to
the Essential Air Service. We, of course, needed some reforms.
We also wanted to make sure that, while we were enacting those
reforms, we protected rural airports in places like Watertown,
Aberdeen, and Pierre in South Dakota.
This committee has done its work, and I think it is time
for us to continue to amp up the pressure so that Washington
can stop with the languishing of this long-term aviation
reauthorization.
A few questions for our panelists.
First off, Mr. Santa, talk to us a little bit about the
value of the Contract Tower Program to our National Airspace
System.
And then give us some sense, if we don't get a long-term
reauthorization, if there are any threats to airports.
Mr. Santa. Well, there are hundreds of communities serviced
by the Federal contract program. They are generally smaller
airports that serve mostly general aviation, and they are
valuable. We have controllers and facilities and fields that
generally wouldn't get that level of service due to that
program. That program is always up for debate when
reauthorization lapses, and I think it would be a difficult
pill to swallow, losing those facilities temporarily due to a
lapse of reauthorization.
Other than that, I know that in this bill, there is an
evaluation of some of the facilities.
As I said before, 10-year staffing models: It's a lifetime
in this industry. It changes every single day. So, evaluating
those to recapture some of the highest capacity facilities does
make a lot of sense, and it is included in the bill.
Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. And then for Mr. Bradbury, you
heard me talk about Essential Air Service. I think it is an
incredibly important provision to make sure that our country is
connected in the same way that interstate highways go through
rural areas as well. Talk to us about the impact to those most
rural airports if we don't have a long-term reauthorization
soon.
Mr. Bradbury. Certainly. I can speak right from Maine.
Maine is a large, rural State, and Essential Air Service plays
an important part in connecting a large, rural State to the
national air transportation system. Not only the national air
transportation system, but the worldwide air transportation
system. Critical. We have Essential Air Service at Presque
Isle. We have Essential Air Service in Augusta, Maine. And
Portland, Maine, is a small hub, but it is critical. Those are
just two examples for what becomes part of the national air
transportation system.
Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. So, if we don't have Essential
Air Service, or if there isn't the predictability of a 5-year
reauthorization, does that put any particular stress or
uncertainty onto these rural communities?
Mr. Bradbury. I believe it does. I certainly believe it
does. And by talking with those other airport managers in the
State, it is a concern, no question. I mean, we need
reauthorization to keep these programs going.
Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. I also talked about speeding
environmental review. Give us some sense of how that might
benefit airports. I know a lot of them have a number of
infrastructure projects they would like to get done over the
course of the next few years.
Mr. Bradbury. Certainly. I mean, every project, it is a
long process to get through some of the environmental review,
and sometimes it is even--when you miss certain deadlines in
that process, it can set a whole project back. We ultimately
get there, but every time we can speed that up and have the
same result, it is huge. It is really just about efficiency and
keeping costs lower, part of that efficiency.
Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. I mean, do you have a quick
horror story? What is the longest that you have heard of a
project going, from bid letting to completion, and maybe
slowdowns because of environmental review?
Mr. Bradbury. Yes, I do have a horror story. It was an
incident take plan, but it was with investigations in skat from
a rabbit that held up a project indefinitely until we could get
that all worked out with the Department of Inland Fisheries and
Wildlife. We were at the northern extreme boundary of a certain
type of rabbit.
Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. Thank you very much.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you. The gentleman from
Georgia, the other Mr. Johnson, is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for
holding this hearing. And thank you to the witnesses for your
testimony today.
In today's political climate, it is not often that
Americans see colleagues on both sides of the aisle on any
particular committee come together in a unified way to get
anything done. But that is exactly what happened when this
committee voted 63 to 0 back in July to pass the FAA
reauthorization bill out of committee, a bill that required a
four corners agreement to ensure that both sides came to the
table for the benefit of our constituents, but most
importantly, for the American people as a whole.
A few of my priorities as we crafted this legislation were
combating aircraft noise, strengthening aviation safety,
diversifying the workforce, and enhancing the air travel
experience for both passengers and workers, all of which I can
say this bill does a good job of addressing.
I was extremely proud to see the Willa Brown Aviation
Education Program to support outreach and educational
opportunities in underrepresented communities included. This
program would be instrumental in strengthening and diversifying
the U.S. aviation workforce, with the overarching goal being to
address the shortage of workers in the aviation industry.
Mr. Santa, adequate staffing levels not only enhance the
ability to manage increasingly complex airspace, but also
mitigate the risk of fatigue-related errors, ultimately
safeguarding the well-being of passengers and the integrity of
global air transportation systems. Your testimony states that,
`` . . . understaffing forces the FAA to assign mandatory
overtime to controllers on a regular basis.''
What are the safety risks that this kind of work schedule
creates for the National Airspace System?
Mr. Santa. Thank you for the question. It is all
exacerbated by the lack of staffing.
When you are working 6-day workweeks and making thousands
of decisions an hour on position, and none of them can be
wrong--the margin of error is not 0.0001, you have to be 100
percent accurate, because the safety of the passengers and the
industry rely upon you--and working 6-day workweeks, 10-hour
days, 200 hours a month, it is a strain, it is a stress. It is
fatiguing. And to eliminate or to combat that, we need maximum
hiring, and we need the controller workforce plan to have the
basis of the CRWG numbers, precisely what your bill does.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Is it possible that controller
fatigue may have played a role in any of the near-miss
incidents over the past year?
Mr. Santa. Those instances are still under investigation,
and we have party status with the NTSB, so, I can't comment on
those.
But fatigue is a factor in the capacity of the system, for
sure. The delays----
Mr. Johnson of Georgia [interrupting]. Are----
Mr. Santa [interposing]. Go ahead.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Air traffic controllers are only
humans, right?
Mr. Santa. That is correct.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Yes. Your testimony also talks
about the lasting impacts of extreme budget cuts such as the
across-the-board cuts from sequestration a decade ago. Can you
elaborate on what impacts these Republican-induced budget
squeezes, Government shutdowns, and even the threat of lapsed
funding, what that has had on controller hiring and the safety
of our airspace system?
Mr. Santa. Absolutely. I think Mr. Bunce put it clearly. We
need new technology, we need enhancements. And unfortunately,
with the FAA budget request, we are in sustainment and fix-on-
fail only.
A few stats are ASDE-X, which is an essential tool for
runway surface separation. It will not be expanded to any new
facilities. TFDM, which is an enhancement, was initially slated
for 89 facilities. It is down to 32 sites because of funding
issues. We have delayed enhancements to our legacy system, our
radar systems, that will impact the future to be able to handle
the increased traffic, systemwide.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Mr. Bunce, do you want to add a
final comment to that?
Mr. Bunce. It's not only some of the very expensive
technology that Mr. Santa just pointed out that just can't be
funded, but also what you have done in this bill is encourage
the ability for us to put the technology into lower cost
solutions that actually provide great situational awareness.
Right now, when--and both Rich and I are pilots, we all
carry these in the cockpit [indicating notebook]. Well, there
is technology out there right now where the controllers can
send us a taxi path electronically. And young people that are
new to flying and aviation, they are used to following a
magenta line, just like they do in their automobiles. Well, we
can transmit that magenta line to them. This thing talks to you
to say if you stray from it, and it gives you warnings. We
could put this out today, and it would enhance our surface
awareness capability with other very low-cost solutions. And if
we focus on that, we can provide the technology both on the
ground and in the air that really helps in the safety regime.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Thank you.
I thank the chair for his indulgence, and with that, I
yield back.
Mr. Yakym [presiding]. The Chair now recognizes Mr. Owens
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Owens. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Ranking Member Cohen,
and our distinguished guests and witnesses for taking the time
to shine a light on the devastating consequences of failing to
pass a long-term FAA reauthorization. While there is no
shortage of crises in this body to address, few are more
pressing than keeping airlines flying, passengers safe,
flightcrews on time, and air traffic control towers functional.
Air travel is becoming increasingly painful for both
passenger and crew alike. The fallout from no FAA
reauthorization only perpetuates the diminishing trust
Americans place in aviation infrastructure. We are in a
position to help restore confidence in air travel, and I think
I speak for this room: We all want to be a part of that
solution. Congress owes it to the nearly 3 million American
passengers who travel every day to get this bill over the
finish line.
Mr. Bunce, in your testimony you observed the industry is
going through an era of development and innovation in
technology that rivals the dawn of the jet age. Can you
elaborate how this FAA reauthorization differs from those in
the past, and why this time the stakes are higher?
Mr. Bunce. At this point in time, with technology moving as
rapidly as it is, we have to have the FAA keep up. And as I
mentioned earlier, we have to have the training available for
them to be able to understand the new technology. The experts
are out in industry. Our regulators need to be familiar with
that technology to be able to properly regulate and do the
safeguards that we all have seen over the last several years is
a great emphasis to this Congress and the American people.
And so, as we look at this rapid innovation in technology,
we have got to be smart on what electric technology does
because we are all looking--we were just talking about
Essential Air Service. We are going to be able to provide, with
advanced air mobility vehicles, not only the ones that fly
vertically, what we call eVTOL, but some of the conventional
takeoff and landing aircraft, an ability to be able to help
with rural America and be able to provide that transportation
to our hubs.
And we also can use the--our Nation has an incredible
network of airports that no other Nation has, over 5,000 public
use airports. Some of them have towers, some of them do not.
But by allowing the technology to move forward such as having
remote towers and a capability to be able to network all of our
facilities together, really provides us an ability to expand
and allow these new entrants to come into the airspace safely.
Mr. Owens. Thank you.
Mr. Bradbury, my brandnew hometown airport in Salt Lake
City is currently in phase 2 of a three-part, $5 billion
redevelopment. Can you explain the impact of a delayed FAA
reauthorization to Salt Lake City International Airport and
other airports undergoing modernization efforts?
Mr. Bradbury. Sure. I mean, the great thing of this bill
is, it's not just airside safety. It also will allow terminal
enhancements and gives us some flexibility in funding those
terminal improvements which will enhance the passenger
experience and the accessibility to our airports.
So, we really appreciate some of this thinking on the
process in this bill and the AIP program.
Mr. Owens. OK. And Mr. Santa, what benefits--now again, I
just want to kind of reemphasize some comments you made
earlier. I think everybody needs to hear this again. What
benefits could the National Airspace System realize if FAA
addressed the air traffic control shortage? Could this improve
operational tempos at airports or increase the amount of
traffic that can be handled in the Northeast?
Mr. Santa. Yes, capacity is immediately increased due to
more than one person working a sector. More eyes at the sector
allows higher capacity, better safety margins, better pilot
reports, and turbulence reports. It is a system that relies on
more bodies to run higher intensity traffic in the Northeast
Corridor or in Florida or in Las Vegas.
We are stressed so far now by single-sector operations that
the limiting factor--you are missing your connections, you are
missing your vacation destinations because capacity is reduced.
So, capacity is the biggest benefit of adequate staffing.
Mr. Owens. I also want to thank you guys here. I happen,
again, to live in Salt Lake City, in probably one of the most
innovative States in the union, and we are growing like crazy.
And it is based on how we handle our infrastructure, not only
Salt Lake City International Airport, but also Provo and
beyond.
So, we really need to get this done with, because cities
like ours need to make sure we can plan out in the future, and
that is based on how well you guys can plan out and put things
in place. So, thank you so much for what you are doing.
I yield back.
Mr. Yakym. The Chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from
California, Ms. Brownley.
Ms. Brownley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I hope this
strategy works by having this hearing today that will spur the
Senate to act with haste.
Mr. Peterson, thank you for mentioning Mr. Molinaro and my
bill in your testimony. And I really do appreciate your work to
ensure that aircraft are being maintained safely, regardless of
where in the world they happen to be repaired. Can you share
some examples of concerning maintenance work your members have
found on aircraft repaired outside of the United States?
Mr. Peterson. Sure, aircraft engine components held
together with tape, wire, which is completely out of
compliance. We found that as they have come back to the U.S.
Aircraft painted with flammable and toxic paints. Damage
repaired through a painting process, not doing the actual
repair, but just painting over the top of it. Doors installed
upside down and backwards.
We have also experienced along the way--and this isn't just
germane to the overhaul of the aircraft, but we have
experienced guns, drugs behind panels, hidden behind panels,
whether it be in the wheel well, avionics bays, or even in the
lavatories. It is a common thread that we find as these
aircraft go into these heavy maintenance facilities.
Accessibility--as a passenger, you see the outside of the
aircraft, the cabin and whatnot. As a maintenance technician,
we see behind those panels. Most of those panels don't get
opened unless there is something wrong. So, it is very easy to
do things and put things in places that don't get accessed for
many months or even years at a time. And this is a concern that
we have, obviously, with foreign facilities and access to
aircraft. This is one of the reasons why the FAA and their
ability to oversee and look at these facilities like they do
U.S. facilities.
I will give you a prime example: China. I don't know that
an inspector has been in China in years. They were doing
inspections by video. If they want to come on our property in
the U.S., they walk in and they can ask me any question they
want. In China, they need 6 months' notice to go visit a
facility. That's insane. And the standards are so different
that--we are held to this standard, they are held to that
standard. We need to be held to the same standard, and I am
proud of the standards we have here.
And that's why I'm passionate about the bill, I'm
passionate about the work that you guys have put forward. Those
are just some prime examples.
Ms. Brownley. So, are the airlines returning work to the
United States after they are aware of these instances?
Mr. Peterson. No, they just move it around, to be fair. We
do a lot of rework. We get airplanes back that are not in
flying condition, and we wind up redoing a lot of the work in
the U.S. to put it back in a flying state. Not the full check,
but pieces of that check.
So, again, the standards aren't the same. Who is doing the
aircraft maintenance, working on the aircraft, it is absolutely
not the same. And unfortunately, we wind up doing a lot of
repairs on other people's work. We have been blessed not to
