[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3101-S3106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, the Federal Aviation Administration 
Reauthorization Act that is before us shines as a beacon of safety, 
progress, and efficiency in the realm of aviation. It is not just any 
piece of legislation; it is a commitment to safeguarding lives, 
fostering innovation, and bolstering economic growth.
  At its core, this bill ensures that our skies remain safe for all who 
traverse them. It sets stringent standards for aircraft safety, air 
traffic control, and airport operations, ensuring that every flight is 
conducted with the highest level of care and expertise.
  Today, I rise to especially acknowledge the hard work that our air 
traffic controllers do day in and day out to keep our skies clear and 
safe for all.
  Back home in Olathe, KS, we have an Air Route Traffic Control Center 
that is responsible for some 130,000 square miles of airspace.
  Covering that much airspace is no small feat, and it takes a team of 
highly skilled and trained controllers to get the job done. In fact, I 
made a visit to that control center in Olathe, and what I found was 
perhaps the most constant bombardment of mentally challenging tasks of 
any job I have ever seen, more than anything I have seen in 8 hours or 
12 hours in an operating room in 1 day, more than a day in an emergency 
room, more than any task I have seen, the mental challenge, the 
constant bombardment of different sequences, trying to make sure--not 
trying but ensuring that every flight lands safely. There is no room 
for error. There are no second chances. And it amazes me how, time 
after time, day after day, these stalwarts do their job with 
perfection.

  And I have to admit, in years past, I have been disappointed that, 
despite billions being spent, allocated to the FAA each year, this 
Agency has continued to neglect hiring for air traffic controllers, not 
only in Kansas but across the Nation.
  Again, based on my visit to our towers in Kansas, it is clear that 
our air traffic controllers need relief, and we need to hire more 
people to prevent burnout among those critical workers for the sake of 
preserving passenger safety.
  Thankfully, we have a golden opportunity this week to make things 
right with this FAA reauthorization. The compromise package includes 
provisions to hire at maximum levels over the life of this bill and to 
adopt a new staffing model to better project hiring needs in the 
future.
  I want to especially salute Senator Braun's Air Traffic Controllers 
Hiring Act, as it is a commonsense, simple fix that over 30 Senators 
have supported. Including this bill in this reauthorization package was 
the right thing to do, and it is a bipartisan win that we can all 
celebrate together. I applaud the committee for including this 
important language and taking care of the folks who work around the 
clock to keep our deliveries on time and our passengers safe.
  And, finally, I want to just take a moment to remember and applaud 
all of the Members of Congress, but, I think, even more importantly, 
their dedicated staff, who have worked on this FAA reauthorization 
legislation, along with all the dedicated aviation industry who strive 
to keep us safe and on time.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the bipartisan, 
bicameral agreement reached for a long-term Federal Aviation 
Administration reauthorization. You would know, as a member of our 
committee, that we have worked hard to bring the FAA aviation community 
together to make certain that we do not end up with a result of one 
more extension after extension after extension, and that we can provide 
some certainty for the FAA in fulfilling its mission.
  When I became the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee, I 
stated the importance of passing a long-term reauthorization and 
pledged to work with Senators Duckworth, Cruz, and Cantwell, as well as 
my other colleagues on the Commerce Committee, to get a comprehensive 
agreement completed.
  I want to thank the leaders of both the Senate Commerce Committee--
Senators Cantwell and Cruz--and the House Transportation Committee--
Congressman Graves and Congressman Larsen--for their months of work to 
get us to this point. I also want to thank my counterpart on the 
Aviation Subcommittee, the chairman of that subcommittee, Senator 
Duckworth of Illinois. She has been a pleasure to work with, with a 
commitment to aviation and experience to back up that desire to see 
success in this effort.
  Multiyear reauthorization is vital for long-term planning and growth 
in the civil aviation industry, including the maintenance and 
modernization of aviation infrastructure and technology. Continuous 
short-term extensions are detrimental to the Agency, industry, and to 
the flying public.
  This week and next week, Congress must come together to ensure our 
current extension of the Federal Aviation Administration, which is 
until May 10, will be our last--no more extensions.
  Last October, the Senate recognized how critical the FAA is to the 
country

[[Page S3102]]

and evidenced that recognition by voting 98 to 0 to confirm Mike 
Whitaker as the FAA Administrator.
  If the United States is to remain a leader in the aviation and 
aerospace domain, it is critical we provide the FAA with the resources 
and tools they require.
