[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11819-S11824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONFERENCE REPORT TO ACCOMPANY THE FEDERAL AVIATION AUTHORIZATION ACT
OF 1996
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to again
address the question of the failure to approve the conference report on
the aviation trust fund. This is the Federal Aviation Authorization Act
of 1996.
Mr. President, the bill before us contains the funding for the
Government. We have already dealt with the appropriations for
transportation. But the conference report on the Aviation Authorization
Act for 1996 contains the authority to spend the money. There currently
is just $50 million, out of a $1.46 billion program, left after today
to continue the work of the modernization of our airports and airways.
We have worked now 2 years--a bipartisan group--to try and improve the
safety and security of the Federal aviation system.
I give great credit to the chairman of the Commerce Committee,
Senator Pressler, the ranking member, Senator Hollings, and to the
chairman of the aviation subcommittee, Mr. McCain, and the ranking
member of that committee, the distinguished Senator from Kentucky, Mr.
Ford. We have, many of us, had differences of opinion on the bill. But
we found a way to work it out. This bill is absolutely necessary now to
proceed to strengthen the safety and security of the aviation
transportation system. I am here this morning to again serve notice to
the Senate that this bill must be passed before we adjourn sine die.
Again, let me say, there is only $50 million left in this fund that can
be expended after today.
What we are looking at, Mr. President, is a bill that has been
crafted in order to meet some very important objectives of people who
are very much involved with the issues of aviation safety. Let me point
out, for instance, that just this past week we, once again, had a
hearing with regard to the rights of those people who are survivors of
victims of air disasters.
Mr. SIMON. Will my colleague yield?
Mr. STEVENS. I am not prepared to yield during this statement, Mr.
President. I don't intend to take much time. I want to alert the
Senate--and I know the Senator from Illinois has a matter he wishes to
bring up that is quite similar to what I am talking about. But I would
like to finish my statement.
We had Victoria Cummock, a survivor of a victim of the Pan Am crash.
She has done a great deal to alert families who have been similarly
affected of the need for Federal legislation to deal with family
assistance to those that are affected by these crashes, the survivors
of the victims of the crashes.
One of the things they asked us to do was to pass House bill 3923.
And as I said at the hearing, I don't intend to get too personal about
this, but I personally know something about victims of air crashes. I
know that it is necessary for us to wake up and make sure that the
Federal law does assure assistance to families of passengers involved
in aircraft accidents. This bill does that. The aviation bill does
that.
The bill that is in the conference report that is being held up now
over one provision in the bill. It requires the Chairman of the
National Transportation Safety Board to designate and publicize the
name and phone number of a director of family support services to
designate an independent nonprofit organization, such as the Red Cross,
to assist in the taking of responsibility for coordinating the
emotional care and support for those families. It has a substantial
designation of assistance, such as providing mental health and
counseling services, to provide it in the environment in which families
may grieve in private, meet with families, communicate with families as
to the role of Government agency, and arrange for a suitable memorial
service after consultation with the families.
It is a bill that is absolutely necessary, as we think of the number
of families that have been affected by these air carrier crashes. It
will provide that unsolicited communication concerning a potential
action for personal injury can't be made before 30 days after the
accident. It does have a requirement that the air carrier submit plans
to address the needs of families if their aircraft is involved in an
accident. There is absolute necessity for this bill to pass. It
establishes a task force within the Department of Transportation to
assure that this will be done.
Mr. President, my main reason for addressing the issue, though, is
the problem of safety at our airports. The Aberdeen, SD, runway has
almost closed for safety reasons. It has no carryover money. It has to
have this bill passed today so that money will be available tomorrow.
In my capital city of Juneau, we have a wind shear problem. It has
recently developed that the FAA wishes to change the takeoff
requirements and will not allow a plane to take off until they can
prove there are no wind shears in the community.
We have in this bill the authorization for the money to take wind
shear equipment to Juneau. This is just one of the items. In
Massachusetts, for instance, as a result of formula changes in this
bill, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will receive $3.5 million more
under its entitlement, which is nearly $1.4 million greater than what
it gets now. But its Boston airport entitlement and Nantucket
entitlement both increase. In the State of Wisconsin, they would have
an apportionment of $1.9 million more in entitlement for the airports.
In Wisconsin, for instance, Madison's airport--a very interesting
area--needs the money to proceed with the improvements to their
airports. This bill is not only airports, but we are talking about
security provisions.
We have changed, as a result of the bill that I wish to have brought
up and passed today, the provisions for the authority to check criminal
records for security screeners at airports; given new authority for the
FAA to facilitate interim deployment of advanced aviation security
technology, including the explosive detection equipment that we must
have. They can make and will make vulnerability assessments of every
airport in the country, and they are going to deal with new ways to
develop passenger profiling. But above all, they are going to have the
national academy of science work on the explosive detecting and
aircraft hardening technology.