have an accident, and I hope that never happens, but eyes on
these aircraft need to change.
Ms. Brownley. Well, having a blessing is not really the
right policy. But is the FAA taking any action under its
existing authority to enforce some of these safety rules?
Mr. Peterson. Well, the FAA has had--I will just use the
drug and alcohol piece of this. The FAA, that legislation, was
passed in 2012, I believe, and it's sad it hasn't been acted
upon. I am proud that that's addressed in this bill, and it
will move forward. The Office of Management and Budget has
moved that forward now.
That's a prime example of--we have drug and alcohol testing
for our folks. They don't have drug and alcohol testing. If
it's not necessary, then why are we doing it? And let me say
this, it's absolutely necessary. It is fundamental to what we
do. We all understand that.
Ms. Brownley. Thank you, sir, very, very much.
I don't have much time left, but Mr. Bradbury, I wanted to
ask you. I have done some work around sustainable aviation
fuel. From your perspective, what can Congress do in this
upcoming FAA reauthorization, to really help airports develop
SAF fueling infrastructure to increase the supply and provide
cleaner fuel?
Mr. Bradbury. The FAST grants are a good start, and we
appreciate that this reauthorization will keep that kind of
work moving.
We have submitted for one in the Northeast region through
Boston to really look at the logistics and the delivery of SAF
to the Northeast, so, looking forward to it. It is important,
and it is the way to really help on the carbon footprint of the
aviation system.
Ms. Brownley. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Yakym. I thank the gentlewoman. I now recognize myself
for 5 minutes. I would like to thank our chair, as well as our
ranking member, for their work on this FAA reauthorization, and
I am hopeful that we will get this across the finish line soon.
It was 142 days ago that this committee unanimously passed
its FAA reauthorization bill after a robust, open, transparent,
and bipartisan markup. It was 133 days ago that the House
passed this bill 351 to 69, after, again, a robust, open,
transparent, bipartisan floor process. It's good to finally see
some green shoots from our Senate colleagues, and I hope this
means that we can get back to work on a final bill very soon.
But as we eagerly await that, I commend the chairman for
convening this hearing to highlight some of the important
things that an FAA reauthorization means for all users of our
national airspace. It is things like ensuring our gold standard
of aviation safety, strengthening the general aviation
community, increasing funding and flexibility for airport
infrastructure, addressing the pilot shortage, and facilitating
the future of aviation with firm timelines for the FAA to
finally issue a beyond visual line-of-sight rulemaking for
unmanned aircraft systems, as well as final interim regulations
for advanced air mobility systems. There are these and so many
more provisions that will help propel our aviation industry
forward in the next 5 years.
Mr. Bunce, your testimony mentions the importance of
facilitating more timely, transparent, and accountable
promulgation of rulemaking, policy, guidance, and related
materials. Can you explain why the rulemaking process is so
critical to getting aviation innovation to the marketplace, and
how H.R. 3935 addresses these challenges?
Mr. Bunce. Sir, our industry is very unique. We really
can't do anything without a rule. So, if you have a very
laborious rulemaking process that takes years and years, what
happens is it doesn't keep pace with technology, but it also
allows for other authorities outside the U.S. to be able to
lead in aviation rulemaking. So, let me give you a few
examples.
I mean, we were looking at the cybersecurity rule. Pretty
darn important to be able to address cyber in this day and age.
It has been languishing.
We look at what is called SMS, Safety Management System,
rule. We have a critical rule in front of us right now that
impacts advanced air mobility, which we refer to as the SFAR,
and it is a Special Federal Aviation Regulation process. And if
we don't get this right, we will not lead the world in advanced
air mobility.
You mentioned BVLOS, beyond visual line-of-sight
operations. We are primed to do that, and I am very happy to
report that the differences between the traditional manned
aviation community that operates down in low altitude a lot to
a lot of our airfields, our helicopter fleets and that, now
that these companies are being able to equip with what we call
detect and avoid technology, a lot of that impasse now has
melted away. And it is time for the FAA to start moving to get
BVLOS across the goal line.
But if it takes years and years, one of the other problems
is, we don't let other authorities, when we go into what we
call ex parte, to participate in collaborative rulemaking.
That's just crazy. When you have a rule that takes 3 years
long, to not allow them, when comments come in and they
adjudicate those comments, to then go and coordinate with
somebody like EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency, is
crazy.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you. As a part of this FAA
reauthorization, I was proud to have a bipartisan amendment
that I co-led with my colleague from Nevada, Ms. Titus,
included in this bill. It was a simple amendment that requires
the FAA to set its air traffic controller hiring target at the
maximum number that can be trained at the FAA Academy through
all 5 years of the reauthorization.
Mr. Santa, you have talked about the challenges facing the
air traffic controller workforce, but can you talk a little bit
more about the importance of this specific provision in the
context of the overall bill?
Mr. Santa. Well, personally, I want to thank you for that
amendment. It will pay huge dividends for the air traffic
controllers, having maximum hire for 5 years.
As you heard, even maximum hiring for 5 years results in
understaffed facilities. If we don't pass this bill, and the
FAA Academy closes, and the hiring is suspended, we will be set
back even farther. But maximum hiring for the duration of the
bill will start, along with the Collaborative Resource
Workgroup being the basis for the controller workforce plan,
will start the healing of our facilities and the increasing of
the staffing in 313 facilities across the NAS.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Santa.
I yield back, and the Chair now recognizes the gentleman
from Arizona, Mr. Stanton.
Mr. Stanton. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for holding
this hearing. Thank you to each of the witnesses for being here
today.
The committee has worked hard to craft a strong, proactive,
and bipartisan 5-year Federal Aviation Administration
reauthorization bill and send it to the House floor, where it
passed overwhelmingly. We did our job. But in the 4 months
since, the Senate hasn't even held a committee vote on this
critical bill. And because they couldn't meet their original
deadline, the FAA is operating under a short-term extension
that expires on New Year's Eve, 4 short weeks away.
We need to keep our skies safe and our planes moving, in
part so people can see their friends and family, but also
because aviation is a key part of our national and
international economy. Arizona's aviation economy supports
nearly 19,000 jobs and contributes billions to the State and
the country.
Look, we have the safest and most efficient aviation system
in the world. This Thanksgiving was one of the busiest travel
days ever, and the women and men who staff our airports,
airlines, and air traffic control towers deserve credit for
keeping things running smoothly, as all airport workers did, as
well.
But one of the issues I hear about most often is aviation
workforce shortages, particularly air traffic controllers. And
overworked, understaffed air traffic control towers are one of
the contributing factors leading to the rise in harrowing near-
misses at airports nationwide. Over the last year, there have
been several near-misses at Sky Harbor in Phoenix, one of the
busiest airports in the world.
At Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, one of the fastest growing
commercial airports in the country, we just opened a brandnew
$30 million air traffic control tower. But staffing shortages
have forced the airport to reduce operations at the tower by 4
hours per day.
The House's FAA reauthorization, the one the Senate has yet
to take action on, increases FAA hiring targets for air traffic
controllers, sets up workforce development programs to improve
recruitment and retention, and sets up a pilot program to
convert towers staffed by private companies, like at Phoenix-
Mesa Gateway, to be staffed by FAA controllers.
It is not just airplane safety. Our bill also addresses
passenger safety, as well, particularly the safety of
passengers with disabilities. Just last week, a video went
viral showing ground personnel carelessly throwing a
passenger's wheelchair down a ramp, where it bumped off and
bounced across the tarmac, and we have a video.
[Video shown.]
Mr. Stanton. People depend upon these devices to move
around, to get to their jobs, to visit family and friends.
These mobility devices are not inexpensive. They can range up
to tens of thousands of dollars. And there needs to be
oversight on this carelessness, and I stand ready to work with
my colleagues here and with the Department of Transportation to
ensure everyone feels safe and able to travel.
Our House-passed FAA bill takes meaningful, commonsense
steps, many that I was proud to lead on, to improve the flying
experience for passengers with disabilities. My ADAPT Act,
WHEELChairs on Airplanes Act, and the Mobility Aids on Board
Improve Lives and Empower All (MOBILE) Act, were included in
the House-passed bill so that passengers with mobility issues
can have proper accommodations from boarding to seating, and
everything in between.
I think I speak for all of us here when I say that we will
keep working to get this bill across the finish line. Our
economy and the safety of the flying public depends on that,
and we need our colleagues in the Senate to be better partners.
Mr. Santa, I want to build on my colleagues' comments and
questions on how to better our air traffic controller workforce
to keep our skies safe. The Safety Review Team report, an
independent panel commissioned by the FAA to look at near-
misses, specifically talks about how the plan to replenish the
workforce is dated and, frankly, unrealistic.
Specifically, when accounting for retirements and other
attrition, the current plan reduces ``a negligible improvement
over today's understaffed levels,'' to the tune of less than
200 additional controllers on the job by 2032.
I have two questions: first, how can we attract more people
to be air traffic controllers; and second, if we can't, what
does this mean for the chances of more near-misses, or even the
possibility of collisions, at airports?
Thank you. And then after the question, I will yield back
to the chair.
Mr. Santa. Attracting people to the profession hasn't been
historically difficult. On a bid, we will get upwards of 10,000
applicants. The problem is the hiring process. The FAA Office
of Finance and Management does not feel that we are
understaffed. That's just frank. The controller workforce plan
that they have presented to you this year actually reduces our
numbers.
This is in a small workforce. We have 1,000 less certified
professional controllers than we had a decade ago. We only have
10,700 controllers. Removing 10 to 12 percent of that, it's not
sustainable.
So, getting people to apply generally isn't the problem.
Moving it from the failed FAA Office of Finance and Management
model to what is in your bill is a major solution.
Mr. Stanton. Thank you.
I yield back. Thank you.
Mr. Yakym. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from
Georgia, Mr. Collins.
Mr. Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think there has
been one common theme that I have heard over and over and over,
and that is modernizing and modernization. And it is true. And
it is not just in aviation, but it is in the entire Federal
Government. And I don't think it can be said enough, Mr.
Chairman, and we need to say it over and over and over again
that, yes, this committee unanimously passed a great bill, and
it passed the House overwhelmingly.
But, you all, I don't know what is going on in the Senate.
I mean, they must have one whale of a pickleball tournament
going on over there, because they certainly aren't getting
anything done. I mean, they have got bills stacking up
everywhere. And if I seem frustrated, yes, I am a little
frustrated because I actually had an amendment in the FAA
reauthorization, too, that studies hypersonics and getting it
incorporated into the national airspace. And this amendment
addresses a number of things we can't say enough: workforce
provisions, airport improvements, policies to help our general
aviation community.
So, Mr. Bunce, the Senate's delay in passing this
reauthorization bill, what FAA modernization provisions are
most pressing and need to get done now? And I know you have
said it, but I think it just needs to be said over and over
again.
Mr. Bunce. To be able to keep pace with technology, the FAA
has to have nimbleness in its rulemaking. By bringing an
Associate Administrator for rulemaking that this bill does,
elevates the importance of being able to get rules, policy, and
guidance out. We think that's very important, and I think the
Senate has similar provisions that are able to support that.
Likewise, what the House bill has done is also create a
Deputy Administrator for safety and operations. I think that is
extremely critical, because when we have a change in
administration or we have FAA Administrators that finish their
term, we need that continuity and stability to be in place, to
be able to go and keep all of the metrics that are required by
all of the different parts of the FAA to be able to hum along
and not have to reinvent the wheel every time we have a new
Administrator and Deputy Administrator.
And then the emphasis that we have on technology there and
the training of the workforce is so vitally important. We have
got to be able to have a workforce that is able to understand
the technology and to be able to certify it. And that
certification delays and everything puts us behind.
If we are talking about hypersonics, which we all support,
that is a holy grail to be able to get there. We have got to be
able to do also supersonics. But the rigor that is required and
the expertise that is not resident in the FAA right now would
make certifying that type of technology extremely difficult,
and this bill helps address that.
Mr. Collins. I appreciate it.
Mr. Bradbury, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport, the world's busiest airport, right now they have got a
multibillion-dollar modernization project going on that is
going to help improve efficiency and customer service. How is
delaying this reauthorization of the FAA going to affect those
projects?
Mr. Bradbury. I'm sorry, I missed the last part of that.
Mr. Collins. How is the delay going to affect those
projects?
Mr. Bradbury. Oh, it is critical. And again, it is both
operational and, for us, seasonal. So, there are very tight
construction schedules around the summer season for us that we
have to get the work done. And if we don't have a
reauthorization bill, and it's continuing resolutions, there is
no guarantee that we will have the funding in place to get
these really important projects underway and moving forward.
Mr. Collins. I agree with you 100 percent. I have been to
the airport, been to the tower.
Mr. Santa, I just want to finish up with a comment. I have
been to TRACON in South Atlanta, met with the air traffic
controllers. Great people. A lot of them are veterans, very
proud of what they do.
But I am going to tell you something. There are two things.
NOTAM, yes, it failed. It is 30-year-old software. And instead
of our FAA concentrating on improving that software, what did
they do? They spent tens of thousands of dollars to write a
179-page ruling to change it from Notice to Airmen, to Notice
to Air Missions, and it certainly didn't make it any safer,
because it failed.
And the other thing I would like to say is the fact that we
have an FAA that is more focused on hiring people based on DEI
and wokeness instead of qualifications is one of the main
reasons that you are seeing a lot of your air traffic
controllers retire or quit, because they don't want to be
responsible when someone comes in and something drastic happens
because we have an FAA that is being led by a Secretary of
Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, who is totally unqualified, has
no idea what he is doing, and is pushing nothing but a
socialistic experiment on an industry that he doesn't know
anything about.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana [presiding]. Thank you, Mr.
Collins. I recognize the gentlelady from Kansas, Ms. Davids,
for 5 minutes.
Ms. Davids of Kansas. Thank you, Chairman Garret Graves and
Ranking Member Cohen, for holding this hearing today. And thank
you also to Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Larsen for
their leadership on passing a commonsense reauthorization of
the Federal Aviation Administration in the House.
Like many across the country, my holiday travel last year
was impacted by some of the widespread flight delays and
cancellations that we saw. And while our country's skies are
absolutely the safest in the world due to the hard work of our
