[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 113 (Friday, July 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. JOHN L. MICA

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 23, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3288) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and 
     Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. MICA. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.
  The Frelinghuysen Amendment is yet another example of Congress 
wrongfully interfering with vital aviation infrastructure projects. It 
would bring to a screeching halt the years of investment, in time, 
expertise, and money, which the FAA has contributed to this important 
airspace redesign project.
  The last comprehensive change to the airspace in the Northeast 
occurred in 1987 and 1988--over twenty years ago.
  Since that time, air traffic has grown significantly, new markets 
have developed at home and abroad, aircraft are significantly quieter, 
aircraft performance has improved, and regional jets have replaced many 
of the turboprops. Just as the nation's highway infrastructure must 
change over time to meet increased demand, to maintain safety and 
relieve congestion, so must the airspace.
  To meet this increase in demand, the FAA announced in April 1998 the 
initiation of the New York/New Jersey/ Philadelphia (NY/NJ/PHL) 
Airspace redesign project.
  For the next seven years, the FAA conducted numerous public meetings 
and received input from a variety of aviation industry and community 
interests, public agencies, and political representatives. The FAA 
released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in 2005 outlining the 
project's environmental impacts. Following a series of public meetings, 
many of which presented alternative plans, the FAA released its Final 
Environmental Impact Statement in 2007.
  This redesign plan should come as no surprise to Congress. The FAA 
has hosted 14 Congressional briefings since March 2003. Clearly, the 
entire process has been conducted in an open and transparent manner.
  The proposed airspace redesign will address the most critical problem 
in today's air traffic control system--air traffic congestion.
  The redesign involves four of our nation's most congested airports: 
Newark, LaGuardia, JFK, and Philadelphia. Even with the current 
downturn in air travel, these airports remain the most delayed in the 
system. Almost 83% of chronically delayed flights begin in New York Air 
Traffic Control airspace. The system of air corridors around New York 
and Philadelphia are currently congested and are due for even more 
traffic in the future.
  As seen repeatedly, severe weather adds to the problem of an already 
congested air traffic system. The airspace redesign will improve 
operations in severe weather. Delay savings could be as much as $1 
million per day.
  A 1999 independent aviation study found that air traffic congestion 
nationwide could cost $46 billion to the nation's economy in 2010, 
resulting from a change in travel time of 3 minutes per flight. This 
includes costs to airlines, loss of service to people who wish to 
travel, and over 200,000 lost jobs in aviation and other industries.
  Despite the years of the hard work, the open and transparent process, 
adherence to safety, regulatory and environmental requirements, and the 
tremendous benefits to the airspace system, the New York/New Jersey/
Philadelphia economies, and the Nation as a whole, this amendment would 
throw it all away.
  The FAA must be able to redesign outdated airspace configurations 
rendered inefficient and obsolete by air traffic control modernization, 
improvements in aircraft systems, and the growing demands of the 
aviation system.
  It is imperative that these decisions be made in a manner that is 
insulated from political influence.
  This amendment severely undermines FAA's efforts to reform an 
inefficient and overburdened key component to our national airspace. I 
urge my colleagues to oppose it.

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