This bill cannot wait until we get back next year and organize and
get around to passing bills. It would be, roughly, February 15, at the
earliest, before that could be done. Under the essential air service,
which is absolutely essential to maintain transportation in my State
and many of the Northern States, funds could not be taken from the
trust fund if this bill does not pass. There is only a 1-month
carryover, which means that all of our planes that are involved in
essential air service will be grounded before December if this bill
does not pass.
This is the most critical bill that I can think of in terms of
aviation safety. I have a whole list of items here that deal with the
security requirements that are funded by this bill. Huntsville, AL;
Fort Lauderdale; Fort Myers; Orlando; St. Petersburg; in Atlanta,
Savannah; Valdosta, GA; Lexington, KY; Greensboro, NC; Wilmington, NC;
Chattanooga, TN; Nashville,
[[Page S11820]]
TN; in Illinois, the Springfield capital security fencing is absolutely
required that it be fixed. That money is not there unless this bill
passes today. It will not be there until the second quarter of the
fiscal year, at the earliest.
In Minnesota, there is a firefighting building provided for. I
believe that is very much associated with security.
When we go through all of these, Ohio has the largest number of
security requirements in the country that are funded by this bill. In
Racine, WI, there are obstructions on the field that must be removed.
It has one of the highest priorities in the country to deal with this.
I made a mistake; I said Ohio had the highest number. California has
the highest number of security requirements and facilities that are
funded by this bill.
Mr. President, the question comes down to, ``How can we get this bill
up?'' There are ways, Mr. President, that we can delay the present bill
until the FAA bill is brought up. I do not want to do that. I
appreciate, as I have already said, the work done by the leaders of our
Appropriations Committee, and the joint leadership of the Congress, to
see to it that there is no hiatus in funding in terms of our National
Government at this time.
But the FAA bill comes before us when the country has been rocked
with aviation tragedies. ValuJet is just starting to fly today. That
reminds all of us of the tragedy in Florida. We still have the
unexplained TWA Flight 800. We have all kinds of speculation concerning
that. In the wake of the tragedy, the White House had a commission
chaired by the Vice President. Many of those recommendations are in our
bill. We have added to them considerably.
But, clearly, the explosive detection devices are No. 1 in regard to
our joint effort to find a way to upgrade our security at our Nation's
airports.
Mr. President, there is a small group of Senators that are delaying
this bill because of one provision. It is just as easy for them to come
in here next year and repeal that. That will not be difficult. If they
have the votes to repeal it, they can repeal it next year.
The idea of delaying the safety of the Nation over one amendment--I
must say, it was an amendment offered on the other side of the aisle,
which most of us on this side of the aisle supported, but it is a
provision that corrects a technicality in the law. And the law that was
passed by Congress, as I understand it, was a mistake in the law.
But, in any event, why this bill? Why can't these Senators find a way
to meet their objectives without putting the Nation's safety at risk?
I want the Senate to know that if this bill does not pass, I am going
to see to it that the survivor of every victim gets the personal
telephone number of the people that oppose this bill. I urge people
involved in this victims' rights committee to get on the phone and call
these people right now.
There is no reason for this delay. We have tried our best to work out
a problem here with regard to aviation safety, and it is the basic
problem which brought us to the point that we are here today; that is,
that we were in disagreement as to how to finance future additions to
the trust fund. There was no dispute among Members of the Senate over
what we had to do to meet the security requirements, or what we had to
do to find a way to increase funding. It was as to how we were to do
it.
We have had disagreements whether we should have taxes, or whether we
should have a new entity that replaces the aviation trust fund, or
whether we should have new fees and find new funding mechanisms. The
question was not whether we needed more money to modernize our system
and improve safety, and particularly deal with the increased terrorist
threat. The question was how to get that money. That is a separate
issue, but it is not the issue that is delaying this bill.
What is delaying this bill is about three sentences in the bill that
deal with an error which was made in the ICC bill passed through the
Congress. I understand that some people are very disturbed about that.
I have heard from some people in my State who are very disturbed about
that. But my answer to them has been, look, this bill means Juneau will
reopen. This means that the people who are in these areas where the
money will run out will not face a closure of their airports as Juneau
has been placed--it means that the essential air services will
continue. And we will not have to notify the people in 170 villages in
my State that, ``I am sorry, you can't have Christmas transportation
because the money has run out. Two or three Senators objected to a
bill.''
There is a procedure here, Mr. President, so that we can continue. I
ask the leadership to join together and notify us. We will stay in
session until we pass the FAA bill. A procedure has to be followed. It
is a cloture procedure. It can take a series of days, and it will be a
severe inconvenience to many Senators. But what is inconvenience to the
Senators as compared to having additional crashes in this country?