  The aviation sector has seen close calls and near misses plague our 
Nation's air space, in addition to quality control concerns. Recent 
incidents indicate now--now more than ever--that our aviation system 
needs certainty and stability, and that is provided, in part, by a 
long-term authorization of Congress.
  The original Senate legislation was drafted after eight committee and 
subcommittee hearings, and I am pleased that many of my priorities were 
included in this legislation.
  Kansas will have an important role to play in advancing our aviation 
industry, including research and development and hypersonic flight and 
testing, as well as AAM and UAVs.
  This legislation also includes my priorities to, one, bolster the 
aviation workforce, improve the FAA backlog, promote women in aviation, 
expand travel access for people with disabilities, attract air service 
to small communities, support staffing and training for air traffic 
controllers for the first time in decades, address new aircraft 
entering the air space, expand advanced air mobility, and safeguard 
essential air service programs.
  I encourage my colleagues to, once again, find a collaborative way to 
move forward to address FAA reauthorization.
  We manufacture lots of airplanes in the State of Kansas. We are the 
air capital of the world. More general aviation aircraft than anyplace 
in the world are manufactured there, as well as commercial aircraft. 
And I sometimes think that if I have any reputation as being an 
advocate for aviation, it is probably because we manufacture so many 
airplanes. And that certainly is true. But I also would highlight the 
importance of an airport and airplanes to small communities across 
Kansas, not just in the manufacturing that is centered around South 
Central Kansas. But every community and their airport are an essential 
way in which that community has a brighter future. Airports and 
aviation, including commercial air service to small airports, are 
hugely important to the wellbeing of States like ours.
  The American people deserve the safest. In fact, that is probably the 
most important component of what we can do here. It is to ensure, as 
best we can, the safety of the traveling and flying public. There is no 
future of aviation and aerospace in Kansas or elsewhere if citizens of 
our country and around the globe are not feeling safe and secure to 
fly. The American people deserve nothing less than the safest and most 
efficient aviation system in the world.
  Our bill provides critical safety enhancements, grows America's 
aviation workforce, invests in infrastructure at airports in urban and 
rural communities, sets clear priorities for advancing innovation in 
aviation solutions, improves the flying public's travel experience, and 
ensures a healthy general aviation sector for years to come.
  Again, I thank my colleagues on the committee for working to 
accomplish this moment. I look forward to the vote that takes place a 
little later today, and I encourage my colleagues to work hard to see 
that we get this completed in the next few days.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I come to the floor today in support of 
the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. This has been a truly bipartisan, 
bicameral endeavor, and that is how it should be. It has taken longer 
than we had hoped, but the final product is worth it.
  This bill will empower the FAA to aggressively address the aviation 
system safety crisis, make our aviation system more accessible for 
passengers with disabilities, provide historic investments that will 
enhance our Nation's capacity to recruit and train the next generation 
of aviation workers, and do so without lowering, weakening, or watering 
down the post-Colgan safety system, including pilot qualification 
standards.
  There are many important provisions in this bill, but I want to 
highlight just a few today. First and foremost, this bill takes 
important steps to address critical safety challenges facing our 
aviation system. During the pandemic, retirements and buyouts drained 
critical experience from our aviation workforce, both in the Federal 
Agencies, like the FAA and the NTSB, as well as in the commercial 
aviation sector.
  The post-COVID surge in demand for air travel put a huge strain on 
our system and stretched the remaining aviation workforce thin. Near 
misses and close calls became so frequent that the FAA was forced to 
convene a safety summit.
  Despite this, the close calls keep happening over and over and over 
again. Just last week, a Swiss Air flight had to abort takeoff at JFK 
when four other planes were crossing the runway at the same time. The 
week before that, a Southwest jet crossed the runway at National 
Airport right as a JetBlue flight was starting its takeoff roll.
  The need for Congress to act is urgent, and this bill takes important 
steps to address safety-critical challenges.
  Importantly, our bill also preserves an important pillar of the post-
Colgan safety system: the 1,500-hour rule for first officer flight 
training. As both a commercial and a private pilot, I know how critical 
real-world experience is in the cockpit. It can mean the difference 
between life and death. As demand for air travel continues to grow, we 
will continue to need more pilots. But putting safety first demands 
that Congress always reject industry efforts to lower pilot 
qualification standards, and that is why I worked so hard to make sure 
that our bill left the 1,500-hour rule intact.
  Air traffic controllers and surface detection is a key component of 
the FAA reauthorization bill also. Our legislation will also give a 
much needed boost to our air traffic controller workforce.
