[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 129 (Thursday, October 6, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H8654-H8656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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AUTHORIZING SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION TO MAKE EMERGENCY AIRPORT
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT GRANTS-IN-AID FOR REPAIRS AND COSTS RELATED TO
DAMAGE FROM HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA
Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 1786) to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to
make emergency airport improvement project grants-in-aid under title
49, United States Code, for repairs and costs related to damage from
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 1786
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EMERGENCY USE OF GRANTS-IN-AID FOR AIRPORT
IMPROVEMENTS FOR FISCAL YEARS 2005 AND 2006.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation may make
project grants under part B, subtitle VII, of title 49,
United States Code, from amounts that remain unobligated
after the date of enactment of this Act for fiscal years 2005
and 2006--
(1) from apportioned funds under section 47114 of that
title apportioned to an airport described in subsection
(b)(1) or to a State in which such airport is located; or
(2) from funds available for discretionary grants to such
an airport under section 47115 of such title.
(b) Eligible Airports and Uses.--The Secretary may make
grants under subsection (a) for--
(1) emergency capital costs incurred by a public use
airport in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Texas that is
listed in the Federal Aviation Administration's National Plan
of Integrated Airport Systems of repairing or replacing
public use facilities that have been damaged as a result of
Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita; and
(2) emergency operating costs incurred by an airport
described in paragraph (1) as a result of Hurricane Katrina
or Hurricane Rita.
(c) Priorities.--In making grants authorized by subsection
(a), the Secretary shall give priority to--
(1) airport development within the meaning of section 47102
of title 49, United States Code;
(2) terminal development within the meaning of section
47110 of that title;
(3) repair or replacement of other public use airport
facilities; and
(4) emergency operating costs incurred at public use
airports in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas.
(d) Modification of Certain Otherwise Applicable
Requirements.--For purposes of any grant authorized by
subsection (a)--
(1) the Secretary may waive any otherwise applicable
limitation on, or requirement for, grants under section
47102, 47107(a)(17), 47110, or 47119 of title 49, United
States Code, if the Secretary determines that the waiver is
necessary to respond, in as timely and efficient a manner as
possible, to the urgent needs of the region damaged by
Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita;
(2) the United States Government's share of allowable
project costs shall be 100 percent, notwithstanding the
provisions of section 47109 of that title;
(3) any project funded by such a grant shall be deemed to
be an airport development project (within the meaning of
section 47102 of that title), except for the purpose of
establishing priorities under subsection (c) of this section
among projects to be funded by such grants; and
(4) no project funded by such a grant may be considered,
for the purpose of any other provision of law, to be a major
Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the
human environment.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr.
DeFazio) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).
General Leave
Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 1786.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in strong support of Senate bill
S. 1786. This legislation authorizes emergency grants to airports to
repair damage caused by both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Specifically, this legislation authorizes the Secretary of
Transportation to make grants under the existing Airport
[[Page H8655]]
Improvement Program, also referred to as AIP, funds in fiscal year 2006
for hurricane-related costs incurred by public-use airports in the
States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.
Under this bill, affected airports may receive grants for emergency
capital costs. Some of those costs include repairs to terminal
buildings, to hangars, runways, airfield signage, lighting, fencing,
navigation aids and fuel systems.
In addition, emergency operating costs resulting from the hurricane
will also be eligible for grants. This would cover items such as the
cost of putting fences back up, renting generators and hiring extra
security personnel. This bill would also waive the local cost-share
requirement that traditionally applies to grants made under the AIP
program, the Airport Improvement Program.
Many of these airports, particularly the small airports that have
been shut down for an extended period of time, lack the ability to pay
even the traditional 10 percent local match that would otherwise be
required of them under the Airport Improvement Program.
Over 40 airports were damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and are
in very serious and desperate need in some instances of the provisions
of this bill. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that these
airports, in total, will have sustained damages of some $160 million or
more.
Of this total, some $47 million has already been funded by using
fiscal year, the current year that we are in, 2005, or just left, I
should say, 2005 Airport Improvement Program funds. This was critical
to getting some of the airports reopened quickly after the storms, and
it also provided much-needed transportation links to the disaster
areas.
However, at least $113 million in damages still remains to be funded
in fiscal year 2006. These repairs are essential to restoring our
system of airports to pre-hurricane conditions and also to the high
standards that we require.
It is important to note that this bill does not increase Federal
spending. Rather, it would temporarily broaden the eligible uses of
existing Airport Improvement Program funds, AIP funds, so that the full
spectrum of hurricane repair costs can be met.
