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September 25, 2007
House Transportation Subcommittee Agrees to Delay FAA Plan
Last week, we achieved a small victory in our effort to stop the Federal Aviation Administration's controversial airspace redesign plan from moving forward. I am proud to announce that last Thursday, Congressman Jim Oberstar, the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, gave his assurance on the House floor that the FAA plan will not go into effect until the Government Accountability Office completes its own investigation of the plan.
Together, Rep. Joe Sestak and I have asked the General Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study of the FAA Airspace Redesign project; and as a result of Chairman Oberstar’s guarantee, there will be no movement on this plan until a thorough study is complete by the GAO.
I am absolutely convinced that this project is a colossal mistake at the expense of not only taxpayer’s dollars, but their quality of life as well. I will continue fighting the FAA’s attempt to move forward with this plan and will continue working to develop a new alternative that will adequately address the delays at our region's airports, while also preserving the quality of life for area residents in the most cost effective manner possible.
Below is a recent Gloucester County Times Article that highlights this issue:
Gloucester County Times FAA plan expected to await scrutiny Saturday, September 22, 2007 By Jonathan Vit jvit@sjnewsco.com The Federal Aviation Administration's controversial plan to reroute air traffic throughout the region will be put on hold until a congressional investigation of the plan is complete, said local lawmakers Friday. On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, gave his assurance that the FAA plan will not go into effect until the Government Accountability Office completes its own investigation of the matter. For opponents of the plan, this promise comes as a small victory. "I am confident that because the congressman was able to win this commitment we will be successful in convincing the FAA there is a better way to do this," said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, "that will mean less cost for the taxpayers and less noise for the people of the Delaware Valley." The FAA has already decided to move forward with a much-contested plan to reroute air traffic in and out of Philadelphia International Airport and could place the plan in action within eight months. Airspace redesign has been proposed to reduce the average 22-minute delay for Philadelphia flights. From day one, the plan has irritated those who live within these flight paths and could look forward to a previously unseen level of air traffic above their homes. At the urging of Andrews and U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, whose Pennsylvania district is also affected, the GAO began an investigation into claims made by the FAA's report on the airspace redesign project. Worried that the FAA would rush the implementation of this project in anticipation of a negative GAO report, Sestak and Andrews began working with Oberstar to place it on ice. "We don't expect this airspace redesign to happen or be implemented while we are waiting for the GAO report," said Sestak. The two lawmakers fault the FAA plan on a number of grounds, including an overestimate of the amount of time a restructuring of the airspace could save. "We believe that the review will show two things," said Andrews. "One is that the reduction in flight delays claimed by the FAA is way off, and that the amount of savings (from reducing) flight delays is infinitesimal." This isn't the first strike against the FAA's plan. Last week, Delaware County officials filed a federal lawsuit with the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals taking exception to the FAA's numbers. Sestak, who announced the lawsuit in a press conference with Delaware County officials last Friday, explained that the county will next file for a delay in implementing the plan until litigation wraps up. "If there is irreparable harm from the FAA's failure to follow the Environmental Protection Act, a stay can be filed," he said. Even without Delaware County's filing for a stay with federal courts, the FAA has to wait out the GAO report, which could take months. "The GAO is truly an independent entity," said Andrews. "They do it right before they do it fast." C 2007 Gloucester County Times C 2007 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
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