  Coming out of the pandemic, our air traffic facilities are 
understaffed and our controllers are overworked. Last year, only 3 of 
313 air traffic facilities nationwide had enough controllers to meet 
staffing targets, while controllers are working 60 hours a week to keep 
up.
  This is dangerous. These are highly stressful, safety-critical jobs 
under the best of circumstances. Growing this workforce is a safety 
imperative, and this bill takes aggressive steps to do so. It will set 
a minimum hiring target equal to the maximum number of air traffic 
controllers our academy can accommodate. It will also require a more 
accurate staffing model going forward to ensure that there will be 
enough air traffic controllers to meet the growing demand and keep the 
flying public safe.
  The bill will also expand deployment of surface detection technology 
to more airports to help prevent near misses or, worse, actual 
collisions.
  Our bipartisan compromise also advances passenger safety by requiring 
the FAA to finally update aircraft evacuation standards to account for 
real-world conditions. Federal regulations require that, in the event 
of an emergency, passengers can evacuate an aircraft within 90 seconds. 
However, recent FAA in-person evacuation simulations used only able-
bodied adults under the age of 60, in groups of just 60, on a plane 
with no carry-on baggage and nobody under the age of 18.
  On a typical 737, you would see more than twice that number of 
passengers. I think it is safe to say that you would also probably see 
a couple of backpacks--maybe 100 backpacks--and probably some senior 
citizens, children, and passengers with disabilities too. All of these 
folks were left out of the latest FAA simulation.
  So the fact is, we don't actually know if an aircraft can be 
evacuated in 90 seconds in real-world conditions, and that is what is 
so dangerous. The Miracle on the Hudson took more than twice that long 
to evacuate--3 minutes.
  In January, when a Japan Airlines crew miraculously managed to 
successfully evacuate nearly 400 people from a burning Airbus A350, it 
took closer to 18 minutes from the point of impact and, overall, 5 
minutes from the point of when the plane had stopped moving.
  In 2016, it took more than 17 minutes to evacuate a 767 at O'Hare, 
after the

[[Page S3103]]

plane came to a stop, well short of the 90-second threshold.
  Carry-on bags slowed down that evacuation; and since then, the NTSB 
has been recommending FAA take a closer look at this issue.
  The bill before us today includes a provision Senator Baldwin and I 
championed to require the FAA to finally do just that: along with 
mandating the Agency, actually consider other real-world conditions 
like the presence of children, seniors, and passengers with 
disabilities.
  The FAA bill will also make much needed progress in transforming 
commercial air travel to be safer and more accessible for passengers 
with disabilities.
  I was proud and honored to work with individuals and organizations in 
the disability community when drafting this portion of our legislation.
  And while we still have a long way to go to ensure equal access for 
millions of people with disabilities when flying, if passed, our FAA 
Reauthorization Act would be one of the most significant leaps taken 
over the past decade towards improving the air travel experience for 
the disability community.
  Our work builds on a yearslong effort by my colleague Senator 
Baldwin. And I would like to thank her for her leadership on the Air 
Carrier Access Amendments Act, which has been a priority of the 
disability community for years.
  And today, I am happy to say that several important provisions from 
that Baldwin bill are included in this reauthorization.
  Today's bill also includes a new grant program to upgrade airports to 
make them more accessible for passengers with disabilities.
  Two bipartisan, bicameral bills are also included: the Mobility Aids 
on Board Improve Lives and Empower All Act--or MOBILE Act--which I 
worked on with Senator Thune and Representatives   Steve Cohen and Pete 
Stauber, and the Prioritizing Accountability and Accessibility for 
Aviation Consumers Act, which I worked on with Senator Fischer and 
Representatives   Steve Cohen and Brian Fitzpatrick.
  I want to thank my colleagues across the aisle and in the House for 
working with me to show that even in this divisive political moment, we 
can--and we must--still legislate in a bipartisan fashion on issues 
that impact Americans throughout every inch of this country, in States 
that are both red and blue.
  This bill will also help grow the next generation of pilots, aviation 
mechanics, and aviation manufacturing technical workers by expanding 
the FAA's Aviation Workforce Development Grant Program. This is 
critical to meet future demand, which is expected to grow tremendously. 
The FAA estimates the 696 million mainline enplanements we saw in 2023 
will grow to more than 1.1 trillion enplanements by 2044.
  I want to thank Senators Moran, Klobuchar, Thune, Kelly, Fischer, 
Warnock, and Capito for working with me to secure the highest level of 
investments forever for these grants.
