[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 163 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6434-S6435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          FAA Reauthorization

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am here this afternoon to address two 
pieces of legislation that are coming before the Senate. One we are 
currently waiting to consider is a long-term reauthorization of the 
Federal Aviation Administration, and the second, which I hope we will 
soon consider, is comprehensive legislation to address the Nation's 
opioid epidemic.
  I begin by thanking Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson for 
their work to deliver a bipartisan, bicameral FAA reauthorization bill 
that provides a 5-year reauthorization for the agency. The last time we 
reauthorized the FAA, when I was in the Senate, I think it took us 23 
tries to get it done over a period of time that was actually longer 
than the original authorization, but this time we are doing it much 
faster, with three short-term extensions. Last week, the House passed 
this bill, the FAA reauthorization, with broad bipartisan support, and 
I hope the Senate is going to act quickly so we can get this bill to 
the President's desk for signature.
  The FAA has not received a long-term reauthorization since February 
of 2012. Short-term reauthorizations fail to give the FAA the certainty 
and the necessary resources they need to make to improve our Nation's 
airports and make commercial air travel safer for all passengers.
  I think it is particularly an issue right now as we are switching 
over to the NextGen system of air traffic control. Last month, I had a 
chance to visit with air traffic controllers in New Hampshire at the 
Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility in Merrimack, also called the 
TRACON. What I heard from folks there was that a long-term 
reauthorization bill means that the TRACON and Merrimack will be able 
to upgrade its systems to keep our airways safe, while also allowing 
the center to continue to hire well-qualified, trained controllers to 
meet staffing needs.
  The bill we have before us now provides critical investments through 
the Airport Improvement Program that provides grants to airports 
nationwide for planning and development projects that these airports 
would be unable to complete otherwise. In New Hampshire, where we have 
a number of small airports, this grant program is particularly 
important.
  It also increases investments in the Essential Air Service Program, 
which provides services that would otherwise be too cost prohibitive 
for airlines to operate in rural communities like we have in New 
Hampshire. For example, EAS is vital for Granite Staters who utilize 
the Lebanon Municipal Airport and depend on this service for access to 
regularly scheduled flights that would not otherwise be available. I am 
sure the Presiding Officer has an appreciation for the Lebanon 
Municipal Airport, since he went to school at Dartmouth in that region 
of the State and knows how important that airport is to New Hampshire.
  I am also pleased the FAA bill includes legislation I introduced as 
part of it to permanently reauthorize the Human Intervention Motivation 
Study, the HIMS Program, and also directs the National Research Council 
to study how other subagencies within the Department of Transportation 
could create similar programs to fight drug and alcohol addiction 
within their workforces.
  HIMS, as it is known, is an employee assistance program that provides 
education and outreach in order to coordinate the identification, 
treatment,

[[Page S6435]]

medical recertification, and return to the cockpit of flight officers 
with substance misuse issues. HIMS doesn't provide direct treatment but 
instead helps identify those who are in need, and it facilitates the 
successful return to work. It is an industrywide effort in which 
airlines, pilot unions, and the FAA work together to preserve careers 
and promote air safety. Since its implementation, the program has 
successfully helped over 5,800 pilots, and it provides airlines with a 
$9 return on every dollar that is invested.
  There are a lot of lessons from the HIMS Program that I think have 
real resonance to other agencies within the Department of 
Transportation, and I am hoping the study that is authorized as part of 
the FAA bill we are considering will be able to be shared so we can see 
how other agencies can also benefit from this.
  Right now, we have a 1-week extension on the FAA bill that expires 
this Sunday, October 7. I hope this bill is going to come to the floor 
for final passage before we go home this week.