pilots and air traffic controllers, flight attendants, ground
crews, and more, we have seen a troubling uptick in the near
collisions at airports in our country, and these kinds of
disruptions have become far too frequent, costing travelers
both time and money.
And this year, House Republicans and Democrats came
together without theatrics to pass a bipartisan piece of
legislation to reauthorize the FAA. The bill contains
provisions that are going to have a huge impact on our flying
experience as well as the economy, not just in my district, but
across the country.
And as a member of this committee, I have been working hard
to ensure that the voices of the constituents in my district in
Kansas are heard during this process. And while I was glad that
the measures to protect Kansans' financial security and safety
and to boost domestic manufacturers made it into the final
bill, the reauthorization that we passed here hasn't been taken
up by the Senate, which we have heard from multiple of my
colleagues.
The reauthorization we passed included consumer protections
that require airlines to reimburse passengers for unexpected
meal and hotel costs, and to establish policies allowing
passengers to sit next to their young children. It also
contains improved safety standards for air travel to help
decrease airport near collisions, to review airplane emergency
medical kits, evacuation procedures, and improve cabin air
quality.
And also, we saw the reauthorization in a bipartisan way
uplift our local aviation workforce, boost domestic
manufacturing, which is especially important in my State of
Kansas, where we have a really strong legacy of aviation.
And finally, this bill is going to improve and promote
hiring of more air traffic controllers and strengthen the
talent pipeline for pilots, maintenance technicians, and
aviation manufacturing workers. And all of this is good stuff.
There are, of course, pieces of the legislation that I
disagree with. I am sure there are pieces of the legislation
that my colleagues disagree with. But the nature of coming
together in a bipartisan way requires that we figure out how to
get that done. And we all understand the benefits of a strong
system to ensure that our economy continues to move forward.
Passage of the FAA bill is exactly how our Federal
Government should be operating. We saw that here in this
committee, people from both parties coming together to find
solutions to some of the most pressing issues that we are
facing as a country. Pragmatism, compromise: these are things
that make this work possible, and we have gotten to see that
here. I really hope that the Senate will consider the version
of the FAA reauthorization that we have put forward, and I will
look forward to working on a final compromise with what they do
end up getting done.
Mr. Bunce, I do want to chat with you for a moment about
the FAA reauthorization that we passed and the provisions that
focus on strengthening the safety workforce, improving the
agency's rulemaking, which I have heard from you about today,
even. And I would love to hear a bit more about the provisions
in the House version of the bill that you see as improving the
industry's safety and competitiveness in this increasingly
competitive global market that we are in.
Mr. Bunce. Thank you, Ms. Davids. First of all, thank you
for your emphasis on advanced air mobility. Things like mobile
clearances, that's going to be able to facilitate the ability
to get these vehicles into the airspace.
But again, as I mentioned earlier, the rulemaking itself,
policy and guidance needs to be more nimble and streamlined
because we are losing our edge in the world environment when
other authorities can be able to promulgate rulemaking much
faster. And we all know we have to comply with the
Administrative Procedure Act, but we have got to be able to
audit our processes, be able to look at it and look at what
other Federal agencies do to be able to have more nimble
rulemaking to get through the process. Sometimes it is taking
5, 6 years, and the advanced rulemaking just sits on the shelf
while other countries take what was done and are able to apply
it.
So, that and the emphasis on technology and on workforce,
all of the things that have been mentioned in this hearing so
far, are so critical to maintain our safety and to be able to
improve as we put more vehicles into the airspace.
Ms. Davids of Kansas. Thank you. And thank you to all of
our witnesses for being here today and emphasizing the
importance of this work.
I yield back.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Ms. Davids. I recognize
the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Van Drew, for 5 minutes.
Dr. Van Drew. Thank you, Chair. I am in strong support of
passing a comprehensive and long-term FAA reauthorization. In
the House bill, we have secured a number of big wins for the
United States of America.
I am most proud to say that our bill makes the William J.
Hughes Technical Center permanently located in southern New
Jersey, and more specifically, dedicated to advanced aerospace.
The newly named FAA Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace
will provide steady jobs, and most importantly, an opportunity
for technical advancement aimed at bettering the safety and the
capabilities of air travel. It's important.
Also important is the amendment that will improve the
protections for people with disabilities in our travel
industry. The air travel experience should be a pleasant and
safe one for everyone, for all people, so, ensuring quality
access is of utmost importance.
American aviation today faces numerous problems, ranging
from air traffic controller shortages, safety issues with
documented near-misses of aircraft, a rising number of
cancellations, and our inability to keep up with advancing
technology. Staffing shortages are plaguing aviation. This not
only has detrimental impacts on our economy and the labor
workforce, but also the safety capabilities of our aviation
industry. This is serious stuff.
Specifically relating to the staffing shortages, Mr.
Santa--and I have to digress for a minute. I love your name,
man. Santa. It's perfect for this time of year. You're just too
skinny.
Mr. Santa. Thank you.
Dr. Van Drew. Do you ever have fun with it?
Mr. Santa. Never, ever.
Dr. Van Drew. Never?
[Laughter.]
Dr. Van Drew. Well, see--OK. I am, right now. If I were
you, I would. But anyhow, I've got to get on. These questions
are for you.
What are the safety implications of the staffing shortages,
and what can be done to ensure that safety isn't further
affected?
Mr. Santa. As I have said numerous times before, safety is
our priority. No matter what the staffing at the facility
levels are, no matter how critically staffed we are, and no
matter what plan the FAA Office of Finance and Management puts
out to reduce our numbers, safety is our priority. We are proud
of it. We are professionals. We are dedicated to our skills.
And it takes a lifetime to learn how to become a good
controller. You are continually getting better.
So, with that priority focus, the capacity is reduced,
obviously. With single-sector positions, and with the increase
in traffic by new users--general aviation is up, cargo is
obviously up--the deficiency comes in. You just can't work that
much traffic with the understaffed situations in our
facilities. But safety is always a priority.
Dr. Van Drew. And we can't say it too many times. What role
has the FAA Office of Finance and Management played in the
current controller staffing model? What is their role?
Mr. Santa. The biggest detriment is the staffing model that
the FAA Office of Finance and Management employs. They report
to industry and to Congress a much healthier situation than is
actually out there. Last year, they reported our facilities at
102 percent staffed by using erroneous and flawed information.
Our facilities are not 102 percent staffed. They are critically
staffed. We are thousands below even an old, 10-year-old
number.
And the new CRWG numbers that desperately need to be
implemented, they have been jointly collaborated. The FAA's ATO
and NATCA collaborated on these numbers. The experts in the
facilities collaborated and determined these numbers as what is
needed to service the industry, service the traffic, and the
FAA has refused to implement those. And that is why this bill
is so important.
Dr. Van Drew. I appreciate your answers. And the bill is
important, man. We've got to get moving--not us. But we have
heard that theme over and over and over today about the Senate.
I hope they watch this hearing. If Congress doesn't pass a
long-term funding solution to the FAA, America is at risk of
losing its competitive edge in our tech race against China,
which is real.
Mr. Bunce, the aviation system continues to evolve daily,
and important innovations are being made in the industry, from
drones to advanced air mobility. The American aviation industry
is moving fast, yet the Government remains stuck in time. What
are the ramifications for the advanced air mobility industry,
specifically--specifically--if this FAA reauthorization
legislation is not enacted in a timely manner?
Mr. Bunce. Sir, if we look at the opportunity that advanced
air mobility gives us--and again, a lot of emphasis is on the
vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, but it is also the
electrification. If you think about a spinning turbine and the
amount of electricity you can generate off of it, you can
augment thrust.
And I read with great interest, COMAC, which is a
Government-supported program in China, just put forward a 19-
passenger aircraft using that type of technology, the electric
augmented thrust. And so, this bill gives direction to the FAA
to be able to work with industry collaboratively on advancing
these technologies. The tech center plays an incredible role.
In fact, I hope that we, after this bill is complete, we
can get together industry and the Government and be able to
have also NASA bring in their long-term program to be able to--
how they are supporting industry in advanced air mobility and
merge those programs more collaboratively, because there is a
lot of great work that the tech center could do in conjunction
with what NASA can do to help further this and keep our global
leadership in place.
We are an aerospace nation. We need to stay that way.
Dr. Van Drew. Thank you. And I want to thank Chairman Sam
Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, Chairman Garret Graves, and
Ranking Member Larsen, and this entire committee, and all of
you. You have done good work on it.
I yield back.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you. Mr. Van Drew, Mr.
Cohen, I hear you all continuing to make reference to Mr. Santa
and fun of his name during the holiday season, everything else.
I am really not sure what you all were taught as kids. The last
name is ``Claus.'' I just want to, for the record, make that
clear.
With that important clarification, Mr. Garcia, you are
recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Garcia of Illinois. Thank you, Chairman Graves and the
ranking member, for this hearing.
The House passed the FAA bill, which contains, of course,
priorities that I was proud to advocate for, including a long-
overdue increase in AIP and workforce development funding and
improved consumer protection measures. As my colleagues have
stated, it is critical for the safety of the aviation industry
and the American public to expeditiously pass a bipartisan FAA
bill, but we cannot do so at the expense of our airport
workers.
Airport workers, many of them who are women, Latino, and
Black, work grueling hours for poverty pay to keep our airports
running. And they deserve better. That is why I introduced the
Good Jobs for Good Airports Act, which would provide livable
wages and benefits for these workers. Although not included in
the House-passed bill, it is important to keep fighting for
strong labor protections during future negotiations. This
includes guarding against provisions that could unravel hard-
won labor agreements like a pilot retirement age increase.
Mr. Peterson, can you talk about how bolstering airport
worker wages and labor protections can benefit airports writ
large?
Mr. Peterson. Sure. So, first, let me say that we support
your legislation on the workers' wages.
One of the things that we do see is a heavy turnover in the
groups that you spoke about. They start working in the job, and
then they leave the job because other things become available.
They are often lower paid than a lot of their peers in other
industry, it is costly to get to the airport, and things of
that nature.
So, again, having legislation that provides workers with
good pay and good benefits is critical. Obviously, our belief
would be that if all of them joined the union, we would fight
for that. But with legislation like yours, getting that in
place for sustainability is critical. And that is a baseline,
obviously. Some high-cost areas are already doing that. They
have to do that because they just can't get anybody to come
work there. So, we absolutely appreciate that.
Mr. Garcia of Illinois. Well, thank you for your answer. In
your written testimony you mentioned that airlines are pressing
Congress to preempt State and local labor laws that govern
minimum wage, meal, and rest breaks, and family and sick leave,
which builds on their local efforts to exclude airline workers
from these laws. Why would excluding airline workers from the
State and local labor laws be disastrous for the current and
future generations of airline workers?
And how does the House-passed bill reaffirm the right of
States and localities to set higher labor standards?
Mr. Peterson. Yes, again, I think it goes back to, if
everybody that lives somewhere has a certain set of rules or
laws that apply to them, to exclude airline workers to me seems
preposterous because of the industry we work in. Granted that
some people--and let me say this, the airlines that have been
fighting this for a while have not been successful in their
litigation on that.
Somebody that is a flight attendant, for example, saying,
well, you live here, but the law doesn't apply to you because
you are flying to another State--that is their job. Or are a
pilot. Again, that is the issue at hand, is: Why would I stay
in this industry?
And taking a step back, let's just use a flight attendant.
The flight attendant field has become somewhat controversial. I
talk to a lot of flight attendants today that say, ``I wouldn't
want my son or daughter to become a flight attendant'' because
of what they have seen happening in the industry recently. So,
taking away laws that everybody else has, if you are hearing
that from the current flight attendants--and we don't represent
pilots, but I am sure there is a similar philosophy there--that
if you are hearing that from flight attendants today, how do
you get people to come into the industry if they can go work
somewhere else and get the benefits of State laws that are in
place?
And so, that is why this is critical.
Mr. Garcia of Illinois. Thank you very much.
And, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, I appreciate it, Mr.
Garcia. I am going to recognize myself for 5 minutes.
Mr. Bunce, in your testimony you made reference to
certification challenges in regard to technology. I met with a
manufacturer this week that made similar references to some of
the delays and inability to get important technology certified.
You similarly made reference to the fact that the FAA is not
actually in-house working, and our bill does attempt to address
that. Have your members reported many experiences about delays
or lack of capacity that is impacting the ability to implement
or update technology that could bring greater efficiency,
safety, and other improvements to the aviation sector?
Mr. Bunce. Mr. Chairman, I hear about it every single day,
and it is the one issue that frustrates and confounds my
membership on a daily basis. If we don't have an efficient
certification process, and we have delay after delay, you are
trying to develop new product, and what happens is a lot of
times--I had one of our major aviation companies say, ``Pete, I
know I've got technology out there right now that will not
allow an aircraft to crash unless the engines are totally
disabled,'' and yet he doesn't even move it forward because he
said, ``I know I can't get it through the certification process
in the amount of time that I can recoup the investment on
engineering.'' So, it is truly debilitating our workforce and
our ability to advance technology when we can't get through the
certification process.
Let me give you another example. We validated a product
coming from Europe on an aircraft, and the exact same--and it
was a nacelle issue, the area that surrounds an engine. The
same manufacturer provides the engine and nacelle for a U.S.
product, but we did delay after delay and an unbelievable
amount of testing when we already validated the product coming
in from Europe.
So, not only do we have a problem with an inability to make
decisions, but also, we don't look at decisions that we have
already made and say, OK, our foreign authorities certified
that, now we've got the same manufacturer here, why are we
going through a process that takes well over a year to look at
the exact same thing?
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Yes, thank you. And Colonel Bunce,
if you have specific recommendations on particular parts of the
certification, like policy office or others that you think
would benefit from in-person work, I would love to get that
from you in writing.
Mr. Santa, you discussed in your testimony at length the
need to address the lack of capacity with air traffic
