Faa Reauthorization Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4). Since 2012, Congress has been unable to pass a long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It is long overdue that we continue to ensure safe skies for the American people while also providing stability for our air traffic controllers. This legislation reauthorizes the FAA through 2023 and will offer the funding reliability needed to make improvements to our airports and air transportation infrastructure. I am also pleased that Republican Leadership abandoned their longstanding push to privatize America's air traffic control system which would have been downright fiscally irresponsible.

H.R. 4 also includes a number of amendments unrelated to FAA reauthorization. One amendment that I support is the important disaster relief and recovery provisions that will directly help Americans in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and others around the country who remain vulnerable to natural disasters. These amendments to the Stafford Act will help communities rebuild from disasters such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and will allow Americans to better prepare for future storms. Not only will this legislation help Americans rebuild, it will save taxpayers down the road by reducing future recovery costs. While I agree with this amendment, it is disheartening that it took this long for Congress to act to give the people of disaster-struck areas the relief they need.

I do remain deeply concerned with two partisan amendments that were added to the bill on the House floor. The first amendment would pre- empt state and local laws that limit the hours a trucker can drive. This amendment is not only dangerous, but it has no business being in legislation that reauthorizes the FAA. Make no mistake, if this partisan provision is not stripped out by the Senate, truck drivers and all Americans who drive on our interstate system will be less safe.

I am also troubled by an amendment that specifically targets the makeup of the Metropolitan Council in Minnesota. The Lewis Amendment represents an alarming infringement by the Federal Government on the local transit decision-making process in the Twin Cities metro area. By requiring the Metropolitan Council to shift from a citizens' board appointed by the Governor of Minnesota to a locally elected board in order to keep its status as a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), this amendment would throw transit planning for the entire Twin Cities metro area into political infighting and chaos. This amendment would stall transit planning for the metro region, significantly threaten future federal funding for Minnesota and inhibit the continued growth of our culturally diverse and economically dynamic metro area. I plan on working with Ranking Member De Fazio and my Senate counterparts to ensure that this misguided and non-germane amendment is removed in conference. I would also like to include in the Record an Op-Ed from The Star Tribune as well as a letter from Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, explaining why this amendment is harmful to Minnesota.

Again, I am pleased that the House of Representatives is finally able to pass this long overdue but bipartisan reauthorization of the FAA. As the 115th Congress moves forward, I hope Congressional Republicans will continue to work with Democrats to invest in America's transportation system. State of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, April 30, 2018. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, Washington, DC.

Dear Majority Leader McConnell: On April 27, 2018, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. As the Senate prepares to take up FAA reauthorization legislation, I urge you not to include language from the House bill that would effectively end the Metropolitan Council's designation as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Twin Cities region of Minnesota.

H.R. 4 will modify a statute relating to MPOs established prior to December 18, 1991, by now requiring local elected officials to serve on their governing boards. The Metropolitan Council has consisted of governor-appointed members since 1967 and has never had elected officials serve as members. In 1973, the Metropolitan Council was designated the MPO by the governor to meet the new federal requirement, because it was already serving the purpose of an MPO before they were federally required--to ensure the coordination of land use and transportation planning. In 1974, the state legislature also designated the Metropolitan Council as MPO in Minnesota state statute. The Metropolitan Council has properly and effectively served this function for 45 years, and amendment H.R. 4 would rescind this MPO model.

In 1974, the Minnesota State Legislature also created the TAB to align more closely with federal MPO requirements and guide the Metropolitan Council's transportation funding decisions. Elected officials play a powerful role in spending federal transportation money through the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB). Today, the 34-member TAB consists of citizens and representatives of municipalities and counties, in fact, 18 of 34 members are elected officials. The TAB allocates the MPO's federal funds, and the Metropolitan Council's powers are limited to either concurrence or returning the decisions to TAB for reconsideration.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has grandfathered the Metropolitan Council's unique governance structure, as allowed under current law, for over 25 years. The Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration have also recently reaffirmed the Metropolitan Council's status.

I reiterate my request that the Senate exclude this damaging MPO provision from the Senate FAA reauthorization bill. Eliminating the Metropolitan Council's MPO status would trigger a lengthy redesignation process that would bring uncertainty about federally funded transportation projects in the Twin Cities, and circumvent a longstanding and productive process at a time when transportation investment is critical to our region.

Thank you for your consideration. Mark Dayton, Governor. ____ [From Star Tribune, Apr. 26, 2018] U.S. House Approves Measure Taking Aim at Met Council (By Eric Roper)

Rep. Jason Lewis objects to powerful regional board being nonelected.

The Metropolitan Council would be stripped of its authority to distribute millions of federal transportation dollars if a provision approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday becomes law.

The measure, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, R-Minn., tackles long-simmering complaints about gubernatorial appointees, rather than elected officials, leading the powerful regional government.

The council's status as the Twin Cities' official transportation planning organization is grandfathered into federal law, which otherwise mandates that those boards must have local elected officials.

``We now have in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region the only board in the country that is entirely nonelected, the only [transportation planning organization] that has the authority to independently raise taxes and is nonelected,'' Lewis said during debate on his amendment, tacked onto the Federal Aviation Administration bill.

The measure's future is uncertain in the Senate, which has yet to vote on its own FAA reauthorization bill. In a letter to the state's congressional delegation Wednesday, Gov. Mark Dayton, a DFLer, warned that the change would ``circumvent a long-standing and productive process at a time when transportation investment is critical to our region.''

Met Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff also criticized the proposal.``We cannot predict whether the region, and its many diverse interests, would be able to continue to find common ground on building a new [planning organization],'' Tchourumoff said in a statement. ``This uncertainty could paralyze our regional transportation planning and funding efforts, putting billions of dollars in federal funding at risk.''

Lewis said the existing structure already breeds uncertainty.

``Uncertainty is a board that changes course every time there's a new election in the governor's mansion,'' Lewis said.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said Lewis' amendment ``is attempting to break apart the operating structure of a local [planning organization] seemingly to punish it.''

The Met Council's structure has been controversial since its creation in the 1960s. Republican state legislators are advancing bills to replace the board with elected officials. Dayton vetoed a similar effort last year.

The federal government requires metro areas to have a planning organization to coordinate and plan for how the region doles out federal transportation funds. The law says they must include local elected officials, except for those operating under a state law passed before 1991. A number of suburban counties hired a lobbyist in 2015 to argue that the Met Council was running afoul of those rules. They were rebuffed by federal transportation officials. In its decisions on which projects to fund, the council seeks recommendations from a transportation advisory board made up partly of local elected officials. But that board is not the designated planning organization for the Twin Cities.

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