[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 58 (Thursday, April 25, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3059-S3060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REDUCING FLIGHT DELAYS ACT OF 2013
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to S. 853, introduced earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 853) to provide the Secretary of Transportation
with the flexibility to transfer certain funds to prevent
reduced operations and staffing of the Federal Aviation
Administration, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. REID. Before we hear from my friend from Maine, I appreciate very
much her tenacity, her diligence, and that of Senator Rockefeller and
others. This is something that has been difficult, but I think it is
the right thing to do. Hopefully when we get back, we can have
something broader in scope than just this.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I am delighted that the Senate will
pass a bipartisan bill to resolve a serious problem confronting the
American traveling public and our economy. I thank the majority leader,
Senator Reid, the minority leader, the Republican leader, Senator
McConnell, and all the staff who have worked so hard to make this
happen.
I am very pleased to be joined in sponsoring this bill by many of our
colleagues, including Senator Rockefeller, Senator Thune, Senator Mark
Udall, Senator Risch, Senator Roberts, Senator Isakson, Senator
McCaskill, Senator Hagan, the Presiding Officer, Senator Toomey,
Senator Chambliss, Senator Murkowski, Senator Warner, Senator Begich,
Senator Nelson, and Senator Heller.
As the ranking member of the Appropriations Transportation
Subcommittee, I have been very concerned about the serious delays that
have been caused by the FAA furloughs of air traffic controllers. In
fact, Secretary of Transportation LaHood and FAA Administrator Huerta
met with me this morning to discuss this problem and our proposed
solution.
The Collins-Rockefeller-Thune-Udall bill would restore the funding
for these essential air traffic controller positions, and that should
prevent the onerous delays that were occurring and were only going to
get worse as the traveling season reached its peak this summer. That
would have had a ripple effect throughout the hospitality industry in
particular and caused job losses that we can ill afford.
I just wish to point out that there literally have been thousands of
flights delayed since the furloughs went into effect, and I am so happy
we were able to work together across the aisle in a bipartisan way to
resolve this problem.
The FAA recently began furloughing 47,000 employees this past Sunday,
which includes nearly 15,000 air traffic controllers. This is
essentially 10 percent of its workforce, which equates to one furlough
day per bi-weekly pay period, for a maximum of 11 days through
September 30th.
The challenges the FAA faces this fiscal year are daunting; not only
is the agency operating under a continuing resolution but sequestration
compounds the problem. It is important that sequestration is
implemented in a way that ensures safety and minimizes the impact on
the traveling public as well as jobs in the hospitality and airline
industries. FAA recently announced its plans to achieve savings by
implementing furloughs of air traffic controllers.
These cuts have already caused widespread delays to the air
transportation system and were expected to get worse. It is estimated
that as many as 6,700 flights would be delayed each day, more than
double the worst day of flight delays last year. This reduction in
staffing of air traffic controllers has been the primary cause of one
out of every three delays since the furloughs began.
In fact, on Monday alone, there were 2,660 delays, of which 1,200
were due to the furloughs, and 2,000 delays on Tuesday, of which 1,025
due to the reduced staff. What was even more troubling is that soon we
will be approaching the summer peak travel season. Some airports may
experience delays of up to three hours during peak travel times.
The FAA acknowledges that these service reductions will adversely
affect commercial, corporate, and general aviation operators. The FAA
expects that as airlines estimate the potential impacts of these
furloughs, they will be forced to change their schedules, cancel
flights, and lay off employees.
Our bill, The Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013, would provide the
Secretary of Transportation the flexibility to transfer certain funds
to prevent furloughs of essential employees at the FAA. It would give
the Secretary the authority to transfer an amount not to exceed $253
million to prevent essential employees at the FAA, such as air traffic
controllers, from being furloughed in order to reduce flight delays
while maintaining a safe and efficient national airspace system.
My bill would accomplish this goal by allowing a one-time shift of
unused monies in the Airport Improvement Program to Operations. I first
raised the idea of using AIP carryover balances as a solution at the
policy lunch on Tuesday, and many of my colleagues indicated interest
in this approach. Our bill has been vetted by the General Counsel
offices at both the FAA and the Secretary's office. Secretary LaHood
told me this morning that it is an effective, workable solution.
The transfer would come largely from carryover balances within the
Airport Improvement Program (AIP). To be clear: this is the
discretionary portion of the program and in no way affects the
entitlement funds airports are guaranteed to receive. The program has
sufficient funding to support this effort. Historically, AIP carryover
balances range between $400-450 million and has not been below $300
million in the last decade. In fact, last year there was approximately
$700 million of these carryover balances.
Over the past several years, the aviation industry has faced tough
economic hardships. I recognize that aviation plays a critical role in
driving economic growth, jobs and investment across the country. The
Airport Improvement Program is a very important program which supports
infrastructure at our nation's airports.
This bill should be recognized as a one-time solution in order to
avert the serious national impacts that have resulted from the
decisions made by the FAA.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I am grateful to both
the Majority and Minority Leaders.
I thank them for their cooperation in making this happen. It is nice
to know that when we work together, we really can solve problems.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. REID. Madam President, we were able to accomplish two very
important things this week. One is the final passage of the Internet
tax issue, but that is because it was a bipartisan issue, and we were
able to get this done.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three
times and passed and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the
table, with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 853) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read a third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 853
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reducing Flight Delays Act
of 2013''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION TO TRANSFER CERTAIN FUNDS TO PREVENT
REDUCED OPERATIONS AND STAFFING OF THE FEDERAL
AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding division G of the
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013
(Public Law 113-6), any other provision of law, or a
sequestration order issued or to be issued by the President
pursuant to section 251A(7)(A) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901a(7)(A)),
the Secretary of Transportation may transfer during fiscal
year 2013 an amount equal to the amount specified in
subsection (c) to the appropriations account providing for
the operations of the Federal Aviation Administration, for
any activity or activities funded by that account, from--
(1) the amount made available for obligation in that fiscal
year as discretionary grants-in-aid for airports pursuant to
section 47117(f) of title 49, United States Code; or
(2) any other program or account of the Federal Aviation
Administration.
[[Page S3060]]
(b) Availability and Obligation of Transferred Amounts.--An
amount transferred under subsection (a)(1) shall--
(1) be available immediately for obligation and expenditure
as directly appropriated budget authority; and
(2) be deemed as obligated for grants-in-aid for airports
under part B of subtitle VII of title 49, United States Code,
for purposes of complying with the limitation on incurring
obligations during that fiscal year under the heading
``Grants-in-Aid for Airports'' under title I of the
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (division C of Public Law
112-55; 125 Stat. 647), and made applicable to fiscal year
2013 by division F of the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 113-6).
(c) Amount Specified.--The amount specified in this
subsection is the amount, not to exceed $253,000,000, that
the Secretary of Transportation determines to be necessary to
prevent reduced operations and staffing of the Federal
Aviation Administration during fiscal year 2013 to ensure a
safe and efficient air transportation system; and Provided
that none of the funds transferred under this subsection may
be obligated unless the Secretary notifies the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
at least 5 days in advance of such transfer.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that if the Senate
receives a bill from the House and the text of that bill is identical
to S. 853, the bill then be considered read three times and passed and
the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________