After the hurricanes that damaged several Florida airports last year,
I am particularly aware of the devastation that can be caused by these
storms and the need to repair critical aviation facilities and
infrastructure as quickly as possible. I, therefore, am pleased to join
wholeheartedly with the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) and the
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), ranking member of the full
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Costello), Aviation Subcommittee ranking member, in
urging the immediate passage of this much-needed legislation.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
The chairman has made an excellent case for this legislation. It is
not to set any precedent for the future use of AIP funds, since those
funds we know are not going to be adequate in the future to meet the
total needs of the system. But this is a recognition of an
extraordinary circumstance of the disasters of Katrina and Rita and
what it has done to the aviation infrastructure in addition to other
elements of the infrastructure in those regions. And it is only, I
think, appropriate that the Federal Government use discretion and
flexibility in helping those airports to recover and to become fully
operational. They obviously suffered not only physical damage but
tremendous economic losses due to the storms and, in some cases, face
perhaps an uncertain economic future because of the damage in the City
of New Orleans and questions about how soon or when full aviation
schedules will be reinstated to serve that airport.
So I think this legislation is timely. It is appropriate, and I
appreciate the chairman of the committee for bringing it forward in
such an expedited way.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and also Chair of the Railroads
Subcommittee of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
(Mr. LaTOURETTE asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for
not only yielding me this time but also for his leadership in bringing
S. 1786 to the floor and also the gentleman from Oregon and the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello) on the Aviation Subcommittee.
I asked for time today to indicate that S. 1786 is exactly the kind
of legislation that we should be crafting in both the House and the
Senate and sending to the President of the United States in response to
the devastation of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. And primarily what
motivated me to come speak today is that there was mischief afoot in
the other body as this bill was being crafted relative to the issue of
prevailing wages. And there is some thought that while we should extend
grants through the AIP program to help ailing airports, perhaps we
could do it on the cheap and suspend what are known as Davis-Bacon
wages.
And I want to alert the House and my fellow Members that this is
something that will come to a head in a couple of weeks. It is
disturbing to a number of us. Davis and Bacon happened to be Republican
legislators who, after the Great Depression, became concerned with the
issue of bands of roving laborers going from market to market and
undercutting the local labor market and not living in the community,
not receiving a decent wage, not paying taxes that supported the
infrastructure, the schools and other things that go on. And unlike S.
1786, other legislation that we have already crafted in the House and
an executive order by the President of the United States has suspended,
we hope temporarily, Davis-Bacon wages for the reconstruction of the
gulf coast. And I have heard a lot of different stories as to why that
was done. Some in my party say it is all going to go to the labor
unions and we do not want to help the labor unions.
I will tell them, not only was the history of Davis-Bacon of
Republican origin, the sad and really the truth of the matter is that
if we look at what the combined wage rates are in the gulf coast for
the laborer, the carpenter, the operating engineer, it is certainly not
some sop to the labor unions.
For example, in Alabama, Madam Speaker, a laborer makes $5.15 an
hour. Tell me, where we are going to find somebody to clear away the
horrible debris in the gulf coast for less than $5.15 an hour, first of
all, and why would we, as a Federal policy, even think that that was a
good idea?
The other unintended consequence of the suspension of Davis-Bacon is
that we repeal things known as the Copeland Anti-Kickback provisions.
And what that says is, if people are complying with the Federal Labor
Standards Act, they have to, if they are a contractor, submit every
week a certified payroll with the employee's name, what their wage rate
was, what their Social Security number is, and what they did. They
cannot come waltzing in as a contractor and say, I hired 50 guys with
chainsaws last week and here is my bill. It makes sure that we do not
permit profiteering in the gulf coast. It makes sure that our Federal
dollars are spent as we intend them, and it makes sure that some
unscrupulous contractors do not come in and make a boatload of money on
the backs of the misery in the gulf coast.
So while I think S. 1786 is a wonderful piece of legislation, we are
doing it the right way, I do sort of serve notice to the House that
there are some of us on this side of the aisle that do not intend to
let this situation with reconstruction and the situation with Davis-
Bacon stand much longer.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I would like to support the remarks of my colleague from Ohio. He
mentioned what a laborer would earn under Davis-Bacon. I have become
aware of the fact that a skilled pipe fitter under Davis-Bacon wages in
the Southeast would earn $10.22 an hour. That hardly seems to me to be
an excessive wage.
[[Page H8656]]
And with the extraordinary poverty that was brought to the Nation's
attention in New Orleans, one would think that we would want to have
people working in jobs that pay a living wage, a decent wage, so that
they can support themselves and their families. And it is just
extraordinary to me.
We had a meeting with the IG and the GAO regarding the FEMA contracts
under Homeland Security, and we asked if they could document,
particularly with Hurricane Andrew last year and some other times when
Davis-Bacon has been suspended, that, in fact, the taxpayers came out
ahead. And they said, well, they really could not. So I said, they mean
we might just be lowering wages and increasing the profit margin? And
they said, they had a lot of concerns about a lot of these contracts
and the no-bid nature of the contracts and whether or not taxpayers
were getting full value for their money. And it is particularly
distressing when we do not know that we are getting full value for our
money and we might, in fact, be only increasing profits while depriving
people of a living wage.
