[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 101 (Tuesday, July 16, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H4492-H4494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SMALL AIRPLANE REVITALIZATION ACT OF 2013

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1848) to ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration advances 
the safety of small airplanes, and the continued development of the 
general aviation industry, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1848

       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 ``Small Airplane 
     Revitalization Act of 2013''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) A healthy small aircraft industry is integral to 
     economic growth and to maintaining an effective 
     transportation infrastructure for communities and nations 
     around the world.
       (2) Small aircraft comprise nearly 90 percent of FAA type 
     certified general aviation aircraft.
       (3) General aviation provides for the cultivation of a 
     workforce of engineers, manufacturing and maintenance 
     professionals, and pilots, who secure the Nation's economic 
     success and defense.
       (4) General aviation contributes to well-paying 
     manufacturing and technology jobs in the United States, and 
     these products are exported in great numbers, providing a 
     positive trade balance.
       (5) Technology developed and proven in general aviation 
     aids in the success and safety of all sectors of aviation and 
     scientific competence.
       (6) The average small airplane in the United States is now 
     40 years old and the regulatory barriers to bringing new 
     designs to market are resulting in a lack of innovation and 
     investment in small airplane design.
       (7) Over the past decade, the United States has typically 
     lost 10,000 active private pilots per year, partially due to 
     a lack of cost-effective, new small airplanes.
       (8) General aviation safety can be improved by modernizing 
     and revamping the regulations for this sector to clear the 
     path for technology adoption and cost-effective means to 
     retrofit the existing fleet with new safety technologies.

     SEC. 3. FAA SAFETY AND REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS FOR GENERAL 
                   AVIATION.

       (a) Establishment of FAA Safety and Regulatory Improvements 
     for General Aviation.--The Administrator shall advance the 
     safety and continued development of small airplanes by 
     reorganizing the certification requirements applicable to 
     small airplanes to streamline the approval of safety 
     advancements.
       (b) Regulations.--The Administrator shall issue a final 
     rule based on the FAA's Part 23 Reorganization Aviation 
     Rulemaking Committee (established in August 2011) by December 
     31, 2015. The final rule shall meet the following objectives 
     of the Part 23 Committee:
       (1) Create a regulatory regime for small airplanes that 
     will improve safety and decrease certification costs.
       (2) Set broad, outcome-driven safety objectives that will 
     spur innovation and technology adoption.
       (3) Replace current, prescriptive requirements contained in 
     FAA rules with performance-based regulations.
       (4) Use FAA-accepted consensus standards to clarify how the 
     part 23 safety objectives may be met by specific designs and 
     technologies.
       (c) Consensus-Based Standards.--The Administrator shall use 
     acceptable consensus-based standards whenever possible in the 
     spirit of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
     Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 3701 note), while continuing 
     traditional methods for meeting part 23.
       (d) Safety Cooperation.--The Administrator shall lead the 
     effort to improve general aviation safety by working with 
     leading aviation regulators to assist them in adopting a 
     complementary regulatory approach for small airplanes.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act, the following definitions apply:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
       (2) Consensus standards.--The term ``consensus standards'' 
     means standards developed by voluntary organizations which 
     plan, develop, establish, or coordinate voluntary standards 
     using agreed-upon procedures, both domestic and 
     international. These standards include provisions requiring 
     that owners of relevant intellectual property agree to make 
     that intellectual property available on a nondiscriminatory, 
     royalty-free or reasonable-royalty basis to all interested 
     parties. These bodies have the attributes of openness, 
     balance of interest, due process, an appeals process, and 
     consensus.
       (3) FAA.--The term ``FAA'' means the Federal Aviation 
     Administration.
       (4) General aviation.--The term ``general aviation'' means 
     all aviation activities other than scheduled commercial 
     airline operations and military aviation.
       (5) Part 23.--The term ``part 23'' means part 23 of title 
     14, Code of Federal Regulations.
       (6) Small airplane.--The term ``small airplane'' means FAA 
     type certificated airplanes that meet the parameters of part 
     23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) and the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous materials on H.R. 1848.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PETRI. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1848, the Small Airplane 
Revitalization Act of 2013.
  I'd like to commend my colleague, Congressman Mike Pompeo, for 
introducing this bill, along with Congressmen Dan Lipinski, Sam Graves, 
Richard Nolan, and Todd Rokita.
  I will insert into the Record a letter of support for H.R. 1848 from 
the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft 
Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, National Air 
Transportation Association, and National Business Aviation Association, 
as well as a separate letter of support from the National Air Traffic 
Controllers Association.
  Mr. Speaker, we're considering H.R. 1848 today because general 
aviation is vital to our country. The general aviation industry 
includes nearly 600,000 pilots, employs 1.3 million people, and 
contributes approximately $150 billion annually to the U.S. economy. In 
fact, the general aviation industry is one of the few remaining U.S. 
manufacturing industries that provide a trade surplus for the U.S., and 
it has a presence in every one of our 435 Congressional districts.
  However, over the last several decades, the general aviation industry 
has experienced unique challenges, including a steady decline in new 
pilots, flight activity, and the sale of new aircraft. In part, these 
challenges are due to overly prescriptive and outdated certification 
processes, which greatly increase the costs of bringing new products to 
market and, ultimately, increase the costs for consumers.
  The bill before us is intended to address these challenges by 
streamlining the certification process for small airplanes, making it 
more efficient and effective, while also protecting the important 
safety oversight function of the FAA.
  The goal is to improve safety at a fraction of the cost. For example, 
the leading cause of fatalities in general aviation is due to ``loss of 
control.'' There are several existing technologies available to 
mitigate loss of control, such as an angle of attack indicator. 
However, in an FAA-certified airplane, the purchase and installation of 
this equipment is about $5,000; whereas, the exact same piece of 
equipment in a noncertified experimental airplane is about $800. So 
right now, the FAA's complicated and costly small airplane 
certification process provides a disincentive to certify new airplanes 
and safety equipment. This is just one example of how the Small 
Airplane Revitalization Act will improve safety at a fraction of the 
cost.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                                  AOPA, EAA, GAMA, NATA, NBAA,