  I want to give a special thanks to Senator Moran, who has been such a 
pleasure to work with, and also to my colleagues in the House and 
especially to our chairwoman of the committee, who has been so generous 
in working with me as the subcommittee chair.
  While this initiative may be relatively new, in its short history, it 
has already proven incredibly popular with educational and training 
institutions, with the demands for training grants vastly outstripping 
supply.
  Our bill will fix this imbalance by drastically strengthening the 
capacity and capabilities of our Nation's aviation education and 
training organizations, with the goal of successfully recruiting and 
preparing the next generation of American aviation workers.
  Before yielding, I want to say a brief word about Boeing--a company 
with a proud heritage in American aviation. This bill does not fully 
address our many vexing issues that have come to light since a door 
plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight midair in January of this 
year.
  Congress must look more closely at these issues and assess what 
additional legislation may be needed.
  As Chair Cantwell has indicated, we will be conducting vigorous 
oversight, but that will take time. And this bill contains urgently 
needed fixes to address immediate imminent safety risks. We must not 
delay passage of this FAA reauthorization while we continue our 
oversight of Boeing and all aviation manufacturers.
  So let's pass this bill.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to 
speak for up to 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support for the FAA 
Reauthorization Act of 2024. This bill, negotiated by Chair Cantwell 
and myself, with the leadership of the House Transportation and 
Infrastructure and Science Committees, is a bicameral and a bipartisan 
accomplishment. It is the culmination of many months of work between us 
and our staffs and is reflective of the priorities of a great many 
Senators.
  On the Republican side alone, more than 200 Member priorities were 
included. I am especially proud of the numerous provisions that make 
for a safer and more convenient travel experience for Texans and for 
consumers across the Nation and the provisions that will help grow 
Texas's thriving aerospace sector. It will make significant strides in 
aviation safety, the primary mission of the FAA--and something that I 
know that all of us care deeply about. It will provide a clear path 
forward to integrate new advanced aviation technologies and will make 
it easier for fliers to get upfront information on ticket prices.
  A flurry of near misses at our Nation's airports, multiple concerning 
maintenance reports of United Airlines' flights, and the alarming 
decompression event of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 have together raised 
serious concerns with the safety of our airspace. Aviation safety has 
been, and will continue to be, one of the very top priorities of the 
Senate Commerce Committee. When the people of Texas board a flight, 
they expect their flight--and their families--to be safe.
  As a result, I am proud to say that our bill includes numerous 
crucial safety provisions, such as requiring 25-hour cockpit voice 
recorders in all commercial aircraft. This safety upgrade will allow 
the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA to have access to 
vital information needed during accident investigations. This became 
abundantly clear after the cockpit voice recorder in the Alaska 
Airlines flight was lost because of an outdated 2-hour requirement. 
That is unacceptable, and it should never happen again. With this bill, 
it will not happen again.
  In response to recent runway surface incidents, this bill establishes 
a zero tolerance runway safety policy. It prioritizes projects that 
improve surface surveillance; it establishes a Runway Safety Council; 
and it requires a timeline and an action plan to actually get better 
runway and tarmac incursion technologies installed at airports that 
need them.
  Air traffic controller shortages have plagued airports across the 
country--including in my home State of Texas--putting travel safety at 
risk. This legislation aims to relieve the strain on air traffic 
control by directing the FAA to hire the maximum number of air traffic 
controllers, hopefully aiding the many facilities that have been 
understaffed for far too long.
  At a time when aircraft safety seems to be in the news every other 
day, our bipartisan bill makes important upgrades to safety reporting. 
Commercial aviation has improved in the last several decades, in part 
because the FAA and industry have tracked trends in safety to respond 
in a proactive manner to safety concerns, instead of waiting until 
after a fatal accident has occurred. Furthermore, this bill recognizes 
the important role that whistleblowers play and includes protections 
for those reporting safety concerns.
  This bill also makes transformative investments in airports across 
our country by making updates to the formula used to disburse grants 
for airport infrastructure projects. As a result, all airports across 
the country will be able to rehab their runways or acquire critical 
safety technologies.
  I am also pleased that the bill makes it easier to obtain permits for 
airport construction projects. This bill is good

[[Page S3104]]

for airports large and small across the Nation.
  This bill does not ignore the fact that sometimes airlines screw up 
and leave consumers hanging. One provision parents in the Chamber 
should be really happy about is the requirement for airlines to ensure 
that families are able to sit together. This just makes sense and will 
help to make traveling with young children just a little bit easier.