controllers. Our bill does step in and attempt to address that,
to force the FAA to hire more controllers and to address the
projected shortfalls in the FAA workforce, and requires
assessment looking at future training, as well.
The FAA, as I noted in my opening statement, recently
received a pretty jarring report from the SRT, the Safety
Review Team, and there was a response to the recommendations
stating that the agency is expanding the use of advanced
training and beginning to deploy simulators for the use in
controller curriculum that increase capacity and leverage
benefits, putting controllers in specific facility environments
sooner. What are your thoughts on the use of simulators to
improve training or adding capacity?
Mr. Santa. Anything that creates efficiencies is welcomed,
but we cannot degrade standards or qualifications or
certifications. It is a professional job that takes a lot of
skill, and there is no substitute for working the traffic. That
can never be explained away or technology can replace that.
But really, it is indicative of the bigger problem, masking
the problem, not identifying that we have a staffing shortage,
and trying to explain it away by different options and
different ideas instead of adopting the CRWG numbers like this
bill does, and doing maximum hiring for the duration of this
bill. Just a few days ago, they have agreed that maybe we can
do maximum hiring for 3 years. It doesn't work. They are
unwilling to move off of the FAA Office of Finance and
Management model, which has failed us.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you. I know a number of
Members here have some tight timelines. I have got some more
questions, but I am going to submit them for the record for the
other members of the panel.
I do want to thank you all for being here. And with that, I
go to my friend from Nevada, Ms. Titus, for 5 minutes.
Ms. Titus. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I represent Las Vegas, and the airspace over my district is
very busy and getting more crowded. You have got all of the
commercial airlines coming into McCarran. This was our busiest
month. In October, almost 5\1/2\ million. You have got all the
private jets coming for the big events like F1 and the Super
Bowl. They are using Henderson and North Las Vegas. You have
got helicopters taking tours to the Grand Canyon. You have got
Nellis Air Force Base, and you have got casinos using drones to
deliver drinks by the pool. So, it's everything.
Now, I want to speak to you, Mr. Santa. It is distressing
to say you have 1,000 fewer than you had 10 years ago, and you
will only have 200 more 10 years from now. But we are getting
more people in the skies. Can you just say one more time for
the record how important it is to keep up with that demand in
air traffic controllers?
Mr. Santa. Well, first of all, I want to personally thank
you for your amendment. It will serve air traffic controllers
well by maximum hiring.
But Las Vegas is one of the hottest spots in the country.
Their numbers being 10 years old, their staffing numbers, they
have requested--they have put joint recommendations together.
Their numbers are way too low.
Ms. Titus. Yes.
Mr. Santa. The new CRWG numbers address that. The FAA is
unwilling to completely adopt them and put them into the
controller workforce plan. It is creating challenges
specifically at Las Vegas, among other facilities across the
NAS. Ten years is a lifetime in this industry, and specifically
for Vegas, as you have said, with the F1 race----
Ms. Titus [interrupting]. Or international flights, too.
Mr. Santa. All the international flights, they did have
some of the busiest traffic and they are servicing that airport
the best they can with critically understaffed needs--measures.
Ms. Titus. What are your members doing to be--I hate the
term--but ``proactive'' and encouraging ways to improve the
situation, either airport improvements or all--instead of just
reacting to an incident?
Mr. Santa. We have a lot of programs: ATSAP, which is a
voluntary reporting to report issues before they become
chronic. VSRP does similar--a similar goal. And we are part of
the solution. We are collaborative. NATCA members are tasked,
and they should be collaborative with all of the solutions at
the facility. The major situation specifically in Vegas and
many of our facilities across the country is critical staffing.
We have tried to be collaborative, and we are.
The FAA's ATO, the Air Traffic Organization, and NATCA
jointly developed new staffing numbers that were degraded by 10
years, and they will not be implemented by the FAA at this
point.
Ms. Titus. Thank you.
I am going to ask any of you this. I know the airline
industry is--well, aviation generally--is moving to more
sustainable flights, and we need the infrastructure to support
that. I saw where Virgin Atlantic just flew from London to JFK
on totally green fuel. Can you talk about how that will not be
able to move forward if we don't get this bill passed, Mr.
Bunce or Mr.--anybody?
Mr. Bunce. Well, I think the support that the bill gives to
be able to keep the momentum going on sustainable aviation fuel
or on the piston side of the house to eliminate avgas is very
important.
But also, if you look at the infrastructure improvements
that we can make to airports, we have got a pilot program that
you call for in the bill to be able to go and look at the
electrification, because we are going to have to be able to
charge a lot of these new vehicles, but also the ground vehicle
infrastructure that we have at each one of our airports. So,
that is really forward thinking. And it is very critical in
aviation. We don't care on the auto side of that house, our
trucks, about how really heavy batteries are. But it is all
about weight for aviation.
The incredible rotorcraft community that you have there at
Las Vegas that allows Americans to go over our precious
resource, the national parks and that, we want to be able to
move that forward. We can electrify the tail boom and reduce
all the mechanical linkages of tail rotor and that by using the
energy of the spinning turbine motors that are driving the main
rotor shaft. Those types of things are facilitated by looking
at technology, and we are very appreciative of what's in the
bill to help that.
Ms. Titus. Thank you. Well, thank you.
And Mr. Chairman, I would also point out how bipartisan
this was. I worked with Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Yakym--oh, well, he
is gone--but anyway, Mr. Graves, on a number of these
provisions, and I really hope to see them be enacted because I
think they are improvements to the system.
Thank you very much, and I yield back.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer [presiding]. Thank you, Ms. Titus. And
with that, I would like to recognize my colleague from Florida,
Mr. Bean.
Mr. Bean of Florida. A very good morning to you, Madam
Chair. Good morning, Aviation Subcommittee. It is great to see
you. You guys at the witness table have done an outstanding
job. You have sold us. We are in.
I have been here 11 months. Let me tell you what I have
learned. I have learned that this committee is the most
bipartisan committee, and there is agreement that we can do so
much better. We are doing great now, but we can do so much
better if we made changes. What if we had a bill that made
changes and improved manufacturing and labor and the air
traffic control and airports? We do, we just passed one. So,
what I have discovered, we are the choir. We are the choir you
are preaching on. Preach on, witnesses, and preach on,
committee members. So, I am all in, if anybody is keeping
track. I think everybody has said we are all in. We need it
because it is just an opportunity to make things better.
My thought is, I know that they have very big desks in the
Senate. Chuck Schumer has got a big desk because I know
somewhere on his desk is this FAA bill. Is it possible he just
doesn't know it's there? Is that possible, that he just doesn't
know? Is it possible he's just so busy? Does he realize how
important air travel is? Maybe he takes the train, I don't
know. We've got a big crowd here today, we've got big
committees. Maybe somebody here who knows him personally can
poke him or give him a note to say, hey, have you looked on
your desk? Because there is a bill that will definitely improve
air travel and make it safe.
I have also discovered this. I have flown. I have never
flown as much as I have in the 11 months that I have been in
Congress. And I now know, having toured the FAA Air Route
Traffic Control Center in Jacksonville, which has a--I know we
have talked about how big Nevada is, but Florida and the
corridor and the Space Coast and the weather presents its own
challenges. Everybody, when you are on a plane now, just know
that there is somebody watching over you. There is an air
traffic controller watching over you, and we just take it for
granted that they are well rested and they are not overworked.
And so, I am grateful for them.
We are just grateful that the airport is going to receive
us, and they are not going to be overworked or have the space
or the concrete is going to be just right, and all the
standards, and workers, and so many things. So, if we don't
pass this bill, or if we extend it, we are missing an
opportunity. We are missing an opportunity to go forward.
My question to Mr. Santa is the contract program is a great
program. This is the Contract Tower Program. We have got 262
small airports across the country participating in it. I have
got several in my district, Cecil and Craig Airports. If we
don't pass it, if we just punt and not score the touchdown with
it, how does that affect--what is our plan? What say you, Mr.
Santa?
Mr. Santa. Thank you for the question. Thank you for the
support for JAX, as well. That facility is in a critically
staffed nature, as well. It is critical to the east coast
traffic, and they are doing a phenomenal job with no resources.
So, thank you for that.
FAA Contract Tower Program services our smallest
facilities, right? General aviation, busy facilities, flight
schools. Mr. Bunce and I both are pilots, and we use those
airports. My home airport is actually under the Federal
Contract Tower Program. And with the reauthorization lapse,
those programs are suspended, so, the service and the safety
that you would expect into those airports is lessened.
Mr. Bean of Florida. Ten-four, ten-four. I am almost out of
time, but everybody here, if you are sitting out in the
audience, you are part of the T&I Aviation Subcommittee family.
So, together, maybe we can get the word to people with the big
desks that have so much going on to say let's take the one out
that says FAA reauth, and let's put that on the hot burner.
Mr. Chairman, with my last little bit of time I want to ask
for unanimous consent on a part of Mr. Santa's written
testimony.
In your written testimony, which I have read, you have a
section that says how important air traffic control is to this
bill. That provision was inserted.
And with your permission, Madam Chair, and unanimous
consent, I would like for that section of Mr. Santa's testimony
to be now known as the Santa clause.
I yield back.
[Laughter.]
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Well, without objection, so ordered,
Mr. Bean.
With that, my friend from California, Mr. Carbajal. Follow
that.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. As long as it is Santa clause, but
not DeSantis-something, that might work.
Mr. Bunce, I appreciate your testimony highlighting the
importance of technology and innovation. One of the provisions
that I worked on with Representative Yakym and Davids was a
pilot program to deliver clearances via mobile devices. This is
intended to help modernize our technology and air traffic
control towers and deliver more efficient digital clearances to
aircraft through internet protocol for general aviation and on-
demand part 135 air operators.
Mr. Bunce, can you expand upon how this would work from a
user perspective, and, Mr. Santa, from an air traffic
perspective?
Mr. Bunce. Yes, Mr. Carbajal. If you look at what you
provided in those provisions, we have worked very closely with
Mr. Santa's organization. It is a very collaborative way to be
able to take the technology that we have today, just the cell
phone technology.
When either of us fly and we file a flight plan, we get--
immediately on our cell phone--the routing that you are
expected to get. But then we have to go on the radio, and we
have to confirm that. And when you use the radio, you introduce
a probability of error that you are going to copy something
wrong in that. The technology exists today to be able to get
that clearance, and to have it and acknowledge it back to Mr.
Santa's controllers, and it's done. And it will make it safer.
But also, think about now the advanced air mobility
vehicles entering into the space. If they are in a very dense
metropolitan area, right now, they are going to have to get on
the radio or the cell phone--and probably the cell phone,
because radio line-of-sight may not be working--to be able to
get to the controlling agency to be able to say, ``I need
clearance for takeoff.'' With this technology, we will be able
to do that electronically, and it will make the system work.
Otherwise, it is going to bog down with just calls.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you.
Mr. Santa?
Mr. Santa. I just want to add we heard a lot about
bipartisanship, and this industry works on collaboration. Mr.
Bunce and I--whether it is a CEO of an airline, whether it is
general aviation, cargo, whatever, we work on our issues. And
all the technology, unfortunately, the FAA generally can't
provide due to funding, we still work on it. We still embrace
the technology that is available and the challenges that we
face to try to serve the industry the best we can. And it is
something that we are all proud of.
And when we sit up here, we don't pre-plan this message or
this status. It is in us because we do it and we live it every
day.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. Continuing with you, Mr. Santa,
one of the FAA's most successful Government-industry
partnerships is the Contract Tower Program; 262 smaller
airports across the country participate in this critically
important air traffic safety program, including 21 in
California, one of which, the SLO County Airport, is in my
district. Can you comment on the importance of the Contract
Tower Program to the national air transportation system?
And what impact will there be on the program if FAA
reauthorization is significantly further delayed into next
year?
Mr. Santa. Thank you. I have said many times before it
services some of our smaller airports, and that is a little
erroneous. Some of our Federal Contract Tower Programs and
airports serve hundreds of thousands of airports a year. And
that is essential to the safety, the efficiency, and the
capacity of those airports, no matter where they are at.
With the reauth lapse, those programs get stalled, they get
on hold, and there is a real opportunity for them to be
canceled. Losing service to those airports and those regions
and those communities, it would damage the economy and this
industry.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you very much.
Madam Chair, I yield back.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you, Mr. Carbajal. With that, I
will recognize Mr. Molinaro from New York for 5 minutes.
Mr. Molinaro. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am often concerned
in following Mr. Bean, so, I am glad to have a little bit of
distance. I never know how he is going to ultimately land the
plane. Today was no different.
But thank you all for your participation. I also want to
share a degree of frustration. I certainly know the Senate
majority leader. I know he flies on a plane. I know he likes
airports. I know he likes planes. I know he likes the industry.
The fact that we have this hearing at all is entirely
unnecessary, were the Senate just simply to move forward
earnestly with the consideration of FAA reauthorization. And
the failure to do so, quite frankly, does threaten a number of
sectors within the industry. I want to start with one.
The House reauthorization bill includes a provision, a bill
that I worked on with the committee, that would help to
accelerate the emergence of advanced air mobility. Mr. Bunce,
you talked a bit about this already, but I would like to return
to it because I see, in particular, electric vertical takeoff
and vertical takeoff technology as having great benefit not
only to those more congested airports, but also rural airports
in places like upstate New York, where there are geographic and
topographical challenges. I have an airport in the gorge of
upstate New York, for instance, and being able to connect those
smaller airports with regional airports will accelerate access
to flight and greater transportation capacity.
The provision specifically includes a new pilot program to
grant funding to airports for expanded access to the electric
aircraft charging equipment, which is necessary to make those
important upgrades to allow for vertical takeoff. Mr. Bunce, if
you could, could you just expand on what delays in at least
reauthorization with this provision mean to the, in particular,
eVTOL and VTOL technology, and the impact to airports
specifically?
Mr. Bunce. Well, sir, at this point in time, it is very
critical for us to move out on advanced air mobility, and a
delay in getting this reauthorization done is only going to
exacerbate what has been created by the movement to what we
call a powered-lift rating for new pilots in advance,