I usually don't speak--I do speak loudly and angrily, but I do not
speak with such personal involvement, Mr. President. I cannot conceive
that anyone would stand in the way of passing legislation that might--I
can't say it will, but it might--lead to the installation of safety
equipment which would prevent an aircraft crash in this country.
I intend to be back and back. I seek the assurance of the leadership
that we will stay in session to pass this bill. It means tomorrow,
Wednesday, and probably Thursday before we can get it done. But this
Senator is prepared. And I am a candidate. I would like to go home. I
am prepared to stay here as long as it takes to convince these Senators
that we have the authority in our rules to go around two or three
Senators to get a bill passed. It may well be that.
I also urge leadership not to accept the objection of any absent
Senator. Two of these Senators are not here, and they are sending in
objections. I am going to start reading off their names the next time.
If I have to come to the floor, starting tomorrow I am going to talk
about the Senators personally who are obstructing the passage of a bill
that is absolutely necessary in the interest of the safety of this
country.
Mr. DORGAN. Will the Senator yield?
Mr. STEVENS. I yield the floor.
Several Senators addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed as if in
morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, if I may have the attention of my colleague
from Alaska, I agree with 99 percent of what he had to say. What
happened, Mr. President, is that in conference on this very vital
bill--and the Senator from Alaska is correct when he says this is a
vital bill--in conference, a matter where the Congress injects itself
into a labor-management issue of one corporation, an amendment that was
defeated 10 to 10 in Appropriations Committee when it came up.
Mr. STEVENS. What was that?
Mr. SIMON. This is the labor-management issue that was added on. And
just so there is no misunderstanding, Mr. President, I will introduce
for myself and Senator Kennedy the FAA bill with this provision
stripped. I am just going to leave it at the desk. I am not asking
unanimous consent to move it ahead.
Clearly, this ought to pass, but we should not at the last minute
with using the cover of FAA inject ourselves into a labor-management
issue that has been rejected by Congress before, and all of a sudden in
the last minute we are trying to get it passed. That is not the way to
do things. We ought to have hearings. If Congress wants to get in the
middle of this labor-management fight, let us do it after hearings; let
us do it very, very carefully.
Several Senators addressed the Chair.
Mr. DORGAN. Will the Senator yield to me?
Mr. SIMON. I am pleased to yield to my colleague from North Dakota.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, there are a couple of ways for the Senate
to resolve this issue. One is a cloture vote that prevails, and the
other is for the provision that is currently in the legislation to be
withdrawn.
I want to point out that the Congress, in my judgment, does not have
the luxury of adjourning and leaving
[[Page S11821]]
this session of Congress not having resolved this issue.
Mr. SIMON. I agree with my colleague.
Mr. DORGAN. I agree with the Senators from Alaska and Illinois, and
others who are dealing with the question of aviation safety and
aviation security. We have worked on this bill for a long, long while.
This bill is critically important. Whatever needs to be done must be
done, because I am joining the Senator from Alaska and others to
prevent the Congress from finishing its work if they believe that they
can allow this Congress to end its session without advancing this bill.
This bill needed to be done this year. It must be done now. Whatever
can be done to resolve this issue has to be done soon.
I heard the Senator from Alaska on Saturday come to the floor. I also
spoke a bit on this. I talked to Senator Lott, the majority leader. I
have talked to the minority leader. I visited with Senator McCain this
morning, who has a role in this. I visited half a dozen times with
Senator Wendell Ford of Kentucky.
We must solve this problem. The failure to do so will mean that this
will not be a very orderly ending to this session because this involves
the safety and security of the people who fly in this country. This
Congress cannot end its work without solving this issue.
Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I could not agree more with the Senator
from North Dakota. The question is, Are we going to take some amendment
that was not either in the House bill or the Senate bill where we move
in and say we are going to take sides in a labor/management dispute? I
frankly do not know whether the corporation or the labor union is
right. But I do not think we ought to be moving ourselves into the
middle of this thing. So, Mr. President, I offer this bill on behalf of
Senator Kennedy and myself.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill will be received.
Mr. STEVENS addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
Mr. STEVENS. I certainly will yield to the Senator from Arizona, but
I just want to say passage of that bill will kill the bill. The House
is not in session.
Mr. McCAIN addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, let me express my deep disappointment that
the Senator from Illinois would do this at this time. I am a great
admirer and friend of the Senator from Illinois, but I am telling you,
I say this in all candor to the Senator from Illinois, you are putting
in jeopardy the very lives of American citizens who fly on airlines
today. You know that this was a simple mistake, a drafting error, in
the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 that is
being corrected here. That is why the Senator from Kentucky, the
Senator from North Dakota, the Senator from South Carolina, and all of
us on the committee literally unanimously supported this amendment.
