FAA Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor to talk about the FAA reauthorization bill. Before I do that, I would like to take a moment to recognize a graduate of Rogers High School in Puyallup, WA. SSG Ronald J. Shurer II, who received the Medal of Honor yesterday for his selfless heroism in Afghanistan.

When he heard wounded members of his team were trapped on a hill, he didn't hesitate. In the face of heavy enemy fire, Staff Sergeant Shurer shielded three wounded teammates with his own body and helped them reach safety.

I congratulate Staff Sergeant Shurer for his heroism and bravery and his sacrifice, and I would like to congratulate him and his family on his receiving this honor. We in Washington are very proud of Staff Sergeant Shurer. FAA Reauthorization Bill

Mr. President, turning to the FAA bill, which I hope we are going to be considering very shortly, I am pleased that the Senate is looking at a 5-year reauthorization.

It wasn't that long ago that we were talking about short-term extensions and didn't know if we could get to this point of clearing the rest of these issues. I would like to thank my colleagues Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson, and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Blunt for helping get us to this point.

The work we have done on this legislation is so important because it is helping U.S. commercial aviation remain the safest and most secure in the world and to improve the traveling public's experience.

Just like so many other reauthorizations, this reflects an agreement by Congress on the need to focus on safety and security, to implement the latest and greatest technologies, and to increase the use of bomb- sniffing dogs to help the flying public feel more secure and to move quickly through our airports.

This legislation recognizes the values of the latest technologies across many aspects of the aviation sector from NextGen--which allows us to fly more efficiently--to expanded use of unmanned aerial vehicle systems, to new TSA equipment that, as I said, will help us move through security lines more efficiently and help make us safer.

While we need to keep on working to address infrastructure needs at our crowded airports, I can tell you most specifically that, for the Pacific Northwest, where we have seen some of the fastest growth in air transportation and demand by the public in recent years, this 5-year reauthorization does provide the FAA with the certainty it needs to use its Airport Improvement Program to invest in long-term projects that will help us increase capacity at large and small airports.

Again, I can't tell you how important this is for airports all over the State of Washington. Many of us know that about 90 percent of businesses are housed within about 10 miles of an airport. So the investment in the airport and airport infrastructure is an investment in our economy for the future. These projects in this bill, like the new runway that will be completed next year at Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport in eastern Washington with $100 million in Federal funding, gives communities the tools they need to keep that economy growing.

I can tell you, it is growing. With WSU and other institutions in the region, it is helping grow and attract some of the best technology in Next Generation Energy. The fact that the airport is able to expand helps all of us in the region grow.

The Federal funding that will continue to be provided in this bill is critical for airports to increase their capacity and help our economy. Under programs reauthorized in this legislation, Sea-Tac is currently completing a $14 million runway and taxi reconstruction. Spokane has received $15 million for airfield improvements, and airports from Everett to Walla Walla to Winthrop have each received millions of dollars through these programs to keep their facilities up to date.

The Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco was awarded $7 million to install an inline baggage screening system in their new terminal. Yes, our airports depend on to continue to move forward on FAA and infrastructure investment.

This legislation also expands the Small Community Air Service Development Program, which provides grants to communities to help them attract and maintain critical air service by creating marketing programs and providing incentives to airlines. This has been a great tool for our State, including airports in Walla Walla, Spokane, Yakima, Wenatchee, and Pasco, as they have used these resources to help grow service. Once service is established, it is easy to maintain. Why? Because they have helped get the carrier and the traffic and they can see that it can be sustained.

The United States has the best aviation safety record in the world, and the FAA's oversight and certification procedures are critical in maintaining that. This bill continues with making sure that those procedures remain strong.

The bill helps us with what are called contract air traffic control towers in making sure that small communities that are working to retain air service can do so by making sure that their towers remain in operation. These contract towers provide a key layer of safety at smaller airports and in the region. Places like Yakima, Wenatchee, Spokane, Bellingham, Renton, and Walla Walla will not be saddled with the responsibility for these contract towers but will receive support so that they, too, can handle the demand of air transportation. Contract towers handle about 28 percent of ATC operations, yet they account for about 14 percent of the FAA's tower operations budget.

The bill recognizes the important role, also, that flight attendants play in ensuring cabin safety by making sure they receive adequate rest. This legislation finally puts them on par with our pilots. It says that they have to have their 10 hours of rest, as well, so that they can function and continue to help us with the traveling public.

The bill preserves access to important safety tools. It bans the FAA from removing contract weather observers from airports for the next several years. Why is this so important? Because at airports with changing conditions where we need human observation of critical weather measurements, this helps us maintain safety. In places like Spokane, WA, where conditions can change quickly and freezing conditions can be quite common, this helps us maintain safety.

The bill also takes important steps toward securing airports and airplanes with reauthorization of the Transportation Security Administration.

We know that there is no better tool in our airports today to helping us make sure they operate safely and securely by having explosive detecting K-9 units. That is why I was proud to lead a provision in the bill that will help us expand the use of bomb-detecting K-9s for screening our passengers and protecting the public at our airports. What we are seeing is that security lines at our airports move much more rapidly when these K-9s are present.

Yes, they are a deterrent in and of themselves, and they help speed up lines. But they also are there to detect the use of explosives or other materials, and they are doing an unbelievable job. That is why this provision allows for larger airports to get more K-9 units certified by TSA and work with them to address long lines at our airports.

In the Northwest, we have seen that these K-9s can do unbelievable things to help us. In fact, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has been one of the fastest growing airports for the last several years, and the K-9s have helped us through these checkpoints in the passenger screening process where they can screen almost 60 percent more passengers per hour than a checkpoint without K-9s.

It is so important that this legislation helps us get more K-9s trained and more coordination between airports and TSA as these new tools are improved. We are so happy that it is included in this legislation.

We also give smaller airports more tools to improve security. The bill contains a program to implement exit lane technology at small hub airports. It contains a $55 million authorization to reimburse airports for deploying local law enforcement officers to help maintain public areas in large and small airports.

These tools are also important because our airports have had more and more responsibility; yet we need them to operate efficiently and effectively. At the same time, we are trying to improve the flying experience. More people are flying than ever before, and airplanes and airports are becoming more cramped and chaotic.

This FAA bill is set to make sure that there are minimum dimensions for passenger seats. It raises the bar on some of the other safety improvements to make sure that the traveling public and disabled passengers are treated with dignity and respect.

The bill also requires airlines to provide prompt refunds so that passengers are paid in a timely fashion when they are due a refund.

It also improves other technology in unmanned air systems, an increased use of important commercial, scientific, and public safety issues that are now at the advent of what we see with drone applications.

These are so important because we want to move forward with our Coast Guard, with our Forest Service, with transportation, using information and data to help us do our jobs better. This important piece of legislation helps us make sure we are improving safety and oversight by the right amount for these new systems that will be part of this package.

I am so glad to have worked with my colleagues on this very broad bipartisan piece of legislation. I can't tell you how important aviation is to the State of Washington. We are a big aviation- manufacturing State. Yes, we like to build and sell airplanes, but we also know that, as our economy has grown, our airports are a key tool, as they are in any State, to continue to grow and continue to manage the challenges of air transportation.

This bill is the right tool for many airports across the State of Washington and across the Nation to continue to grow, to continue to manage that population growth, and ensure safety and efficiency.

I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. There are many more things we need to do, but this is a good down payment for the next 5 years.

I thank Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson for getting us to this point today.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source