[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 213 (Thursday, December 9, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  GROUND-BASED AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. RICK LARSEN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 9, 2021

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Madam Speaker, I share the concerns of my 
friend from Kansas regarding the need to upgrade the Nation's ground-
based aviation infrastructure in a much timelier fashion. Aviation is a 
part of the backbone of the U.S. economy and keeping all aspects of the 
system up to date is essential to continued growth and quality of life 
for all Americans. The backlog of ground-based navigation aids that are 
currently operating past their useful life is real. In fact, at the 
current slow pace of modernization, some of these systems will be more 
than 100 years old by the time they are replaced.
  As Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on 
Aviation, I am committed to addressing this issue before it becomes a 
crisis for the aviation system. The funding in the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act will give the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) the tools it needs to make significant improvements in the safety 
and reliability of critical ground-based infrastructure by acquiring, 
installing, and commissioning new instrument landing systems; distance 
measuring equipment; tactical air navigation equipment; runway lighting 
systems; and very high frequency omni-range equipment. Further, this 
funding supports the FAA's administrative expenses, including salaries, 
giving the agency the flexibility to bolster its workforce and 
implement innovative solutions to accelerate the modernization of these 
systems.
  Ensuring the safety and reliability of the Nation's ground-based 
aviation infrastructure is a priority of the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee, and I am committed to working with 
Representative Davids on this issue as we move forward, including 
oversight on the U.S. Department of Transportation spend plan.

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