                                                     July 9, 2013.
       Dear Members of the House Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure: We write in support of the Small Aircraft 
     Revitalization Act (H.R. 1848). We urge you

[[Page H4493]]

     to support passage of the measure when it is marked up by the 
     House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on 
     Wednesday, July 10, 2013.
       H.R. 1848 directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
     to modernize and revamp the regulatory structure for small, 
     certified aircraft--commonly referred to as Part 23 
     Aircraft--by December 31, 2015. This legislation will help 
     industry and FAA develop and adopt more effective, consensus 
     based compliance standards that will spur manufacturers' 
     investment in new aircraft designs and help put critical 
     lifesaving equipment into the existing fleet of airplanes. 
     This will improve safety and also revitalize the lighter end 
     of general aviation which has faced significant challenges in 
     recent years.
       H.R. 1848 is based on the recommendations of a recently 
     completed FAA Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). The ARC 
     developed these recommendations over an eighteen month period 
     with input from over 150 government and industry experts from 
     around the world. The FAA and the general aviation community 
     have identified implementation of these recommendations as 
     key to improving general aviation safety.
       H.R. 1848 has broad, bipartisan support and merits 
     favorable consideration by members of the House 
     Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Thank you in 
     advance for your consideration of the Small Aircraft 
     Revitalization Act.
           Sincerely,
         Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), 
           Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), General 
           Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), National Air 
           Transportation Association (NATA), National Business 
           Aviation Association (NBAA).
                                  ____

                                              National Air Traffic


                              Controllers Association (NATCA),

                                     Washington, DC, July 9, 2013.
       Good Afternoon.
       NATCA supports H.R. 1848, the Small Aircraft Revitalization 
     Act which is scheduled for mark up tomorrow by the House 
     Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. H.R. 1848 is 
     based on the recommendations of a recently completed Federal 
     Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Rule-making Committee 
     (ARC).
       We support H.R. 1848 and thank you in advance for your 
     consideration.
                                                 Jose L. Ceballos,
                                     Director, Government Affairs.