I say to the Senator from Illinois, you are going to cause grave
danger not only to American citizens, the men and women and families
who will be making use of the airlines as passengers both domestically
and internationally, but you will also prevent the much-needed funding
for airport improvements and security all over America including the
State of Illinois. I'm talking about over $9 billion annually for
national needs such as air traffic control; repair, maintenance, and
modernization of our air traffic control equipment; repair and
construction of runways, taxiways, and other vital aviation
infrastructure; the purchase of critical firefighting equipment at our
Nation's airports and the list goes on and on.
In fact, I will show the Senator from Illinois--and I will be glad to
yield to him for a response. The Senator from Illinois should
understand that in his State there is over $25 million in funding for
improvements in the aviation system in his State which is badly needed.
I do not believe there would be that $25 million, over $25 million, in
improvements which are badly needed in his State, which he is now
placing in jeopardy by not allowing this aviation funding bill to go
forward.
I understand the clout that labor has on that side of the aisle. I
understand that. I have seen it. I understand it. I know it. I am
seeing it today in the form of a lot of television commercials that are
being run all over the country in opposition to some of my friends on
this side of the aisle. But I say to the Senator from Illinois that he
is making a very serious mistake here. The Senator from Illinois has
had a very distinguished career in the Senate. As I said, he has my
true respect and friendship, and it is clear he has the respect of all
our colleagues. The little thing we did with the bow ties the other day
here in the Senate Chamber was a graphic demonstration of the enormous
affection in which we hold the Senator from Illinois.
I ask the Senator from Illinois--and I will be glad to yield to him
without losing my right to the floor in just a minute. I urge the
Senator from Illinois not to get out in front on this. This is the
Senator from Massachusetts doing; we all know it. We know it is the
Senator from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy, who is leading the
opposition to this. If the Senator from Massachusetts wants to come to
the floor and deny that, I will be more than happy to yield to him for
those purposes. But I urge the Senator from Illinois to understand that
what we are talking about here is airline safety, airport security,
ensuring that our Nation's airports will be adequately funded, and most
important providing for thorough reform, including long-term funding
reform, of the FAA to secure the resources to ensure we continue to
have the safest, most efficient air transportation system in the world.
I say to my friend from Illinois, that is what is so important in the
FAA reauthorization bill--that is what is in this bill. We are talking
about the aviation safety and the lives of American citizens, millions
and millions of whom are using our airlines each and every day. In fact
by the year 2002, more than 800 million passengers per year will be
flying the Nation's skies--a 35-percent increase over today's levels.
We are also talking about much-needed funding for the State of
Illinois, the State of Arizona, the State of Kentucky, the State of
Alaska, the State of South Carolina, the State of Massachusetts, and
others.
I also wish to remind the Senator from Illinois that in the FAA
reauthorization conference, the amendment was proposed by the Senator
from South Carolina, Senator Hollings, not by myself or the Senator
from Alaska, Senator Stevens, but it was Senator Hollings, strongly
supported by Senator Ford, who I think is unequaled in his advocacy for
the people he represents. I think it would be a serious mistake for you
to continue in your opposition to this critical aviation safety
legislation.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to yield the floor to the
Senator from Illinois without sacrificing my right to the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, as my colleague from Arizona knows, I have
great respect for him and the significant contribution he has made in
so many areas. Everything he says about the necessity for passing this
bill is correct. But what we are doing in this labor-management
provision is bypassing the committee of jurisdiction.
I remind the Senator from Arizona--I do not think he was here when I
mentioned it--this particular amendment was tried on the Appropriations
Committee, was defeated in a 10 to 10 vote in the Appropriations
Committee. It is a matter of real controversy. It injects the U.S.
Congress into a labor-management dispute. I do not know which side is
right, but I know that the committee of jurisdiction has not had a
hearing on this; that the committee of jurisdiction has not acted, and
all of a sudden we are adding this amendment.
I do not think that is the way we ought to legislate. As far as my
friend from Alaska saying the House is not in session, the House
continues to be in session. They are not going to have any more votes.
If we pass this without this amendment, it will clear in the House
without any objection whatsoever. The Senator from Arizona knows that.
The question is not whether the FAA bill should pass. The question is
whether it should pass while we insert ourselves into a labor-
management dispute that maybe someone in the Chamber knows more about
than I do. I do not know
[[Page S11822]]
that much about it. But I do not think we have any business getting
ourselves in the midst of that thing.
I thank my colleague for yielding.