especially these vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
So, not only will--the FAA Administrator, as I said
earlier, has now a mandate from the overwhelming bipartisan
support he had on his confirmation, and now he is got to be
able to focus on areas like having the NextGen office, which is
really the technology innovator, those that are starting to
think about how we are going to provide the charging for
multiple different types of aircraft made by different
manufacturers to be able to charge the vehicles, and then have,
coming from all of our different airports, the ability to get
into the airspace.
Remember, if we are able to do this properly, we can have
small vertiports around that then transport, as you said, to
maybe a reliever airport on the outside of a big city. That
reduces then the regional transportation that is required at
the hubs, because we can put the regional aircraft at these
smaller reliever aircraft and increase our capacity at the
hubs.
So, the first step is allowing these airports to have a
charging capability for electric aviation and electric
vehicles.
Mr. Molinaro. And I appreciate that. And as I said, the
capacity to expand access in upstate New York and rural
airports is very important.
Mr. Bradbury, do you want to add to that? And if you don't
mind, I want to get one last question in, so, briefly, if you
could.
Mr. Bradbury. Sure. I just want to say airports really
appreciate the pilot program that you have established in this
bill. It really will assist airports in eVTOL and advanced air
mobility. It is very much appreciated.
Mr. Molinaro. And I appreciate working with all of you.
I also appreciate working with the folks at TWU. And Mr.
Peterson, I am grateful that you are here. You are doing fine,
by the way. I understand this might be your first time
testifying before a congressional committee. Is that true?
Mr. Peterson. That is correct.
Mr. Molinaro. You are doing a great job.
But I wanted to point to a piece of legislation that we
crafted together, the Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety
Improvement Act. As you know, America outsources, too often,
repair. You have testified that China is the largest
destination for offshore aircraft maintenance jobs. Could you
just speak to the kind of maintenance work that is being
performed on U.S. aircraft at facilities in China, and how this
bill addresses that very dangerous status quo?
Mr. Peterson. Sure. So, I think the first part of that is
the main work being done in China is the heavy maintenance and
overhaul, which is the behind-the-scenes, behind-the-panels
opening up the aircraft, what the passenger and the flying
public doesn't see. That piece of work, I would argue, is
critical to the U.S. aviation industry.
And to me, as a mechanic, knowing that the people that--our
folks, when they work behind that, I know they are FAA
certified, I know there are inspectors on the facility and
whatnot. In China, I don't know who is working that aircraft. I
don't know how they worked on the aircraft. And ultimately,
when it lands back in the U.S. and I then take it over, I now
become responsible for it.
Mr. Molinaro. And I appreciate that. The fact that we don't
have this global safety standard would surprise most passengers
in this country. It is a pleasure to work with TWU and all of
you on this.
Mr. Peterson. Thank you.
Mr. Molinaro. I yield back.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you, Mr. Molinaro. I will
recognize Ms. Norton from the District for 5 minutes.
Ms. Norton. I thank the chair and ranking member for
holding this hearing to emphasize the importance of passing a
long-term Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill
soon.
As the cochair of the Quiet Skies Caucus and the Member who
represents the District of Columbia, which is plagued by
aviation noise, I would like to use this opportunity to
highlight two provisions I got included in the House-passed FAA
reauthorization bill, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership
in American Aviation Act, to combat helicopter noise.
Helicopter noise can harm health, quality of life, and the
structural integrity of homes.
In 2019, I led a request to the Government Accountability
Office to conduct a study on helicopter noise in the national
capital region. In 2021, GAO released its study and recommended
that the FAA implement a noise-sharing mechanism for helicopter
operators in the national capital region. In 2022, the FAA
initiated a pilot program with a private company to create a
helicopter noise-sharing mechanism in the national capital
region. After the end of the pilot program, Fairfax and
Arlington Counties contracted with the private company to
maintain the mechanism, but solely for northern Virginia. The
FAA fell well short of what GAO recommended.
One provision in the bill would require the FAA within 180
days to create and implement a helicopter noise-sharing
mechanism for all helicopter operations in the national capital
region, and to make the data collected accessible to the public
online. This data would help us develop additional solutions to
combat helicopter noise.
The other provision in the bill would direct GAO to conduct
a study on reducing the helicopter noise in DC, almost all of
which is created by Government helicopters. The study would
consider the extent to which military operators should continue
operating over unpopulated areas outside of DC for training
missions, the extent to which vehicles or aircraft other than
helicopters could be used for emergency and law enforcement
response, and the extent to which helicopter operators have
assessed and addressed the noise impact of various factors of
operating helicopters, including altitude, the number of
flights, flightpaths, prime time of day of flights, type of
aircraft, operating procedures, and pilot training.
I would like to close by highlighting a provision I worked
on to improve emergency medical equipment, including the
contents of emergency medical kits and training required for
flightcrew. Flightcrews should have the medication and training
to address medical emergencies, including anaphylaxis, opioid
overdose, and unique needs of children.
I yield back my time, Madam Chairman.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you, Ms. Norton. With that, I
will recognize my colleague from New York, Mr. D'Esposito, for
5 minutes.
Mr. D'Esposito. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good afternoon,
everyone. Thank you for being here.
I want to start off with you, Mr. Santa. From reading your
biography, I understand that you began your career at the New
York TRACON facility in 1997. I want to thank you for your
service there. And obviously, you are well aware of the issues
that they are facing.
TRACON N90, right in the center of my district, is probably
one of the key facilities that directs planes and aircraft in
and out of the New York metropolitan area. And obviously,
despite the importance of this facility and the necessity of
it, it is currently only half-staffed. And I actually have had
the opportunity over the last few months to make a visit there
and put the boots on the ground and talk to individuals who
spend their days and nights in that facility. A very impressive
facility, to say the least.
Because it is only half-staffed, the FAA has extended cuts
to minimum flight requirements and air traffic capacity at New
York City area airports through October of 2024. So, I just
have a few questions for you in regards to TRACON N90. The
first is, can you describe in more detail how this substantial
staffing shortfall has affected flight operations in New York?
Mr. Santa. Absolutely. New York TRACON is critically
staffed. And it is exceptionally important to the Northeast
Corridor running Kennedy, Newark, LaGuardia operations, amongst
other--White Plains, Teterboro, and all of the facilities up
there that service corporate traffic, as well.
The short staffing has taken a toll on overtime. Obviously,
the 6-day workweeks and 10-hour days become the norm. It
becomes difficult to continue normal operations of training,
normal operations of enhancements, modernizing just airspace
routing. And learning the complexity of that airspace becomes a
challenge because you are always on. The expectation of those
facilities and those airports is to keep capacity as high as
you can, obviously, with no safety lapses.
Mr. D'Esposito. Right. So, speaking of the safety lapses,
obviously, with a short staff, there is tendency--I know that
there are rules in place, but when I was there visiting and
speaking to the leadership, the labor leadership, obviously,
people that work there, they feel overworked. They are probably
fatigued. For those who haven't visited one of these
facilities, it is dark. Even in the middle of the day, you
would think it is the middle of the night.
Have there been any notable incidents that you would
attribute to the staffing shortage at the N90 facility?
Mr. Santa. Their professionalism up there and everywhere is
unparalleled. They work, as many of our facilities do, long
hours, extra overtime, and a lot of time on position. That
facility specifically, if we want to talk about Newark, they
have done an exemplary job of basically eliminating delays,
eliminating delays due to staffing and costs due to staffing,
just by tenacity and a lot of hard work and dedication to their
trade.
Mr. D'Esposito. Yes, they are phenomenal, and I was happy
to be able to work with some of my colleagues during the
preparation for the FAA reauthorization. There was a proposal
to send some of the N90 workers to, I believe, Pennsylvania.
And luckily, we were able to keep those jobs right in the
district and right on Long Island.
You also--or someone--mentioned that the staffing gap would
probably take 5 years to close. As a temporary fix, what steps
do you suggest that the FAA can take to enable flights at New
York City airports to be at full capacity once again?
Mr. Santa. Well, unfortunately, the FAA was lapsed in the
law to do local hiring. For years, they didn't employ that law.
And just recently, they put a bid out and I think they got over
300 qualified candidates. Hire those candidates into New York
TRACON and New York Center. Both of those facilities
desperately need them. They can start training. They can return
back to some normalcy on their shifts because they are
aggressively getting the job done there, whether it be
training, servicing the industry, or maintaining the highest
safety standards that they need to.
Mr. D'Esposito. Well, thank you very much. And I know that
we have talked about all morning that the expiration at the end
of the year would be devastating. Obviously, the CR for
transportation expires in January.
And I think it is a common theme, one that was mentioned by
both my colleague from New York, Mr. Molinaro, and Mr. Bean
from Florida. The facts are simple. We have a good piece of
bipartisan legislation. And unfortunately, it is following the
same route as much other good legislation like our Secure the
Border Act that has been sent over to the Senate and is
apparently collecting dust. So, I wish we didn't have to have a
hearing like this, but I want to thank our leadership, and I
hope that days like today maybe light a little fire on the
other side of the house to get this piece of legislation off
the desk and onto the floor so that you all and the people that
you work with can continue the great work that you do. So,
thank you all. Happy holidays.
Madam Chair, I yield back.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you. With that, I will recognize
Mr. Allred from Texas for 5 minutes.
Mr. Allred. Sure. Well, thank you, Madam Chair, and thank
you all for being here and putting up with our questions. This
is a crucial moment for the FAA reauthorization process as we
look to our colleagues in the Senate to take up our bill. And I
really am proud, and I think you have seen a trend here of the
bipartisan work that we did in this committee to try and make
sure that we could secure the FAA going forward, but also air
travel in general.
Mr. Santa, I want to begin with you, and I know you have
gotten a lot of attention here today for good reason. But
controllers at the airports in my region in the DFW area are
working, as you have talked about today, 6 days a week, 10
hours a day. And we know that contributes to fatigue, to many
things. And you have talked about the safety implications, I
think, and you have discussed that in your testimony.
If you could, talk about the personal impacts that has.
Because in my experience, part of recruitment and retention is
that a job is one that, yes, you can be compensated well for,
but also that fits with a family. My wife and I have two small
children, 4 and 2. If it doesn't work for your family, then it
is hard to get new folks to come into a profession. So, what do
you see as the personal impacts of this understaffing?
Mr. Santa. Thanks for the question. I feel like I can talk
about staffing crises at any facility that you bring up. And
the Dallas area is one of the worst. You talk about Austin
traffic, it is just exponentially higher.
I do have a little story here, I think, that really
epitomizes the problems that we have. And I will talk about the
personal aspect. When you talk about ZFW, which is the Fort
Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center, they have 253 certified
controllers. Our interim number was 290. That is 10 years old.
The new target number is 295. The FAA Office of Finance and
Management actually cuts a 10-year-old number to 264. They are
working 6-day workweeks, 10-hour days, and the FAA Office of
Finance and Management says, ``You are pretty good.'' It is not
where we are at.
And you talk about the personal interactions. This is a
full-time job, full-time career, shift work, midnights, 6-day
workweeks, 10-hour days. Nothing works well when it is
critically staffed. You miss ball games, you miss your kids'
events, you miss family events. You miss holidays. We are 24/7.
This Christmas, there are going to be dozens of people that
don't get to wake up and open presents on Christmas because the
staffing is abysmal.
Specifically--and like I said, anybody that sits and talks
to me, I can tell you a specific story about how short-staffed
they are.
Mr. Allred. Well, and so, the understaffing can lead to
more understaffing, because then it is harder to get folks to
come into it.
Mr. Peterson, I wanted to turn to you, and I was so sorry
to learn and hear--and I am glad that you mentioned in your
testimony--about Michal Ingraham's death at the Austin airport
in my home State. It is clear that ground workers play an
indispensable role, from ensuring that baggage and cargo arrive
at their intended destination to pushing back aircraft, and
they should never face unnecessary dangers at their job. As you
mentioned in your testimony, the House-passed bill requires the
FAA to conduct a call-to-action review of ramp worker safety
provisions. Can you expand on how that provision is vital to
prevent tragic accidents and deaths like Michal's from ever
happening again?
Mr. Peterson. Sure, thank you. I think a couple things that
are in the bill are critical.
One is that management and labor get together and figure
out what is going on. The area on the ground hasn't been looked
at in years. And obviously, the tarmac has changed. DFW, where
I am from, as well, is a great example of that, just the
expansion and the constant evolution of these airports. And yet
the ground equipment and the markings and all those things on
the side where we work remains the same. So, just finding ways
to improve that, finding ways to put in areas for more safe
movement on the ramp are critical, putting in place rules that
work. And nobody knows that better than the people that work on
the ground.
There is always this argument about cost that we always get
into. You can't put a value on the cost of a life.
Mr. Allred. That is right.
Mr. Peterson. The incident in Austin should have never
happened. That situation is one of--that is one that was fatal.
We constantly have people getting injured or maimed for no
reason because this infrastructure hasn't been looked at in
years, and it needs to be addressed. And the bill provides for
that, which, again, I thank the committee for that.
Mr. Allred. Yes. Well, thank you, Mr. Peterson. Thanks to
our witnesses.
I yield back.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you, Mr. Allred. With that, I
will recognize Mr. Perry for 5 minutes.
Mr. Perry. I thank the chair and the ranking member for
being open to diverse viewpoints. Thank you for being here,
folks.
The aviation industry is in a state of chaos, in my
opinion. Near-misses on tarmacs, massive delays and
cancellations, and industrywide workforce shortages with no end
in sight. And I think we have kind of talked about all of them,
but there has been a lot of back-slapping here today.
So, I am going to ask unanimous consent to enter into the
record the following articles: November 11, 2023, Daily Mail,
``Exclusive: U.S. airlines set for worst year ever with more
than 1 million departures delayed so far in 2023--nearly a
quarter of all flights--fueling holiday chaos fears''; November
15, 2023, New York Times, ``Staffing and technology woes
threaten aviation safety, report says''; September 15, 2023,
Wall Street Journal, ``Staffing shortage at air traffic control
means more cuts of New York flights''; and July 22, 2023, CNN,
``U.S. airline staffing is at its `highest level' in decades.
So why the flight delays?''
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Without objection, so ordered.
[The information follows:]

