[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1786-E1787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. JOHN L. MICA

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2010

  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Oberstar, Chairman 
Costello and Ranking Member Petri for their bipartisan work on this 
important legislation. While there are several issues that we would 
like to continue working on in conference, I support H.R. 4714 as 
amended.
  U.S. commercial aviation is the safest in the world. U.S. aviation 
law and safety regulations are the international gold standard. The 
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) can join the Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA) in taking credit for the safety record.
  The NTSB has done an excellent job with the resources and authority 
they currently have. In fact, the number of commercial aviation 
accidents has steadily dropped over the last several decades. The 
three-year average commercial aviation accident rate is now .018 
accidents per 100,000 departures.
  But there is always room for improvement--one accident is one too 
many, as was tragically demonstrated by the February 2009 Colgan 
accident.
  Even though it has no regulatory authority, the NTSB has a unique 
role in transportation safety.
  The NTSB investigates accidents and makes recommendations to improve 
transportation safety with over 82 percent of their recommendations 
being adopted by the Department of Transportation. NTSB certainly 
shares in the credit for the safety improvements achieved.
  H.R. 4714 as amended, would authorize the NTSB for four years--2011 
through 2014.
  While we are very supportive of the NTSB and its mission, given the 
current state of the U.S. economy and the Federal budget, we remain 
concerned with the authorization levels included in both the introduced 
bill and the amended bill being considered today.
  It has been pointed out that during the 107th and 108th Congresses--
when Republicans were in the Majority--we supported NTSB funding for 
479 full-time equivalent employees.
  It is important to note that these bills were considered well before 
the recession and the current Federal budget deficit in excess of $1.3 
trillion. According to the Congressional Budget Office, ``Relative to 
the size of the economy, this year's deficit is expected to be the 
second largest shortfall in the past 65 years: At 9.1 percent of gross 
domestic product (GDP), it is exceeded only by last year's deficit of 
9.9 percent of GDP.''
  At a time of high Federal deficits, budget constraints, and belt 
tightening by American tax payers, we are concerned with the overall 
27% increase in NTSB funding over 4 years and the 10% increase in NTSB 
authorization levels from 2010 to 2011.
  The President's budget request for the NTSB in FY2011 was $100.4 
million, a level the NTSB itself supports. We believe that this level 
is the proper starting point.
  The NTSB has been very successful in carrying out its mission with 
staffing levels at the 380 FTE level.
  We look forward to continuing to work with our colleagues to reach 
agreement on the appropriate authorization levels as consideration of 
the bill moves forward.
  H.R. 4714 expands the workload of the Board and would duplicate 
reviews of other agencies with respect to transportation ``incidents''.
  The FAA and other DOT modal agencies conduct accident investigations 
and have numerous programs in place to collect information and address 
safety concerns. The NTSB and these agencies need to better coordinate 
to avoid duplicative investigations and to ensure the best and most 
efficient use of scarce resources.
  The inclusion of ``incidents'' in NTSB's investigative authority will 
require close Congressional oversight to ensure that the regulatory 
authority of the Department of Transportation is not negatively 
impacted.
  So, we do have some remaining concerns and we will work with our 
colleague to address these concerns as we move forward. But given the 
importance of the NTSB's mission, I support this bill and urge Members 
to vote for its passage.

[[Page E1787]]



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