Mr. FORD. Mr. President, will the Senator from Arizona allow me to
ask the Senator from Illinois a question without his losing his right
to the floor?
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I make that request.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. FORD. I say to my friend from Illinois, is he aware that this
piece of legislation, on this amendment he is referring to, was in the
ICC statutory provisions prior to the reorganization and putting ICC in
the Department of Transportation?
Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I have to tell you I do not know much about
the history of this at all other than I know we are injecting ourselves
into this labor-management dispute, which we should not be doing.
Mr. FORD. In the legislation also, I say to my friend from Illinois,
there is a statement which says that it shall not be narrowed or
broadened; it should remain the same. With that language as it relates
to the transfer of ICC, that means everything will stay the same. The
bill would not have gotten out of conference, in my judgment, if this
amendment had not been on it. Now we find, with an amendment on it, it
may not get through Congress. So all of us were in a catch-22 position.
But it is very obvious from the legal aspects--I am not a lawyer, but I
am on the jury--all of the legal experts say that the express part of
the ICC has been used, has been used several times, has been tested.
So leaving this out of the legislation is what persuaded some of us
to try to be helpful. I want to get the bill passed. I understand that.
But I think you will find that the scorched Earth policy is one that
will just keep us here for a while. The Senator from Alaska, even
though he is a candidate--he is up for reelection--is willing under the
circumstances to encourage his leadership for us to stay here.
The point is, does the fight get completed in a reasonable time or do
we have the fight prolonged? I hope, if we are going to have the fight,
that the Senator and his colleagues, the two or three others, whatever
number it might be, give us an opportunity to have a cloture vote
tomorrow and proceed with the passage of this legislation or the defeat
of it. I hope he will get in that posture so we can do these things the
bill purports to do and we can go on home.
I thank the Chair, and I thank my colleague from Arizona.
Mr. SIMON. If my colleague will yield for 1 minute.
Mr. McCAIN. I ask unanimous consent to yield to the Senator from
Illinois without losing my right to the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SIMON. I am not trying to obstruct this thing. I hope we can work
out a reasonable answer. I think the reasonable answer is that this
piece of labor-management legislation ought to be considered by the
Labor and Human Resources Committee when the Senate comes back into
session, not stuck on a bill that was neither in the House nor the
Senate. All of a sudden we are injecting ourselves. I do not think that
is the way to legislate.
Mr. McCAIN addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCAIN. I finally ask unanimous consent to yield to the Senator
from South Dakota for 1 minute without losing my right to the floor.
Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I want to commend the Senators from
Kentucky and Arizona for their great efforts and to say I will
certainly stay here as long as it takes to pass this bill.
This bill is critical to pass. In my little State of South Dakota,
for example, we have all the essential airport funding, we have the
Federal Aviation flight service, and small States that have small
airports depend on the airport trust fund. This will be a disaster to
air safety across the United States. It will be a disaster to
everything we have been talking about since the major air crashes that
have occurred, if we cannot pass this bill.
I am privileged to chair the Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Committee. Our committee, on a bipartisan basis, on a motion from our
ranking member, agreed to this amendment. It was a bipartisan effort.
We must pass this bill. We have worked it out in our committee. It was
a long-fought, hard-fought bill, and we must pass it.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from South Dakota, the
distinguished chairman of the committee, without whose leadership and
without whose enormous efforts we would not be where we are. Have no
doubt, Mr. President, about the magnitude of this bill. In less than 14
hours the Federal Government's authority to provide critical funding to
airports across the country and our national air transportation system,
including safety and security, will expire, unless we pass the FAA
reauthorization bill.
Before the Senator from Kentucky leaves, I wish to thank him for
everything he has done. His efforts are inspiring to us all.
You know, Mr. President, the lesson in this legislation is that
without bipartisan effort, including working with the Administration,
especially Ms. Linda Daschle, the Deputy Administrator of the FAA, we
would not have this legislation before us. It was truly a pure,
bipartisan effort, a product of 2 years of hard work, compromise, and
literally hundreds and hundreds of hours of meetings. I believe that we
cannot--we cannot allow it to be derailed at this time. This would be
unconscionable.
To start with, I want to correct my previous statement to the Senator
from Illinois. I am sorry he has had to leave the floor. I was wrong in
$25 million. The real number is, for the State of Illinois is more than
$30 million which will be authorized for the State of Illinois.
Specifically: $9 million is for Chicago O'Hare Airport, $1.8 million is
for Chicago Midway Airport, $1.1 million is for Quad-City Airport in
Moline, $860,000 is for greater Peoria Airport, $690,000 is for the
University of Illinois in Champagne/Urbana, $670,000 is for the Capital
Airport in Springfield, $525,000 is for Bloomington Airport, $500,000
is for Greater Rockford Airport, $500,000 is for Decatur Airport,
$500,000 is for Merrill C. Meigs Airport in Chicago, $500,000 is for
Quincy Municipal Airport, $500,000 is for Williamson County Airport in
Marion--the list goes on and on.