Article entitled, ``EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Airlines Set for Worst Year Ever
With More Than 1M Departures Delayed so far in 2023--Nearly a Quarter
of All Flights--Fueling Holiday Chaos Fears,'' by Lewis Pennock,
DailyMail.com, November 11, 2023, Submitted for the Record by Hon.
Scott Perry
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Airlines Set for Worst Year Ever With More Than 1M
Departures Delayed so far in 2023--Nearly a Quarter of All Flights--
Fueling Holiday Chaos Fears
by Lewis Pennock

DailyMail.com, November 11, 2023
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12730425/US-airlines-set-
worst-year-1M-departures-delayed-far-2023-nearly-QUARTER-flights-
fueling-holiday-chaos-fears.html

More than one million flights were delayed from January
to August, the fastest that the milestone has ever been reached,
according to official departure data
22.33 percent of departures in 2023 have been delayed by
15 minutes or more
The dismal figures come amid a series of other
controversies this year, including mass cancelations, a shortage of
pilots and a string of worrying near misses

U.S. airlines are on course for one of the worst ever years for
flight delays, according to official data reviewed by DailyMail.com.
Airlines racked up a million delayed departures in record time in
2023 and nearly a quarter of flights so far this year have taken off
late, the figures reveal.
The dismal data adds to a string of issues to blight the aviation
industry this year, including mass cancelations, chronic staff
shortages, a series of near-misses and the use of fake jet engine parts
in dozens of large commercial aircraft.
The findings will also fuel fears of travel chaos through the busy
Thanksgiving period and holiday season, when tens of millions of
Americans will fly around the country to celebrate with loved ones. A
recent survey found half of Americans plan to book a flight or hotel
this holiday, putting further strain on the struggling industry.
DailyMail.com reviewed flight departure data from the Bureau of
Transport Statistics, which tracks the country's leading carries. The
bureau defines a delayed departure as one which leaves the gate 15
minutes or more after its scheduled time.
From January to August this year, the period for which the most up-
to-date data is available, 22.33 percent of flights were delayed. The
total number of delayed departures was 1,015,057.
The previous annual record was 2007, when 21.1 percent of flights
were delayed, putting 2023 well on track to set a new record.
The Bureau of Transport Statistics data includes annual breakdowns
for every year from 1988 to the present day.
The eight-months timespan that it took to hit one million delays is
also believed to be the shortest on record. The previous record was in
2007, when it took until September to pass one million delayed
departures.
Data for delayed arrivals paints a similarly bleak picture. Between
January and August 2023, 22.52 percent of arrivals were late by 15
minutes or more, the highest proportion for that period since at least
2014.
In 2007, the worst year for delayed arrivals, 24.20 percent of
flights were delayed across the whole year.
Separate data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics also
reveals that as delays have risen, air ticket prices have crept above
their pre-covid highs after a dip during the pandemic. Passengers now
face paying more for a worse service.
The average price of a domestic fare was $391.79 in the second
quarter of 2023, compared with $357.07 for the same period in 2019.
The dire delays statistics comes after a summer of chaos and misery
and American airports due to a chronic staffing shortages post-COVID
and extreme weather events.
The Fourth of July holiday was blighted by thousands of
cancellations. United Airlines was singled out for criticism after its
passengers suffered most and many were left stranded in airports.
Weeks earlier, storms around the east coast and Midwest also caused
huge disruption and nearly 10,000 flights were canceled in a single
week.
Airlines started 2023 with a shortage of around 17,000 pilots,
while the Federal Aviation Authority had a shortage of 3,000 air
traffic controllers. There was also a shortage of thousands of
mechanics.
The industry typically trains about 1,500 to 1,800 new pilots each
year. Training a pilot can also take two years or longer, and cost more
than $100,000.
The dire shortage of staff this year came about in part because of
mass layoffs during COVID, which were not reversed quickly enough as
the sector rebounded when lockdowns were lifted.
After the chaos this summer, Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg
opened a federal investigation into airlines for what he termed
`unrealistic scheduling', or listing more flights than carriers can be
safely operated.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, which sets
safety guidelines for the industry, have also taken action after a
concerning series of near misses at airports and in the skies this
year.
Bosses from the agency are holding `runway safety meetings' with
air traffic controllers at the nation's most problematic airports after
a spate that included 46 close calls in January alone.
In the most serious incidents, aircraft carrying hundreds of
passengers have come just within feet of a collision that could have
caused a massive loss of life.
And there was also widespread disbelief among industry insiders and
the public in September when it emerged dozens of aircraft used by the
country's leading carriers have been fitted with uncertified jet engine
parts.
A U.K.-based supplier, AOG Technics, allegedly sold parts with
forged safety paperwork to jet engine maintenance firms and these parts
ended up in at least 126 commercial aircraft.
Leading American airlines including Delta and United have been
forced to ground planes that were affected by the scandal and a
worldwide investigation is underway to identify other aircraft fitted
with the suspicious parts. Aircraft in Europe, Australia and China have
also been affected.

