[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 46 (Friday, April 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               FAA REAUTHORIZATION AND REFORM ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 31, 2011

  The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
had under consideration the bill (H.R. 658) to amend title 49, United 
States Code, to authorize appropriations for the Federal Aviation 
Administration for fiscal years 2011 through 2014, to streamline 
programs, create efficiencies, reduce waste, and improve aviation 
safety and capacity, to provide stable funding for the national 
aviation system, and for other purposes:

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Chair, I rise today to 
reluctantly oppose the passage of the legislation before us: H.R. 658, 
the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011. I say reluctantly 
because the FAA is in urgent need of a long-term authorization to guide 
it in this critical period of air traffic control modernization. As 
most folks know, FAA has been operating under a series of short-term 
extensions, the last of which passed the House on Tuesday. While these 
short-term extension have been necessary, they have made it difficult 
for the agency to engage in long-term planning.
  However, while H.R. 658 reauthorizes the agency for four years, I 
must oppose this bill. There are several reasons for this opposition.
  First, H.R. 658 imposes arbitrary and poorly considered spending 
reductions on the FAA. This bill imposes over 1 billion dollars of 
annual cuts from FY 2010 spending levels. These cuts will lead to 
costly job losses. This is not a ``job-creating'' bill--far from it! As 
Marion Blakey, the FAA Administrator under the Bush Administration, 
said at a hearing earlier this year about this bill, ``the prospect is 
really devastating to jobs and to our future, if we really have to roll 
back [to 2008 levels] and stop NextGen in its tracks.'' As we begin to 
climb out of a deep recession, I question the wisdom of cutting air 
travel infrastructure spending which is critical to the continued 
growth to the industry. And this is an industry, I might add, that 
contributes approximately 1.3 trillion dollars and nearly 11 million 
jobs to our economy.
  These funding cuts occur at a time when air traffic is increasing. It 
defies logic that we can cut funding for air traffic infrastructure and 
safety while at the same time experiencing a growth in civil air 
traffic without leading to reduced levels of safety. You cannot. Let's 
be clear: this bill will reduce the safety of the American flying 
public. Period.
  In the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, where I serve as 
Ranking Member, the Majority pushed through a 23% cut to FAA's research 
account. What got cut? Fire safety research, icing research, and 
research into reducing pilot and ground crew errors--and many other 
important initiatives. My Democratic colleagues on the Committee tried 
to restore funding to the safety programs I just mentioned, at a modest 
cost to the overall bill. However, we were rebuffed in our efforts in 
party line votes. I find it unfortunate that the flying public will 
have to sacrifice their safety so that our Republican colleagues can 
hew to an arbitrary budget cutting number.
  I would also like to express my strong opposition to the provision of 
this bill which repeals the National Mediation Board's Fair Elections 
Rule. The notion that your vote only counts if it is actually cast is a 
fundamental principle of democracy. I am particularly disappointed that 
the Republican Majority has decided to go about attacking worker rights 
in a bill that should be about creating jobs for American workers.
  In addition, I want to comment about an omission in this bill. This 
bill does not address the issue of flight attendant occupational 
hazards. According to 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, air 
transportation workers are exposed to more workplace injuries and 
illnesses than construction workers and workers on factory floors. 
Despite this, flight attendants are not protected by occupational 
safety and health standards. Moreover, flight attendant fatigue has 
been identified by the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute as a safety 
problem, and one that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, H.R. 658 
addresses neither of these important issues related to flight attendant 
safety.
  There are several provisions in this bill that I do support. Namely, 
I am glad to see that the Airport Access Flexibility Program is 
included in the bill we are considering today. The Airport Access 
Flexibility Program was created through my leadership in 2009 and 
directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program at five airports 
where passenger facility charges may be used to finance the eligible 
cost of an intermodal ground access project. This program is of 
critical importance to Dallas Love Field Airport for a project that 
would link the airport to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) System. 
Congressional intent is quite clear that Dallas Love Field Airport 
should receive priority consideration to be included in this program. I 
look forward to working to with colleagues in the Senate to ensure that 
this program is retained in the final legislation.
  Finally, in the Manager's amendment there is a provision to prohibit 
any new safety regulations affecting crew or passenger spaceflight 
safety until 2020 or even later. That is bad policy that will have 
adverse consequences for safety if enacted. FAA has notified us that 
they are strongly opposed to the provision, as am I.
  Mr. Chair, I would have liked to support a bipartisan FAA 
reauthorization today. Unfortunately, Majority has decided to bring a 
bill to the floor today that costs American jobs, attacks American 
worker rights, and sacrifices the safety of the American flying public. 
Therefore, I will oppose the bill today, and hope that we can work 
together to fix the problems I have identified in this legislation as 
we move forward.

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