So I support the gentleman's remarks, and I do hope that we are
allowed to bring legislation to the floor in the near future to
overturn the President's misguided efforts in this area.
Madam Speaker, I urge Members to support the legislation.
Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Again, I urge my colleagues to pass S. 1786. This is a needed piece
of legislation and an immediately needed bill. It will provide some
relief to some of the Gulf States that were hit by two of our most
recent and very tragic hurricanes.
Airports do provide a link between communities and a gateway to the
Nation and the world. It is one of our most important economic
generators in this country, and it is a Federal responsibility to move
forward in the repair and the replacement of the infrastructure and
facilities at these transportation hubs.
I might repeat that this does not require any additional funding, but
it does allow flexibility. It does allow additional payments to these
areas for their traditional Federal requirement share and local
requirement share.
Also, in closing, we hear a lot of criticism about Federal agencies,
but I am pleased to stand here and commend those of the FAA for their
quick response to all of the States that were hit by the hurricane
disasters we have seen this year.
I also want to thank them for last year. My area in Central Florida
was hit by three very serious hurricanes, and as the Members know, we
had a fourth, a tremendous storm that hit the gulf coast.
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In each instance, the Federal Aviation Administration, starting with
Marion Blakey, the administrator, and also with Woodie Woodward, who is
our national airports administrator, they were ready in advance. They
assisted us then and they are assisting now in an admirable fashion. So
I am pleased to also commend their work.
Madam Speaker, I ask for passage of S. 1786, which will provide our
airports much-needed relief in these hard-hit areas.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1786, which
authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make emergency airport
improvement project grants-in-aid under title 49, for repairs and costs
related to damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Madam Speaker, S. 1786 permits the Secretary of Transportation to
make project grants from the Federal Aviation Administration's, FAA,
Airport Improvement Program, AIP, fiscal year 2006 funds for capital
costs to repair or replace public use facilities damaged as a result of
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which were incurred by a public use
airport in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas that is listed in
the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. The bill also
permits AlP grant funding to cover emergency operating costs incurred
by these airports as a result of the Hurricanes.
According to the FAA, airports located in Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Texas sustained structural damage costing over $162
million. Importantly, S. 1786 provides FAA with the flexibility to fund
repairs to airport structures, such as terminals and hangars, which
would otherwise not be eligible for grants under the AlP program. The
bill also requires the Federal Government to cover 100 percent of the
allowable project costs, thereby waiving State and local government
match requirements.
Earlier this week, I joined several of my Committee on Transportation
colleagues on a trip to the gulf coast to see the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina first hand. Flying over New Orleans, Bay St. Louis,
Biloxi, and Mobile, we witnessed destruction unlike anything we had
ever seen.
We also had the opportunity to meet with airport officials at the
Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans. The bill addresses the direct
emergency capital and operating costs to address the structural damage
to the New Orleans and other affected airports as a result of Hurricane
Katrina.
In addition, the New Orleans and other affected airports face long-
term revenue challenges. Although the New Orleans airport has reopened,
it is operating at a significantly diminished capacity, which is
directly affecting airport revenues. The airport, which served as a
major origin-and-destination airport with almost 10 million passengers
per year prior to Hurricane Katrina, expects it to take several years
to recover from this disaster. Passenger traffic in the coming year is
expected to equal only 10-15 percent of pre-disaster levels and equal
only 70 percent within 3 years. As a result of this lost revenue, the
airport faces a potential deficit of approximately $90 million by the
end of 2007.
This legislation will enable the FAA to provide additional emergency
capital and operating grants for the structural damage of the New
Orleans and other affected airports in the region.
I strongly support the bill and urge my colleagues to join me in
support of this legislation.
Mr. COSTELLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S.
1786, legislation to authorize emergency grants for airports damaged by
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This important legislation gives the
Secretary of Transportation authority to use millions of dollars in
existing federal grant funds to make emergency repairs at airports in
the Gulf Coast region damaged by the hurricanes. The bill also permits
grant funding to cover emergency operating costs incurred as a result
of the devastating hurricanes by these airports.
To get the local economy and jobs improving and moving again, fully
functional airports are needed. S. 1786 will restore these airports by
making the necessary funds available to immediately begin repairing and
refurbishing the airport infrastructure to help restore passenger and
commercial air traffic throughout the Gulf region.
I recently visited the Gulf Coast region and saw the devastation and
destruction Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left in their wake firsthand. I
listened to state and local officials describe their immediate
infrastructure needs and this legislation would provide some resources
to address their airport needs. Those affected by these hurricanes
should be commended as they continue to display tremendous courage and
persistence.
Madam Speaker, this legislation is an important step toward economic
recovery of the entire Gulf Coast region and towards restoring these
airports to their full operational capacity as soon as possible. I ask
my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation.
Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1786.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________