I ask unanimous consent that the primary airport projects for fiscal
year 1997 that will require entitlement funding for the State of
Illinois, which is now being placed in jeopardy, be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the list was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 final entitlements
Rank and LOCID Airport City and State PFC after adjustments Conference
(Est.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ORD.......... Chicago O'Hare Chicago, IL..... # $8,725,060 $8,615,751
International.
39 MDW......... Chicago Midway... Chicago, IL..... # 1,656,606 1,824,208
146 MLI........ Quad-City........ Moline, IL...... ........ 849,849 1,061,523
171 PIA........ Greater Peoria Peoria, IL...... ........ 688,534 860,028
Regional.
203 CMI........ University of Champaign/ ........ 552,236 689,783
Illinois. Urbana, IL.
209 SPI........ Capital.......... Springfield, IL. ........ 533,829 666,791
233 BMI........ Bloomington/ Bloomington/ ........ 416,576 520,333
Normal. Normal, IL.
239 RFD........ Greater Rockford. Rockford, IL.... ........ 400,297 500,000
321 DEC........ Decatur.......... Decatur, IL..... ........ 400,297 500,000
329 CGX........ Merrill C. Meigs. Chicago, IL..... ........ 400,297 500,000
368 UIN........ Quincy Municipal Quincy, IL...... ........ 400,297 500,000
Baldwin.
399 MWA........ Williamson County Marion, IL...... ........ 400,297 500,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page S11823]]
Mr. McCAIN. Let us also be very clear. According to the Senate
Finance Committee, absolutely no money can be spent out of the aviation
trust fund without passage of this bill. Title X of the bill provides
authority for money to be spent out of the aviation trust fund. That
means--I want to repeat for the benefit of my colleagues--no money for
aviation safety; airport security; air traffic control repair,
maintenance, and modernization; repair and construction of runways,
taxiways, and other vital aviation infrastructure, the purchase of
firefighting equipment at our airports, Terminal Doppler Weather Radar,
Airborne Collision Avoidance Systems, and research and development of
new explosive detection equipment, can not be spent without this bill
being passed. There is a great deal at stake here.
I emphasize, again, this is not a partisan bill. This is a bill that
was worked out with the full cooperation of the administration,
including the White House, the Department of Transportation, the
Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety
Board, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Defense,
the Environmental Protection Agency and others--a partnership with
Senator Ford, Senator Hollings, and the chairman of the committee,
Senator Pressler. But I say to my colleagues that we will not make very
critical and vital changes to aviation safety and security and thorough
reform of the FAA unless we pass this bill.
Again, I point out that the technical correction amendment, which was
put on the bill by the Senator from South Carolina, Senator Hollings,
in conference, was to correct a drafting error in the Interstate
Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995, that is acknowledged to
have been a mistake and nothing else. It should have been included in
the original ICC bill.
Let us have no illusion about what is going on here. What is going on
here is that organized labor is flexing their muscles so they can
prevent a technical correction which is being made to correct a
drafting error that was made in previous legislation. Let us have no
doubt--no doubt at all what we are talking about here.
Mr. President, I think it is important that we talk about what is
being included in this bill as far as aviation safety and security is
concerned. It ensures that the FAA and our Nation's airports, as I
mentioned, will be adequately funded. I'm talking about over $9 million
annually for national aviation related needs such as air traffic
control. But some of the other critical aspects of this legislation are
that it directs the National Transportation Safety Board to establish a
program to provide for adequate notification of and advocacy services
for the families of victims of aircraft accidents.
I think we know the problems associated with the recent TWA 800
explosion in New York and the ValuJet crash in Miami and how mishandled
the notification was to the families in these tragedies. We need to
correct that now. We do not need to wait until next year or the year
after. We need to correct the problem, and we do it in this
legislation.
This legislation will enhance airline and air travelers' safety by
requiring airlines to share employment and performance records before
hiring new pilots.
We do this in this bill. We found out, in a previous accident of an
American Airlines commuter aircraft, that a pilot did not have adequate
training of the kind that was necessary to make sure that the lives of
the passengers were not endangered. Indeed, they were all killed. One
of the reasons, in the conclusions of the National Transportation
Safety Board, was that American Airlines did not have sufficient access
to their employment and performance records from a previous employment
with another airline.