Article entitled, ``Staffing and Technology Woes Threaten Aviation
Safety, Report Says,'' by Mark Walker, New York Times, November 15,
2023, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Scott Perry
Staffing and Technology Woes Threaten Aviation Safety, Report Says
by Mark Walker

New York Times, November 15, 2023
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/15/us/politics/air-traffic-safety-
faa.html

The Federal Aviation Administration turned to outside experts after a
string of near collisions. They called for addressing the shortage of
air traffic controllers and improving aging tech.

A group of outside experts appointed by the Federal Aviation
Administration called on Wednesday for ``urgent action'' to address
safety risks in the nation's aviation system, highlighting issues like
staffing shortages among air traffic controllers and outdated
technology.
The F.A.A. announced the formation of the group, the National
Airspace System Safety Review Team, in April after a string of close
calls at airports across the country, and the panel issued a 52-page
report on Wednesday laying out its findings.
In addition to calling for the F.A.A. to address the shortage of
air traffic controllers and improve its aging technology, the report
also recommended changes in how the agency is funded, such as more
broadly shielding it from government shutdowns.
``The current erosion in the margin of safety in the N.A.S. caused
by the confluence of these challenges is rendering the current level of
safety unsustainable,'' the report said, referring to what is known as
the National Airspace System.
The group of experts was led by Michael P. Huerta, who served as
F.A.A. administrator under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald J. Trump.
It also included other former federal officials and former union
leaders.
``There are no easy short-term fixes to address many of these
challenges,'' Mr. Huerta told reporters on Wednesday. ``Addressing risk
in the N.A.S. requires the F.A.A., the administration, Congress and
others across industry to work together collaboratively.''
Investigations published by The New York Times in August and in
October revealed how the nation's vaunted aviation safety system is
under mounting stress. The Times found that close calls involving
commercial airlines had been happening, on average, multiple times a
week.
A dire shortage of air traffic controllers--The Times found that 99
percent of the country's air traffic control facilities were
understaffed--has been one major factor.
The report released on Wednesday also warned about the risks posed
by aging technology. In January, an F.A.A. system outage caused flights
to be grounded nationwide and led to a wave of delays and cancellations
for travelers.
``The age and condition of F.A.A. facilities and equipment are
elevating system risk to unsustainable levels, even before considering
losses in efficiency from outdated technology,'' the report said.
The agency has said that it has taken steps to reduce the risk of
close calls at airports, such as by providing funding to reconfigure
taxiways and improve runway lighting.
``The F.A.A. welcomes the independent Safety Review Team's report,
and we will thoroughly review the recommendations,'' the agency's new
administrator, Michael G. Whitaker, whom the Senate confirmed last
month, said in a statement. ``We appreciate the team's time and
expertise to help us pursue our goal of zero serious close calls.''
The near misses have also caught the attention of Congress. A
Senate subcommittee held a hearing on the topic last week, and among
the witnesses was Jennifer L. Homendy, the chairwoman of the National
Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating a number of close-
call incidents.
``While these events are incredibly rare, our safety system is
showing clear signs of strain that we cannot ignore,'' Ms. Homendy
said.

Article entitled, ``Staffing Shortage at Air-Traffic Control Means More
Cuts of New York Flights,'' by Alison Sider, Wall Street Journal,
September 15, 2023, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Scott Perry
Staffing Shortage at Air-Traffic Control Means More Cuts of New York
Flights
Delays and cancellations could increase without flying reductions, FAA
says
by Alison Sider

Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2023
https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/staffing-shortage-at-air-traffic-
control-means-more-cuts-of-new-york-flights-48a2fe7f

A staffing shortage at a key New York air-traffic control facility
will continue to disrupt travel through next fall, and airlines will be
allowed to cut back on flying in the region for another year.
Airlines were allowed to reduce schedules in the New York area all
summer, after the Federal Aviation Administration said that a facility
there had only 54% of the fully-trained controllers it needed. On
Friday, the FAA said the facility still doesn't have enough certified
controllers to handle normal traffic levels.
The agency will allow airlines to forgo using up to 10% of their
slots or runway timings through Oct. 26 next year at the three major
airports serving New York City and for flights between New York and
Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.
Without extending the flying cuts, the FAA said it would expect
delays and cancellations in New York to increase. Normally, carriers
that don't use their takeoff and landing rights at certain airports
risk losing them. The FAA encouraged airlines to trim flying during the
busiest, most congested times of day.
Airlines for America, which represents major carriers, said it
appreciated the extension.
Despite the reduced flying, the New York area has been prone to
significant flight disruptions, particularly when bad weather hits.
United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby said the FAA's controller
shortage is amplifying weather disruptions in the New York area.
``The impact of weather today is several times worse than it was
historically,'' he said at an aviation event in Washington, D.C., this
week. ``The same weather that in the past we could have managed though
now can cause hundreds of delays--or hundreds of even cancellations.''
Airlines had sought an extension of the cutbacks, saying they
needed more notice to be able to plan their schedules. JetBlue Airways
Chief Executive Robin Hayes said at the same event that even the 10%
reduction hadn't been deep enough.
``Even on days where we saw industry cancel flights and weather
move out, it took a long time to get going again,'' he said.
The FAA said it is working with the union that represents air-
traffic controllers on a long-term solution to solve what it described
as chronically low levels of fully certified controllers at the
facility.

Article entitled, ``U.S. Airline Staffing Is at Its `Highest Level' in
Decades. So Why the Flight Delays?'' by Maureen O'Hare, CNN, July 22,
2023, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Scott Perry
U.S. Airline Staffing Is at Its `Highest Level' in Decades. So Why the
Flight Delays?
Air Travel Woes
by Maureen O'Hare

CNN, July 22, 2023
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/22/travel/travel-news-us-air-employment-
flight-delays/index.html

U.S. passenger airline employment is now at its highest level in
over two decades, says a new statement from the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) as carriers build up their workforces to
meet the huge demand for post-pandemic travel.
However, passengers this summer are still facing ``unacceptable
delays and disruptions'' because of a shortage of air traffic
controllers in North America. The IATA, an industry association that
represents the world's airlines, is blaming that squarely on ``poor
planning'' by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NAV
Canada, the Canadian air navigation services provider. But outdated
technology, airline staffing issues and bad weather are also playing
into recent air traffic meltdowns, CNN has previously reported.
There were more woes as medical teams were called to a passenger
plane on the tarmac in Las Vegas to treat ``heat-related discomfort,''
and an emergency evacuation slide from a United flight fell into a
Chicago neighborhood.
If all this has got you wistful for a bygone ``golden age of air
travel,'' however, you'd be very wrong. When it comes to safety,
accessibility and affordability, we've never had it so good.