  Ms. TITUS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1848, the Small Airplane 
Revitalization Act of 2013. H.R. 1848 would require the Federal 
Aviation Administration to update its part 23 small airplane design 
regulations by December 31, 2015.
  Last week, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ordered 
H.R. 1848 reported favorably to the House by a voice vote.
  In June, an FAA-chartered Part 23 Aviation Rulemaking Committee, or 
ARC, submitted its comprehensive report with recommendations for 
rewriting and reorganizing part 23 to the agency. Representatives from 
the FAA, international regulatory agencies, aircraft manufacturers, 
general aviation pilot groups, and labor unions all participated in the 
ARC. Its work followed a 2009 FAA report on the Small Airplane 
Certification Process and fulfilled requirements in section 312 of the 
FAA reauthorization bill.
  Mr. Speaker, prior to the Part 23 ARC, the agency's most recent 
comprehensive review of part 23 was almost 30 years ago, in 1984. Part 
23 has not kept up with the times. These regulations are prescriptive 
in nature, often written to address out-of-date technologies. As a 
result, they are creating cost barriers for certifying new airplanes 
and retrofitting older aircraft with new safety-enhancing 
modifications. The need to improve the process for retrofitting older 
aircraft is particularly urgent, given the 40-year-old average age of 
the U.S. general aviation fleet. Small airplane manufacturers and part 
suppliers across the country are limited in their ability to innovate 
with new technology because of these outdated regulations. This bill 
will allow these manufacturers to innovate more quickly and bring more 
safety technology online.
  H.R. 1848 will fast-track the Part 23 ARC's work by requiring the FAA 
to draft a new regulation that emphasizes performance-based safety 
objectives. These new regulations make the retrofit of new technology 
more straightforward and also remove barriers to bringing new, safer 
airplane designs to market. It will help small business, and I urge 
support.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker,I yield such time as he may consume to our 
colleague from the Fourth District of Kansas (Mr. Pompeo).
  Mr. POMPEO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the general 
aviation industry and ask my fellow Members to support the Small 
Aircraft Revitalization Act. This commonsense, broadly bipartisan 
regulatory reform bill will spur economic growth, improve aviation 
safety, and help strengthen the health of the lighter, entry-level 
segment of the industry.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no better reason to support this legislation 
than it saves lives and improves lives. Think about that. We can do 
both in one fell swoop.
  Let's first talk about how the bill improves lives. I represent 
Wichita, Kansas. It is the Air Capital of the World. It is home to 
Cessna and Learjet and Beechcraft and dozens and dozens and dozens of 
suppliers to those great aviation businesses with such great aviation 
histories. It's the home of the National Institute for Aviation 
Research and the National Center for Aviation Training.
  There are engineers, machinists, researchers, flight instructors, 
fixed base operators, among others, that all depend on a healthy 
general aviation industry. And then there are the operators in the 
industry and general aviation. This vital productivity tool for both 
small and large companies is critically important.
  Sixteen years ago, I joined the Kansas general aviation industry, 
building a business with three of my colleagues, founding a company 
called Thayer Aerospace, a machine shop in Wichita, Kansas. We made 
parts for the thriving aircraft industry, but the downturn in 2008 was 
a tremendous blow to Wichita, in particular, and general aviation, more 
generally. We experienced thousands and thousands of layoffs and 
dramatic downsizing all across the region. The downturn exacerbated the 
unique challenges that the lighter, entry-level segment of general 
aviation had been experiencing over the past several decades.
  Today, the average general aviation airplane is 40 years old. That 
means most of the new aircraft were built in the 1960s and 1970s, with 
designs of that same vintage. Current general aviation production 
represents less than 2 percent of the existing fleet.
  We've had an over 10,000-person-per-year decline in active private 
pilots over this last decade. The steady decline in new pilots, flight 
activity, and the sales of new small general aviation airplanes that 
result from that are indicators of significant problems in the 
industry.
  To tackle this problem, this bill, the Small Aircraft Revitalization 
Act, requires the FAA to implement the FAA's part 23 certification 
process and modernize it no later than 2015. The FAA Part 23 
Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), composed of 
aviation authorities and industry representatives from around the 
world, has worked over the last 18 months to create a regulatory 
environment that will contribute to revitalizing the health and safety 
of new and existing airplanes.
  These changes will remove lots and lots of barriers and it will 
improve lives. Let me tell you how it will save lives.
  The gentleman from Wisconsin talked about safety and innovation being 
retarded by the absence of a streamlined regulatory process. He spoke 
of this example of ``loss of control.'' That creates more than three 
times the cause of aviation accidents than any other single cause.
  Since the dawn of aviation, we've taught pilots how to avoid that; 
but because they remain a significant safety problem, there's 
tremendous interest in technology and interventions to resolve it. And 
yet today's part 23 makes that more difficult. By putting these 
technologies into the new and existing fleet, it's widely believed that 
the safety of light general aviation aircraft could see dramatic 
improvements.
  We need to cut this red tape. It will create savings for sure, but, 
more importantly, it will save lives. This is a commonsense and 
important reform.
  America's general aviation industry is not asking for a single 
handout, not one subsidy. It's simply asking for a streamlined set of 
regulations that will permit them to get their airplanes, their designs 
to market more quickly, and still doing so safely.
  I want to thank Chairman Shuster and Chairman LoBiondo for their 
support, and my original cosponsors, Mr.