Additionally, this legislation will make sure that the FAA gives high
priority to implement a fully enhanced safety analysis system,
including automated surveillance. It bolsters weapons and explosive
detection technology through research and development. It improves
standards for airport security, passenger baggage and property
screeners, including requiring criminal history records checks. It
requires the FAA to facilitate quick deployment of commercially
available explosive detection equipment. It contains a sense of the
Senate on the development of effective passenger profiling programs. It
requires the NTSB and the FAA to work together to develop a system to
classify aircraft accident and safety data maintained by the National
Transportation Safety Board and publish such data. The American public
deserves to know what the safety record is of the airline that they fly
on. That is part of this bill.
It requires all air carriers and airports to conduct periodic
vulnerability assessments of security systems. It requires the FAA and
the FBI to carry out a joint threat and vulnerability assessments every
3 years. It authorizes airports to use project grant money and
passenger facility charges for airport security programs. It requires
the FAA to study and report to Congress on whether certain air carrier
security responsibilities should be transferred to or shared with
airports or the Federal Government. This is just a few of the many
safety and security related items that this legislation does.
I do not think there is anybody who believes that the present airport
security procedures are adequate. That is not a conclusion that I
reach; it is the conclusion that every outside aviation expert makes.
There have been many hearings in the House and the Senate regarding
this. Mr. President, we have to move forward with these critical safety
and security provisions now.
Who should be responsible for airport security? I think it is very
clear that it should not be the airlines. The bill requires the
National Transportation Safety Board to take action to help families of
victims following commercial aircraft accidents, as I pointed out
earlier. How can anyone in this body wish to stop this legislation from
going forward.
Let me just read, since we are talking about labor unions, since that
is what is holding up this bill. I have a letter which was addressed to
me from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which is a
member of the AFL-CIO.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The National Air Traffic Controllers
Association (NATCA) supports the personnel reform language
contained within. * * * The Air Traffic Control system
continues to crumble and the safety of the system is in the
balance. Your bill provides the funding stream necessary to
modernize the system that is need of repair.
[This bill] provides for continuation of collective
bargaining agreements, representational status for NATCA and
other unions and provides for the duty to bargain in good
faith. Your bill allows the employees who will have to live
and work under the new system the ability to develop the
system. Thank you for drafting a bill which will provide the
necessary reform to modernize the FAA and make it more
responsive to the users.
Signed by Mike McNally, the executive vice president of the National
Air Traffic Controllers Association.
This flies in the face of what some segments of organized labor are
trying to do today in derailing this critical aviation legislation. I
was pleased to have the opportunity of working with the National Air
Traffic Controllers Association and those dedicated and outstanding men
and women who sometimes operate under conditions of the most severe
stress imaginable.
Here is a letter from the National Transportation Safety Board to
Chairman Pressler. I will not read the whole letter. I ask unanimous
consent that the letter, and the previous letter from the National Air
Traffic Controllers Association, be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
National Air Traffic Controllers
Association MEBA/AFL-CIO,
Washington, DC, November 9, 1995.
Hon. John McCain,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The National Air Traffic Controllers
Association (NATCA) supports the personnel reform language
contained within S. 1239. The association believes that
providing the exclusive bargaining representatives with full
bargaining rights over the development of a new personnel
system provides a fair platform that will benefit the agency,
the employees and ultimately the users of the air traffic
control system.
We are aware of other efforts in substitution of S. 1239
and fear that these attempts, with all good intentions, may
further delay FAA Reform that is desperately
[[Page S11824]]
needed at this time. The Air Traffic Control system continues
to crumble and the safety of the system is in the balance.
Your bill provides the funding stream necessary to modernize
the system that is in need of repair. We will be working with
hope that S. 1239 succeeds the mark up and are encouraging
the committee members to assist in this endeavor.
NATCA applauds your efforts to reform the air traffic
control system. It has been a long in coming and it took your
leadership to finally make it a reality.
Your bill provides the flexibility the FAA needs to meet
the demands of the 21st century while protecting the
interests of the men and women who operate the air traffic
control system. Union support provides for continuation of
collective bargaining agreements, representational status for
NATCA and other unions and provides for the duty to bargain
in good faith. Your bill allows the employees who will have
to live and work under the new system the ability to develop
the system.
Thank you for drafting a bill which will provide the
necessary reform to modernize the FAA and make it more
responsive to the users.
Respectfully,
Mike McNally,
Executive Vice President.
____
National Transportation Safety Board,
Washington, DC, November 8, 1995.
Hon. Larry Pressler,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Pressler: It is my understanding that
tomorrow the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation will mark up S. 1239, the Air Traffic
Management System Performance Improvement Act of 1995.
Although the full Board has not taken a position on this
legislation, I did want to share my personal views with you.
As Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, I
see on a daily basis the immense job the Federal Aviation
Administration has to accomplish. The competition for funds
during a period of tighter federal budgets, the need to
anticipate and justify future staffing requirements annually,
and the protracted process for procurement of new equipment,
are all factors that can degrade efficiency and affect the
ability of the system to respond to new demands and new
technology. I believe the reforms in S. 1239 remedy this
deficiency, without taking the aviation trust fund off
budget, and I hope the Commerce Committee will fully support
this bill.
Many of the safety enhancing actions identified by the
Board in the past have required research, development,
procurement and installation programs that span several
years. Examples are Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, Airborne
Collision Avoidance Systems, airport surface surveillance and
conflict detection equipment. Many of these programs have
experienced development and installation schedule slippages.
So, too, has the FAA's air traffic control system
modernization programs. It is difficult for the Board to
determine the role of budget planning in these slippages;
however, it is obvious that the need to justify budgets and
establish priorities during this period when the Federal
government must tighten budgets could have an impact on
significant safety programs. This bill would ensure the
continuation of that funding in a fiscally responsible
manner.
Mr. Chairman, we take great pride that America's aviation
industry is the safest in the World. Without a predictable
source of funds, there is the potential that new safety-
related technical systems may be delayed, degrading that
safety. The FAA, the agency responsible for the
implementation and administration of these systems, believes
that this bill will greatly improve the prospects for the
acquisition of these critically important safety systems. I
concur in their judgement on this matter.
Sincerely,
Jim Hall,
Chairman.
Mr. McCAIN. I want to repeat what the National Transportation Safety
Board is saying about this legislation, so the opponents, the ones who
are trying to hold up this bill and perhaps derail it, understand what
is at stake here. I want to repeat it so it is perfectly clear to my
colleagues and to the American public who want this legislation to move
forward.
I quote from the letter to chairman Pressler from the National
Transportation Safety Board:
Without a predictable source of funds, there is the
potential that new safety-related technical systems may be
delayed, degrading that safety. The FAA, the agency
responsible for the implementation and administration of
these systems, believes that this bill will greatly improve
the prospects for the acquisition of these critically
important safety systems. I concur in their judgement on this
matter.
Signed by J. Hall, the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety
Board.
I am not supporting this bill because I put in 2 years of hard work
with Senator Ford, Senator Hollings, Senator Pressler, Senator Stevens,
Linda Daschle, David Hinson, Secretary Pena, Jim Hall, the National Air
Traffic Controllers Association, the Air Transport Association, the Air
Freight Association, and people like my friend from North Dakota,
Senator Dorgan, who has played such a key and important role in
ensuring not only airline safety but also the access to airline service
in smaller States. Few have been a stronger supporter of the Essential
Air Service Program which remains a lifeline for many small
communities. This bill has the funding tools in place that will be
vital for financing this program in the future.
I am not talking about all that. I have worked on other issues that
took a long period of time and have failed. That has been sort of one
of the difficulties I have had around here from time to time.
What I am talking about is the safety and security of all Americans.
If the Senator from Massachusetts, who I am sorry is not here on the
floor, wants to lead the opposition, then the American people should
know whose responsibility it is that we do not pass this legislation.
What a small minority finds objectionable is a correction, a technical
correction, to a drafting error which was contained in the Interstate
Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 that was passed, that
everybody recognized was written incorrectly. That is what we are
talking about here. If we do not pass this legislation and get it done
soon--in fact, by midnight tonight, in less than 14 hours--then
critical funding will be cut off to airports across the country and our
national air transportation system will expire. And I fear, frankly,
for what can happen in the future and, frankly, I do not want to have
that responsibility.
Finally, I will probably be back on the floor on this issue. I
strongly urge my colleague from Illinois, for whom I have the greatest
respect and affection, I strongly urge my other colleagues to
understand what is at stake here and for us to get this legislation
done as quickly as possible and not worry about a small technical
correction to a drafting error that is all that is involved here.
So, I will be back--I hope not to be back on this issue. But I, like
my colleague from Alaska, do not intend to allow the Senate to go out
of session until we have this issue resolved, and will use every
parliamentary method available to me to make sure that we address this
bill and pass it.
I have had a conversation with the distinguished majority leader on
this issue. I know he shares my view of the importance and criticality
of this legislation. I hold every hope and aspiration that we will have
this issue resolved as quickly as possible.
Again, expressing my deep appreciation to all of the individuals, all
of the different entities that have been involved in shaping this
legislation that took us over two years, I am not about to see it
derailed at this point because of a minor objection that really has
very little, if any, relevance to the importance of the bill.
I yield the floor.
Mrs. BOXER addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hutchison). The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to address the
Senate for 3 minutes, to be followed by the Senator from North Dakota
for 30 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is
so ordered.
Mrs. BOXER. Thank you very much, Madam President.
____________________