[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 206 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Federal Aviation Administration

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, the list of things that we can do but 
haven't done is extensive. It is long.
  We need to chip away at that list and get our work done as 2023 comes 
to a close. Today, I want to highlight the urgent need to pass a long-
term--a long-term--not a continuation of little, short extensions but a 
long-term FAA reauthorization legislation.
  The current FAA reauthorization expired on September 30, in which a 
subsequent extension was passed until the end of this year--that is not 
many days away.
  Congress is now progressing toward another short-term extension until 
mid-March 2024.
  I serve as the lead Republican and ranking member of the Aviation 
Subcommittee on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, 
and I stated at the very beginning of my tenure in that position the 
importance of passing a long-term reauthorization. And I am here today 
to continue to beat that drum.
  Continuous short-term extensions are detrimental to the Agency, the 
industry, and the flying public. This is about public safety. We have 
been genuinely and rightfully concerned about the flying public, and 
reauthorization of the FAA bill, as we have developed it, is an 
important component of making people safer as they fly.
  Multiple-year reauthorization is necessary for long-term planning and 
growth of the civil aviation industry.
  I come from the air capital of the world, Kansas, and we know the 
importance of this piece of legislation in our ability to compete 
globally and to defend our Nation in this time of national security 
needs.
  Multiple-year reauthorization allows for planning and growth, 
including the maintenance and modernization of aviation infrastructure 
and technologies. If the United States is to remain a leader in the 
aerospace domain, it is critical that we provide the FAA the resources 
and the tools they require.
  We spent months working on the legislation. It is designed to and 
will improve the capabilities of the Federal Aviation Administration. 
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an FAA reauthorization, 
and they did so last July. Unfortunately, the Senate has yet to move a 
bill out of the committee.
  In November, the Aviation Subcommittee convened once again to address 
the close calls and near misses that have recently plagued our Nation's 
air space--incidents that indicate, now more than ever, that our 
aviation system needs certainty and stability provided, in part, by 
long-term authorization by Congress.
  While I was pleased to see my colleagues come together this past 
October in a vote of 98 to 0--98 to nothing--in the Senate to confirm 
Mr. Mike Whitaker as the FAA Administrator, I implore--I request--my 
colleagues to once again find that collaborative spirit, that way 
forward, to address FAA reauthorization.
  Our colleague in the House, the House Transportation chairman, Sam 
Graves, recently held a hearing on the consequences of a failure to 
pass a long-term FAA reauthorization bill. While the hearing touched on 
a myriad of issues that continued FAA extensions would present, the 
witnesses particularly highlighted these items: airport programs and 
project delivery impacts due to uncertainty in planning; the inability 
of the FAA to adjust to emerging technologies; and workforce issues for 
the entire aviation system, particularly air traffic control staffing, 
which has led to continued delays and cancellations for the flying 
public.
  Mr. Rich Santa, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers 
Association, summarized it this way--and I am quoting him:

       The single most important action Congress can take for the 
     safety of the national airspace system would be to pass a 
     long-term, comprehensive FAA Reauthorization bill [and put 
     it] into law before the end of the year.

  Our aviation system cannot make needed advancements and improvements 
if we continue to allow the status quo, which has near-term and long-
term implications.
  So, once again, I stand ready to work with my colleagues, the 
chairman and the ranking Member of the full committee; my colleague 
Senator Duckworth from Illinois, my chairman of the subcommittee that I 
am the ranking member of. I stand here ready to not only encourage my 
colleagues but to put my work where my mouth is and make sure that we 
take every step possible to find that sweet spot, that needle--which I 
don't think is that small of a needle hole--to get us FAA reauthorized 
long term. Our aviation system depends upon it and, most importantly, 
my Kansas constituents and all Americans depend upon, for their safety, 
this piece of legislation.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Illinois.