  I am also pleased that there is a requirement that customers who need 
customer service will now be guaranteed that they can talk to a human 
representative--an actual human being--24/7.
  Finally, this bill makes important improvements for travelers with 
disabilities, including requiring training, for employees who handle 
wheelchairs, and it requires the DOT to actually respond to complaints 
submitted by aggrieved passengers.
  I know there has been a lot of attention paid to the additional five 
round trip flights at DCA added by this bipartisan bill. Reagan 
National is the only airport in the country that Congress has decreed 
that a plane may travel no further than 1,250 miles from when landing 
or taking off from. It is absurd, and it is unfair to millions of 
fliers who are forced to pay higher prices because of this rule. It has 
been over a decade since Congress has expanded access to DCA, and the 
inclusion of five round trip flights is a modest proposal that will 
bring down consumer prices for fliers in the DC region and from western 
States. This modest increase will not result in negative impacts or 
delays, nor will it result in loss of flights for anyone who currently 
receives service.
  I repeat: It will not result in loss of flights for any route that 
currently receives service, despite the threats and the fearmongering 
from the army of United Airlines' lobbyists who are actively working to 
protect their Dulles monopoly. By my count of United's threatened 
service cuts, these five round trip flights will lead United to cancel 
air service to more than half the States in the Union. Don't believe 
the propaganda.
  And I have to say, it is not in the interest of any Senator to 
support a policy that reduces competition, enhances monopoly products 
for one airline--United Airlines--and drives up the prices not only for 
the residents of Virginia, DC, and Maryland, but for the residents of 
all 50 States who have come to our Nation's Capital.
  In contrast, this modest addition of service would allow for further 
competition between the airlines that serve DCA. Competition is good 
for consumers, and it is good for lowering prices.
  This change will also provide the ability for there to be a direct 
flight from San Antonio to DC Reagan, delivering a more convenient 
travel experience for members of the military traveling from Joint Base 
San Antonio to the Pentagon, to Arlington Cemetery, to our Nation's 
Capital, and also for business travelers and tourists in San Antonio.
  I also want to talk about the benefits this bill has for new 
aerospace technologies. Our bill helps the FAA both modernize and 
transform its operations and handling of new entrants, like drones and 
air taxis--a provision that will increase productivity and spur 
economic activity. Importantly, this reauthorization includes measures 
to eliminate inefficiencies plaguing the NextGen Office. This 
legislation also directs the FAA to complete the Beyond Visual Line of 
Sight rulemaking, which will expand drone delivery and other drone 
operations across the country and especially in my home State of Texas.
  I am also proud of the reforms aimed at better integrating commercial 
space activities into the National Airspace System. Assisting launch 
providers in navigating complicated airspace will be a boost for 
Texas's thriving commercial space industry.
  To carry out all of these ambitious goals, the FAA needs a workforce 
that has the technical expertise to conduct effective oversight of 
manufacturers and airlines, as well as technical experts who can help 
in the certification of these new and novel technologies. This was a 
major focus of our efforts. For example, in an effort to boost the 
aviation workforce and provide more opportunities for America's 
veterans, this legislation makes it easier for military servicemembers 
to transition to civil aviation careers.
  This comprehensive and bipartisan bill bolsters the FAA at a time 
when the Agency needs support. The aviation system is more strained 
than ever. Millions of Americans travel every single day. Millions of 
Americans depend on this sector to earn their livelihood.
  The U.S. aviation sector is the gold standard of safety, and I am 
proud of the improvements and reforms made in this bill. I look forward 
to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance this 
bill to final passage.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
permitted to speak for up to 20 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall 
vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, my colleagues have already been out here 
today. It is a great day for aviation because we have a product before 
the U.S. Senate, and Members will be asked to vote to move forward on 
the consideration of this important aviation safety legislation.
  As my colleagues have already said, this is a bipartisan, bicameral 
agreement on the FAA reauthorization.
  It is important to reauthorize both the Federal Aviation 
Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board for another 
5 years. We are not only giving them direction and resources to improve 
safety, but we are asking them to keep up to date on the implementation 
of the latest technologies that help us do just that.
  I want to thank my colleague Senator Cruz, who was just on the Senate 
floor, for helping negotiate this through the Senate Commerce 
Committee.
  I want to thank Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen from my 
State for their participation and dedication to producing this 
bicameral, bipartisan legislation.
