Hearing of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure - Opening Statement of Rep. Sam Graves, Hearing on "Putting U.S. Aviation at Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown"

Hearing

Thank you, Chairman Larsen for holding this hearing and congratulations on being named Subcommittee Chairman.

Fortunately, it looks like another shutdown will be averted. Although if some in Congress get their way, we may not have to worry about shutting down the aviation system in the future -- because apparently, under the Green New Deal, there wouldn't even be an aviation system anymore. Imagining replacing our aviation system -- a cornerstone of our economy that provides approximately 11 million Americans with jobs -- is just ludicrous, but that's a topic for another day.

Today, I want to thank NATCA employees, PASS employees, and all Federal employees who worked without pay during the shutdown to keep our economy moving and our skies safe. I understand that during the duration of the shutdown, while the number of operations were up from the same time last year, there was no increase in serious safety incidents.

We owe you all a tremendous debt of gratitude for your professionalism under very difficult circumstances.
As we learn more about the short- and long-term impacts of the shutdown, Congress must hear from the FAA and the Department of Transportation about how the shutdown played out and what efforts are underway to recover from those impacts. This information is vital for us to truly understand the scope of the situation.

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