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STATEMENT OF HON. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON,
RANKING MEMBER COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION
SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING ON FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: NEXTGEN AND THE BENEFITS OF MODERNIZATION
MARCH 25, 2009 Thank you Sen. Dorgan, I would like to welcome both you and Sen. DeMint to your new positions as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee. I look forward to working with both of you as we move forward with the FAA Reauthorization process. I am especially hopeful we can continue to move forward in a bipartisan manner and develop a consensus bill we can all strongly support.
I am also pleased we are starting out the FAA Reauthorization process and discussing the importance and benefits of the Next Generation Air Transportation System or “NextGen”. I believe that NextGen should be the centerpiece of our FAA proposal. We need to give the agency the tools and resources it needs to make NextGen a reality.
I am very concerned that when the economy rebounds, the air traffic control system will not be able to handle the accompanying rebound in air travel.
The investments needed for NextGen are exactly the type of infrastructure projects our country needs to create jobs and opportunities that will last not just for a few years, but for a few decades.
We have a very complex aviation system that calls for a sophisticated and well organized solution. The benefits of increased efficiency and expanded capacity, along with critical safety enhancements and a reduction of the overall industry environmental footprint should be enough of a “carrot” to entice interest and support for the effort.
The FAA is moving away from planning phases and towards implementation of NextGen technologies. We know what we can, and need to do, in the short-term; so let’s put the infrastructure in place.
The industry can then follow suit and complete the transition. Chairman Rockefeller and I had an amendment to the stimulus bill that accelerated the deployment of ADS-B ground stations by two years and accelerated the use of precision approaches across the country.
That amendment ultimately was not accepted into the final package, but it was a move in the right direction and a signal that we are serious about improving this system. This hearing is also important because the FAA is starting a new era of modernization with NextGen.
The FAA, unfortunately, has a long history of mishandling long-term capital projects, but as we move into the implementation phase of NextGen, the FAA has a tremendous opportunity to change that reputation.
The FAA will need help though.If industry is serious about NextGen then they need to coalesce behind the idea and they need to help find solutions.
I look forward to starting that process today.I welcome our panel and look forward to the testimony.
Thank you.
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