Tax On Bonuses Received From Certain TARP Receipients

Floor Speech

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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam President, I rise today to speak about this critical legislation we have before us--The Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act.

I wish to thank Chairman ROCKEFELLER, Chairman DORGAN, Ranking Members HUTCHISON and DEMINT for their hard work on this critical legislation.

I share the concerns raised by Chairman DORGAN, as he spoke on the floor about the need to advance this legislation, and implement a number of vital improvements to the safety and security of our aviation system

On the night of February 12, 2009, Continental flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air, departed Newark Airport bound for Buffalo, NY.

The 45 passengers and 5 crewmembers were just miles from the airport when a series of events resulted in the death of all aboard as well as a father on the ground whose home was the unfortunate final resting place of flight 3407.

Over this last year, I have gotten to know many of the families of the victims very well. They are a constant presence here in Washington, DC, working to improve safety conditions so that others are spared from the horror and loss that they have experienced.

Sitting in my office last spring, as the NTSB began to release information on the crash, I discussed with the families the tremendous value of their advocacy. For decades the system has been slow to change and in the mean time innocent lives have been lost.

We discussed the possibility of seizing on this very legislation as a vehicle of change--to bring accountability and transparency to the system--to strengthen the training requirements and push forward to achieving not just ``one level of safety'' but a ``higher level of safety''.

That conversation began a year-long campaign by the families who, on their own dime, have been here at every aviation-safety hearing both in the Senate and House and have frequented Senator's offices with the steadfast determination to turn this tragedy into a clarion call for change.

We must remember the people we lost in the Buffalo crash.

An expecting mother, a community health advocate, a young couple in love, an international human rights leader, a second-year law student. These were mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, taken suddenly, their passions and dreams left for those closest to them to honor and pursue.

Beverly Eckert died in that crash. She was a national leader, who took her personal tragedy of losing her husband on September 11, and became a leading advocate for the 9/11 families. She was on her way to Buffalo that night to celebrate her late husband's birthday with family, and to honor a student at Canisius High School with a scholarship named for her husband.

Gerry Niewood, was a noted jazz musician, Rochester native and graduate of the Eastman School of Music and University at Buffalo. Gerry was on his way to Buffalo to join his long-time friend and Grammy winner Chuck Mangione in a concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

The details surrounding the tragedy of flight 3407 have been well-documented.

We know that for the 2 days prior to that night, the captain, who had a history of training failures, had not slept in a bed, commuting from his home in Florida.

The copilot, who had complained of illness during the trip, had also not slept in a bed the night before, commuting from her home in Seattle, with a stop in Memphis, to her duty station at LaGuardia.

I don't know of many jobs, especially those where people's lives are in your hands, that can be done under these circumstances.

Although not specifically addressed in this underlying bill, this issue of commuting and duty time, is but one of many factors that came together to result in this tragedy.

Working with my colleague, Senator SCHUMER, we advanced legislation that would raise the minimum standards for new commercial pilots. A version of this proposal, which was endorsed by the Families of Flight 3407, has been secured in this underlying legislation.

The new standards would increase the minimum flight hours for commercial hires from the current 250 hours to 800 for copilots. Apart from just more flight time experience, the new regulations would increase the quality of that training, not just the quantity.

The proposal requires the Administrator of the FAA to engage in rulemaking that requires that beyond the 800 hours minimum pilots must demonstrate effective operation of aircraft in: multipilot conditions; adverse weather conditions, including icing conditions, as was the case with flight 3407; high altitude operations; and basic standards of cockpit professionalism and operations in part of the airline industry.

A major concern that I share with the families, is that often times, when left to their own, the FAA has a poor track record in acting on updating regulations.

This legislation will give the FAA until end of next year to enact these new regulations or a more stringent set of regulations will become the across-the-board standard.

Also, included in this bill is the crux of the Flight 3407 Memorial Act, my legislation that would require the FAA to report back to Congress on all new safety recommendations issues by the National Transportation Safety Board investigative reports.

Time and time again the FAA has failed to enhance training requirements and other safety measures. The version of the reporting requirements that I secured in the underlying bill will not only require the FAA to respond to NTSB recommendations, but let the American people know what actions they are taking, and the timeline by which they will act on recommendations.

This will ensure that the voices of the families are not only heard, but responded to.

Instituting this level of oversight is critical as we look to assure the Families of Flight 3407, and all Americans who travel by air, that those responsible for acting on the recommendations of safety experts, are not simply filing those recommendations away in a filing cabinet, never to see the light of day. They are listening and implementing safer standards and procedures.

I am grateful for the hard work of the Commerce Committee and leadership in bringing this important bill forward.

The steps taken in this legislation begin to address the culture of inaction that helped contribute to the crash outside Buffalo.

It is time to learn the lessons of the past, change the culture of inaction, and make air travel safer for all of us.

We owe it to those lost to never forget, and to continue our work to address the serious concerns raised over the last year.

I look forward to seeing these improvements contained in this critical legislation enacted.

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