[[Page H4494]]

Nolan, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Graves of Missouri, and Mr. Rokita, and all 
the folks of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on both 
sides of the aisle that have allowed this bill to get this far and make 
it to the floor.
  I urge support of all of my colleagues this evening and hope we'll 
have a unanimous vote on behalf of this bill.
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Nolan).
  (Mr. NOLAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, first I'd like to thank Representative Pompeo 
for sponsoring this important legislation. And of course, thanks to our 
Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Rahall and to both my Democratic 
and Republican colleagues on the committee for bringing this Small 
Aircraft Revitalization Act to the floor of the Congress in such an 
expeditious and bipartisan manner.
  Mr. Speaker, by streamlining and modernizing the rules and 
regulations that govern our small aircraft industry, we'll be 
encouraging the investment necessary to generate thousands of new 
American jobs.

                              {time}  1715

  What this legislation does, in effect, is put together a regulatory 
regime that will be specifically tailored for the small aircraft 
industry that will allow the industry to develop performance and 
outcome-based ways of achieving important safety standards. It allows 
them to put together consensus regulations that are developed by 
industry, government regulators, and private nonprofit associations, 
and enables the industry to unleash technologies of the future, 
creating jobs.
  I'm so proud of Cirrus Aircraft in my district in Duluth, Minnesota. 
They've developed a parachute that is attached to the airplane and, 
like a skydiver, if the airplane stalls in the sky, you can pull a 
ripcord and parachute the plane down to safety.
  These are the kinds of technologies that have the potential to be 
released through this legislation. What it does, in short, is enable 
the designers, engineers, manufacturers, creators, and skilled workers 
to release all their brilliance, creating the best, safest airplane 
technologies going forward into the future.
  So I applaud the committee and my colleagues in Congress for bringing 
this forward in such an expeditious manner, and I strongly urge all my 
colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from the 25th District of Texas, Representative Roger 
Williams.
  Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, the general aviation industry is a vital 
part of the economy in Texas' 25th District. Between the Dallas/Fort 
Worth International Airport and Austin-Bergstrom Airport, there are 
dozens of smaller regional airports.
  Passing H.R. 1848 is not only important to those in general aviation, 
it is vital. As my colleagues have mentioned, this industry includes 
nearly 600,000 pilots, employs 1.3 million people, and contributes 
approximately $150 billion annually to the U.S. economy. But because 
the current regulations are overly strict and dated, our economy and 
workforce is struggling.
  General aviation fosters a robust workforce of engineers, 
manufacturers, maintenance professionals, and pilots, and it is within 
the FAA's power to ensure the success and sustainability of this 
important industry. They can do this by modernizing the regulatory 
requirements to improve safety, decrease cost, and set new standards 
for compliance in testing, just as H.R. 1848 requires.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm a small businessman. I can tell you this is good for 
jobs, it's good for the economy, and, most importantly, it's good for 
America.
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Barrow).
  Mr. BARROW of Georgia. I thank the gentlelady for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1848, the Small Airplane 
Revitalization Act of 2013. This bill improves safety, lowers costs, 
and stimulates private sector innovation, all while cutting red tape.
  We need to do everything we can to keep our economy growing. For the 
last year and a half, representatives from the Federal Aviation 
Administration and the aviation industry have worked together to make 
recommendations for regulations that will keep us safe in the sky and 
grow our economy back on the ground. This bill adopts those 
recommendations.
  I'm proud to stand with the bipartisan group of Congressmen who have 
helped bring this bill to the floor today, including Mr. Pompeo, Mr. 
Lipinski, Mr. Rokita, Mr. Nolan, and my cochair of the General Aviation 
Task Force, Mr. Graves. This bill follows in the tradition of the 
General Aviation Caucus in the House to work together in a bipartisan 
fashion. That's the way things should be done around here, and this 
bill is proof that good things can happen when Republicans and 
Democrats work together.
  I encourage all my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to reiterate that 
this bill is about good government, about creating a regulatory 
environment that improves safety at a fraction of the cost, and 
ultimately about helping to revitalize an American industry.
  I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RADEL. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak on 
this important legislation that will get the FAA out of the way for 
small aircraft owners and manufactures.
   In my home state of Florida, general aviation is a booming industry. 
We have 130 public-use airports, nearly 52,000 pilots, and more than 
25,000 general aviation aircraft. Southwest Florida, my home, is an 
especially popular area for small aircraft. Anyone flying into the Fort 
Myers airport, over the beautiful beaches and the big blue Gulf--can 
appreciate why so many retired Air Force and airline pilots move to 
Florida and continue to take to the skies.
   Unfortunately, the burdens placed on small aircraft manufacturers 
and owners stop them from enjoying flying. When government bureaucrats 
become more focused on their own job security than the safety of 
pilots, it is time for a change. This important legislation will save 
pilots money and time while ensuring safety in our skies and it 
deserves your support.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1848, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. POMPEO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________