Mr. Perry. Thank you, Madam Chair.
We ought to be honoring the great, competent people that
work in the industry and the deserving travelers they serve.
And that includes you folks. We are the greatest country in the
world, the literal birthplace of aviation. And we have the
Government telling airlines to cut flights, causing massive
delays that lead our constituents to be stuck in the airport
for hours on end, if they are lucky enough to catch their
flight at all.
The situation is only going to get worse, due to a looming
pilot shortage that, again, is largely the result of misguided
regulations that hinder the ability of the free market to
deliver the transportation experience our constituents deserve.
These are the issues that we should have addressed in the
FAA reauthorization bill. Instead, the House passed a bill that
kicks the can down the road for 5 years and allows the
situation to fester, killing industry efficiency and
threatening airline safety, which is why I did not support the
bill.
While there are consequences to delaying the long-term FAA
bill, the consequences of passing a bill that fails to remedy
these significant threats to the industry may actually be
worse. While there are some wins with the House-passed bill,
this is the opportunity to put forth a truly transformational
FAA reauthorization bill that allows the industry to adapt to
the times and meet the moment, providing for the needs of the
traveling public.
Now, I don't know what the Senate is doing over there. God
bless them. I hope they are doing that. I don't believe they
are doing that, but I hope that is why there is a delay.
But we can still do this if we go back to the drawing board
and pass a bill that institutes real changes that will
meaningfully address the following issues: increasing the pilot
retirement age, a reform that was included in the House bill
over the objections of the Big Four agreement; lowering the
1,500-hour requirement for flight certification to increase the
pipeline of new pilots entering the industry, and removing the
politics surrounding that issue; expanding the number of
certified instructors; eliminating much of the Essential Air
Service program that misallocates precious resources, which are
pilots, flightcrews, ground crews, fuel, mechanical equipment,
and planes to routes that are not economically viable at the
expense of profitable routes; increasing the air traffic
controller retirement age; spinning off the air traffic control
system into a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization similar
to the situation in Canada that allows it to operate in an
innovative, streamlined fashion; ensuring airline employees and
air traffic controllers are hired based on merit and
competence, rather than DEI metrics; and eliminating the
wasteful Green New Deal programs at the FAA to ensure the
agency remains focused on its mission, which is safe and
efficient travel.
Unfortunately, there are those in the administration, in
industry, some in labor, some even folks that are working right
here in the building who are benefiting from the status quo,
and therefore seek to keep the system rigged in that favor,
damn the consequences to our constituents, our bosses, and the
flying public. We can, we should, and we must do better.
I yield the balance, Madam Chair.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you, Mr. Perry. I will now
recognize the acting ranking member, Ms. Scholten from
Michigan, for 5 minutes.
Ms. Scholten. Thank you so much to our chairman and acting
chairwoman, and to our Ranking Member Cohen for holding this
important hearing. And thank you so much to all of our
witnesses for bearing with us and coming in here, helping us to
draw attention to the critical urgency of reauthorizing the
FAA.
It bears repeating over and over and over again that the
Senate's delay in passing the FAA reauthorization has created
significant uncertainty for our aviation industry, and it is
critical that this final authorization is passed by December
31. The time is ticking. Any further delays would negatively
impact safety, infrastructure, and operations for our Nation's
airports.
Of course, just like all of the Representatives here today,
I am particularly concerned about what this means back home in
west Michigan, impact on Gerald R. Ford International Airport
and Muskegon County Airport in my district. They have benefited
from the Airport Improvement Program funding, which is
currently jeopardized. And I am particularly concerned about
the impact and delays on these airports for these programs.
Mr. Bradbury, you mentioned that short-term extensions
hinder the distribution of AIP funding to airports, and
airports must then choose one of three options. I want to get
into that just a little bit more. How are airports affected if
they choose to accept their grants based on prorated
calculations, and how is that impact different if they choose
to wait for a reauthorization, defer, or carry over their
entitlements?
Mr. Bradbury. Great questions. And obviously, with
Michigan, also a very tight construction season. And that is
the biggest impact for a lot of our northern tier airports when
it comes to construction.
And you can't prorate a project. That is the real
unfortunate part. And I spoke in my testimony that it is a 15-
to 20-percent cost every time you remobilize. So, it is
inefficient, it is very inefficient. And it causes construction
costs increases, which are really difficult for the industry
and ultimately hold up a project.
Ms. Scholten. Thank you. Essential testimony for our
record. Thank you so much.
Mr. Peterson, I want to talk about safety a minute. Like
you, I am deeply concerned about the impacts of the delay that
they have on safety for our workers. I am concerned not only
for the workers themselves, but as a lawmaker and a protector
of my constituents, I am concerned about their safety. And
frankly, as a frequent traveler myself, I am concerned about my
own safety, someone who gets on a plane twice a week, a mother
of two young children, and flies away from her family to serve
our country and then hopefully back home safe again. This is
personal to so many lawmakers, as well, and we want you to know
that we take this issue personally, and the safety of the
workers who help us get to and from our destination safely, as
well.
I want to talk about what the impacts on staffing in
particular will continue to look like if we face these delays,
kick the can further and further down the road. Those have
significant safety implications, as we have talked about here
today and as we have seen firsthand.
So, what will the impact on workforce recruitment and
retention be? We know you may not be able to predict with exact
certainty, but talk to me about how you see some of that
playing out if the Senate continues to delay.
Mr. Peterson. Yes. Well, certainly the Senate delaying this
isn't helpful by any means, and we want to see that get done.
One element on the maintenance side that I want to just
speak to is, as a mechanic, the training during the COVID era,
we couldn't train aircraft mechanics and that pipeline slowed
down. So, we are seeing that come back up, now that people are
able to get back into school and do the training. Again, it
goes back to a lot of the schools aren't open anymore. Many of
the college and even high school programs have just been shut
down.
We can't get workers into the field if we don't have enough
training facilities to get them into the field. So, this
legislation provides the ability to do that, and we are
thankful for that. This isn't new, though.
Ms. Scholten. Right.
Mr. Peterson. This has been something that we have been
arguing about for years, and it goes back several years, about
training facilities and training at home and not moving these
jobs abroad to where we don't know who is performing what type
of work on these aircrafts.
And again, the traveling public, yourself, your families
deserve better.
Ms. Scholten. That is exactly right. Thank you so much.
I yield back the remainder.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you, Ms. Scholten. With that, I
am going to recognize myself for 5 minutes, representing
Oregon's Fifth Congressional District with Portland
International Airport just outside of my district about 15
minutes away, and many municipal airports in the Pacific
Northwest that, again, are under threat if we do not pass this
FAA reauthorization.
So, again, good afternoon, and it is great that we are here
today to discuss the continued push for FAA reauthorization,
especially during the busiest time of year. And air travel and
during the holidays is when people get most anxious about: Are
they going to get somewhere on time?
Reports this year were that Thanksgiving travel set
records. This past Sunday alone, TSA reported that almost 3
million travelers were screened. Luckily, there were no
significant delays across the U.S. caused by weather or other
means.
Mr. Santa, you state in your testimony that staffing
shortages of air traffic controllers can pose serious risks to
not only flight delays and cancellations, but in-flight safety,
as well. And due to mandatory overtime scheduling, fatigue can
be at risk. As you suggest, more accurate operational staffing
targets developed by the Collaborative Resource Workgroup must
be included in FAA's annual controller workforce plan.
Can you elaborate on what the CRWG has offered as
solutions, and how they may address future delays,
cancellations, or safety concerns, especially during holiday
travel season?
Mr. Santa. Thank you for the question. So, the CRWG numbers
started with interviews of all of the 313 FAA facilities to see
where they were at, see the needs and the desires of the
collaborative groups locally. And the goal was to address 10-
year-old expired numbers. Flight schools opened and close,
vacation destinations change, corporate traffic ebbs and flows,
and commercial traffic changes hubs and destinations, as well.
To have a model, a staffing model that is 10 years old doesn't
serve the industry or the facilities well.
So, the collaborative group that was jointly developed by
the Air Traffic Organization at FAA and NATCA--and importantly,
it was validated for transparency and repeatability by the
MITRE Corporation--those numbers being implemented and used for
the basis of the controller workforce plan will pay dividends
for now and in the future to accurately reflect what we need at
the facilities in the NAS.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you.
Of course, there are other reasons for flight delays. As
part of the House-passed FAA, I supported an amendment to
require DOT to improve reporting requirements for commercial
flight cancellations or delays, with the goal of keeping
travelers more informed and leading to strategies to mitigate
the causes of those delays. Mr. Bradbury, how might this
amendment improve the traveling experience for passengers at
airports?
And further, do you believe airports have a duty to
passengers when flights get delayed or canceled, and can you
explain how airports are working towards helping to improve
that experience?
Mr. Bradbury. Absolutely. The experience--obviously,
everything comes down to our passengers. We don't exist without
passengers. And our ability to connect the passenger to the air
transportation system is paramount. So, it is critical that we
work together to make sure we mitigate issues and make it a
seamless travel experience for all of our passengers, those
with mobility improvements, mobility and other disabilities.
And this bill helps us to keep that going.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Well, thank you. I think the theme is
consistent.
We will have one more at this point. Am I correct? Oh, we
are going to have two more, good.
But the theme is correct. We want to make sure that we get
this passed. We are working bipartisan bicameral is what we are
hoping, that the Senate will step up and get this done. Because
I think without this, we are going to see a further
delineation.
And as a new legislator, I mean, this is something that we
are counting on, and that we are working hard to do. So, thank
you for being here today.
And with that I will yield back the rest of my time and,
Mr. DeSaulnier----
Mr. DeSaulnier [interposing]. Nicely done.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer [continuing]. It is your turn for 5
minutes.
Mr. DeSaulnier. You must have taken French in high school.
Well, I want to thank you, and I want to thank the
committee for having this hearing.
I have to say I look at so many familiar faces who I have
worked with on my input on the reauthorization--I am going to
date myself here--I feel like Charlie Brown with Lucy with the
football, and Lucy would be the Senate. This was such a
success, and there were some--there were things in it that I
didn't like, and standing alone I would not have voted for, and
they are trying to wrestle with those things. So, it is with a
great deal of anticipation that I hope that we get this done.
And in addition, having been involved so much with the Safe
Landings Act, which--so much of it that was my bill that came
out of the near-miss at SFO 10 years ago, that there is so much
possibility, but there is also so much risk with the near-
misses and the pressure on the system.
Mr. Santa, I was just up in SFO's tower again, your folks.
Every time I land, I am afraid they are going to [gesturing]
``Follow me.'' It was wonderful, as always. I would like to do
more of them in other parts of the country. But what I wanted
to talk to you about here, every time I go, every time I talk,
is the illustration--and it is part of our challenge in getting
it reauthorized--is: When does technology benefit?
When is it interacted, which, in our Safe Landings Act,
clearly those investments have made landings safer by upgrading
the technology.
And then the human factors of which I spent so much time
with the pilots and with your folks, recognizing you need
trained professionals.
And also recognizing, as having been a long-time elected
from the San Francisco Bay area, and proud of the tech
industry, but also being very aware of the marketing in some of
this technology is getting it right.
So, when I was up in the tower, it was sort of interesting.
There was an incident where the technology didn't work on one
of the planes that ran a stoplight, a stop sign on a taxiway.
It wasn't dangerous, but it was interesting just hearing the
staff respond going, ``Whoa.'' So, getting this right, how do
we evaluate the technology to make sure?
And the other part is to make sure not just on the
disparity in high-cost areas where so many members are, and I
hear when I talk to them, that even with the differential, it
is not enough to live in places like the bay area because the
cost of housing, but then the continuous training.
So, the vetting and the technology on the procurement side,
making sure the people who actually have to use the technology,
the pilots and your folks are part of that to make sure that
there is real, true value in it, and they are not being seduced
by the marketing of the technology, and then the continuous
training that they have to get, and how we have provided for
that for your members and for the FAA.
Mr. Santa. Yes, the most important asset we have is our
people, is our controllers. They are talented, they are
professional. They take a lifetime of effort to learn their
skills, and they use them every single day. Thousands of
decisions, safety critical decisions are made every hour you
are on position.
The technology that we talk about subsidizes that. It helps
that. It allows you more information to evaluate. It allows you
quicker decisionmaking tools. And to be part of that,
collaboratively to be part of that, to determine the direction
of that is essential because, as I said, the essential nature
of our controllers and our people needs to be evaluated by
every piece of technology that comes.
Luckily, we are involved in those workgroups.
Unfortunately, the funding and the staffing really isn't there
to fulfill them to finality or to completion.
Mr. DeSaulnier. Mr. Bradbury, maybe your experience. I
mean, we have got this pressure on the airports to move people
through. I have talked to my friends in the industry about
their profit margins, but technology, getting it right, so, as
Mr. Santa said, it is a complement to the humans being
professionally trained.
Mr. Bradbury. Absolutely. Technology is critical to what we
do every day. And we are seeing those impacts.
Having FAA reauthorization gives us more flexibility around
terminal funding, as well. And huge--we are looking at
replacing passenger boarding bridges, three, four, five, six,
seven at our terminal just to really improve that experience
and make sure we have all the technology and all of the
equipment in place to respond to our passenger needs.
Mr. DeSaulnier. Yes. And just the last thing about SFO.
Years ago, there was a controversial proposal, because of the
volume, to add another runway in the bay, and it was stopped.
But the promise was, technology would keep it as safe and keep
the volumes as high. And now, anecdotally, I hear that that is
a challenge.
So, I appreciate it. Thank you, and I yield back.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Thank you. I will now recognize Ms.
Wilson from Florida for 5 minutes.
Ms. Wilson of Florida. Thank you for this necessary hearing
today.
As we work towards the Federal Aviation Administration
authorization, we must maintain our global leadership in
aviation. To do this, we must consider timely airport
infrastructure upgrades and a commitment to bolstering our
security.
In my district, the Miami International Airport is one of
the most active airports for international passengers, with
more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other
U.S. airport. However, the lack of a Federal Aviation
Administration bill has increased security concerns, as seen in
a distressing incident this Monday in Miami International
Airport. A passenger on an American Airlines flight assaulted
multiple airline workers, sending one to the hospital with
permanent injuries. This is utterly unacceptable.
Our aviation workforce must remain safe and protected from
dangerous passengers. Unfortunately, the delayed
reauthorization leaves newly confirmed FAA Administrator
Whitaker without necessary congressional guidance. He needs
clear direction on Congress' FAA priorities to move the FAA
forward. Without such direction, we risk the future of the
aviation industry and jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs has always been my
mantra, and the lack of congressional direction will continue
to affect the aviation workforce negatively.
An FAA reauthorization bill is not just a piece of
legislation. It symbolizes a commitment, the safety of every
traveler, a pledge to foster economic development, and an
investment in the technological advancement that will propel
aviation into the future. With that I have a few questions for
the witnesses.
Mr. Peterson, in section 538 of the FAA reauthorization
bill, the bill creates a task force to address issues with the
interference of aviation workforce members. Can you talk about
the importance of this task force, and can you highlight the
labor representative's critical role in this task force?
Mr. Peterson. Yes, thank you. So, first and foremost, I am
aware of the situation in Miami. And that is exactly why this
is needed.
The folks that work in aviation, we are just trying to do
our job, get passengers from point A to point B. When something
doesn't go right with a passenger service agent or a flight
attendant, it seems that now passengers feel they can abuse
them and get physically violent.
The task force that could be put in place, one, is to
figure out how to lower that temperature when those situations
happen. And then the second piece is, we have got to find a
way, when this does happen, that people are convicted of the
right crime. And again, there is jurisdictional issues that
come up not necessarily inside the airport, but certainly on
the aircraft with the flight attendants that we deal with.
But the task force between labor and, so to speak,
management working together to figure out how to eliminate
those types of situations as best as possible is critical. This
bill provides for that, and it has been a long time coming. As
we have seen in the past couple of years, these numbers just
keep escalating. There has got to be a way to bring them down.
Ms. Wilson of Florida. Thank you. Mr. Peterson, the number
of unruly passengers in 2023 drastically outpaced the numbers
pre-COVID. This trend has been a growing problem throughout the
Nation. Locally, we have seen numerous incidents at the Fort
Lauderdale airport. Can you talk about the importance of
protecting the workers in the airport, be it gate agents, TSA
employees, everyone?
Mr. Peterson. Yes, and I think it goes hand in hand, in-
flight or on the ground. The incident at Fort Lauderdale
involved one of our agents, a Spirit agent, just recently.
Again, I am very familiar with the situation.
There is this belief, again, that if you are not getting
what you want in an airport from an agent, you can abuse them.
And it is just simply--there has got to be an agreement somehow
between labor and management that passengers who do this, one,
aren't allowed to fly for at least some period of time. And the
problem we have today is none of that data can be shared, so,
they just go from one airline to another if an airline does ban
somebody. This isn't good for the airport infrastructure, Fort
Lauderdale being a great example. This has been an ongoing
issue in Fort Lauderdale multiple times with people.
And so, we have got to find a way to put penalties in place
for people that are bad actors in the airport or on the
aircraft, and protect the workers in both those areas.
Ms. Wilson of Florida. Thank you.
I yield back.
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. The gentlelady yields back, thank you.
Are there any further questions from members of the
committee who have not been recognized?
Seeing none, that concludes our hearing today. I want to
thank each and every witness that was here today for your time
and your testimony.
And with that, this committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 1:05 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

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