National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chair, I rise to express my concern with certain aspects of the Calvert amendment that is included in part of the en bloc amendments to the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that we will pass by voice vote. My colleague from California has every right to attempt to catalogue the quantity of civilian and contractors within the Department of Defense. But I must object to his characterization of our civilian defense employees' roles.

I am lucky enough to represent nearly 80,000 federal employees, many of whom work at the Pentagon, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Fort Belvoir, or one of the myriad Department of Defense installations around Northern Virginia. This includes ground breaking work at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, important work to keep us safe at Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and the jobs supplying our military with the tools it needs at the Defense Logistics Agency. Our nation, its people, and its defenses would not by possible without the dedicated work of these individuals.

Mr. Calvert's effort to categorize these civilian defense employees as disproportionate or duplicative undermines the incredible work they do every day to keep our military running. The ability to produce combat power, modernize, and keep our troops healthy and safe are critical functions at the Department of Defense. Moreover, they are critical functions performed by highly intelligent, accomplished, and dedicated civilian employees.

Our civilian workforce has already weathered years of uncertain budgets, pay freezes, a government shutdown, and sequester furloughs. We should not further demean the important work they do with this amendment.

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Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the chairman from Texas for adding my amendment to this en bloc.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment today would require the Defense Department and FAA to study the impact of military helicopter noise in the national capital region and to develop recommendations to reduce the effect of noise on people and property.

The airspace around Washington, D.C., is more restricted and more highly congested than in any other part of the country. On average, 144 helicopter operations take place here every day, 75 percent of which are military, encompassing all types of military aircraft. One recent addition to our airspace is the V-22 Osprey, a hybrid helicopter and airplane with the width of an 8-story building. It has been deployed to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, rescue missions in Haiti and the San Juan Mountains, and now the peaceful communities of northern Virginia.

As most of my colleagues probably know, the Osprey can transition from a turboprop plane to a conventional helicopter, all while hovering at a low altitude. This noisy transition takes place directly over the Fairlington neighborhood in my district in Arlington, Virginia.

Mr. Chairman, the communities in my district are realistic about the noise helicopters generate and are sensitive to the operational needs of the military, but the routes and altitude caps dictated by the FAA follow best practices for public and private aircraft, not military aircraft designed for a conflict zone.

A total quieting of the skies in northern Virginia is not possible or even practical; but given the military's insistence on using such heavy, loud aircraft, it is only right that they work with the FAA to reexamine the existing route structure and offer some possible solutions.

I urge my fellow Members to support this amendment en bloc.

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