[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 7, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 658, FAA REAUTHORIZATION AND REFORM ACT OF 
                                  2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, February 3, 2012

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 658, the 
FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act.
  Mr. Speaker, we are considering this multiyear authorization after 
twenty-three temporary FAA extensions since 2007. The men and women who 
keep our skies safe deserve a long-term authorization. The American 
people deserve a long-term authorization. But I cannot support the 
long-term authorization that the conference committee has brought to us 
today.
  There are good provisions included in this conference agreement. This 
agreement contains language I wrote to support service disabled 
veteran-owned small businesses in the Airport Improvement Program. I am 
also pleased that this agreement includes funding for Essential Air 
Service and Next Generation air traffic control systems, and that it 
requires airlines to implement emergency contingency plans for 
passengers who are subject to extended tarmac delays. It also ensures a 
fair collective bargaining process for our Nation's air traffic 
controllers.
  However, the bill has a number of provisions that are serious 
problems, and thus I oppose the bill. For example, the bill fails to 
fundamentally address the transportation of lithium batteries on 
airplanes. Further, the bill attacks collective bargaining for other 
aviation employees. This conference agreement dramatically revises a 
75-year-old statute that was crafted by labor-management cooperation 
and should not be changed without the agreement of both employer and 
employee representatives.
  There is no reason for these provisions to be included in this bill 
other than the majority's desire to attack American workers' right to 
organize at every opportunity they get. This bill should not seek to 
change three-quarters of a century's worth of labor protections. The 
FAA reauthorization is not the place to rewrite federal labor law. And 
I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing it.

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