  I certainly want to thank Senators Duckworth and Moran, who chair the 
subcommittee in the aviation area, for their important contributions to 
this legislation.
  I also want to thank President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg, and 
Administrator Whitaker for helping us on all of the input as we move 
forward on this legislation.
  I certainly want to thank Senators Schumer, Thune, Duckworth, and 
Sinema, who helped to negotiate key provisions of this as it relates to 
pilot safety and training.
  I definitely, definitely, definitely, definitely want to thank the 
very hard work of our committee majority staff and the committee 
minority staff for working diligently on this important legislation.
  I can't tell you how important it is at this point in time for us to 
show that we are paying attention to these issues. Over the last 12 
months, several incidents--including a door plug blowout and a string 
of close calls at airports--have made the public question where we are 
with aviation safety. We need to show them that we are asking for, 
implementing, and holding accountable the FAA to a gold standard for 
safety.
  These incidents underscore why we need a strong reauthorization bill, 
why we need to implement safety improvements, why we need to invest in 
a safety workforce at the FAA, and why we need strong consumer laws on 
the books that give consumers a right to a refund. The FAA 
reauthorization bill does all those things. It provides the direction. 
It provides the resources. It helps us build that aviation workforce. 
It helps us implement safety technologies that will be part of the 
next-gen system and improve aviation and airport infrastructure 
nationwide.
  Some of my colleagues may think, well, FAA, OK--it is an aviation 
bill, but what is behind this?
  Aviation contributes to 5 percent of our GDP. That is $1.9 trillion 
of economic activity and 11 million jobs. Getting this right is 
paramount.

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  I think some people look at what has happened during COVID and say: 
Everybody has workforce shortages. Everybody has problems with the 
workforce everywhere.
  But when you have a workforce problem in aviation, it means you don't 
have the highest standards for safety. That is why we have to pass this 
legislation. Our bill gives the aviation workforce the tools and the 
platform they need. I am talking about machinists, about engineers, 
about mechanics, about pilots, about flight attendants, about baggage 
handlers, about maintenance workers--the people who really are the 
backbone of an aviation economy.
  It is simple: This bipartisan bill puts safety first. It says we are 
authorizing over $100 billion so that the FAA does meet that gold 
standard.
  We also are including a robust reauthorization of the National 
Transportation Safety Board so this organization has the resources it 
needs to hire more investigators, conduct thorough investigations, and 
produce the highest level of critical analysis as to why--why--we have 
had safety accidents.
  The NTSB needs to have the critical funding to carry out its 
important mission, like investigating Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and 
the train derailment in East Palestine. These are important missions 
that help inform us what is wrong with our systems and how they should 
be improved. Unless we have those inspectors at NTSB--and we have lost 
some of them lately, and some have retired. We need to continue to have 
these most critical investigators.
  This bill also funds key safety improvements of our system. It 
requires current and newly manufactured commercial aircraft to be 
equipped, as my colleagues have mentioned, with a 25-hour cockpit voice 
recorder. The standard today is just 2 hours. What unfortunately 
happened in the Alaska Air door plug issue is that, in those short 2 
hours--when people were in the aftermath of the confusion, that 2 hours 
was overridden. Now we are asking the National Transportation Safety 
Board to investigate without the most critical information that would 
have told us exactly what was happening in the cockpit at that time--
the voice recorder. This legislation is critical to have a mandate and 
never to have that overridden in this time period so we have enough 
time to investigate.
  The NTSB also will strengthen its Board and its workforce. It 
investigates more than 2,600 accidents every year; however, it has had 
the same number of people as staff for decades. That is why those 33 
more investigators would be better equipped and better able to 
understand emerging technologies.
  I want to thank Senator Klobuchar for her leadership. She, in her 
provision on runway traffic and landing safety technology, is helping 
us to reduce collisions or near misses at airports. This bill invests 
in deploying this technology that NTSB accurately assessed has been 
saving lives at various airports and says it needs to be deployed more 
across the entire country. These critical airport technologies will be 
required at all medium and large hub airports--to implement this within 
the next few years.
  Building on the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability 
Act--the bill that we passed in the aftermath of the two Boeing MAX 
crashes--this bill continues to make reforms in aircraft certification 
to ensure that the planes we fly meet the highest standards of the FAA.
  To further the reform certification, we require the FAA to provide 
public notice and opportunity to comment on significant aviation 
product design changes. A lot of the confusion in the MAX incident, on 
the MCAS system, is people said they didn't know or didn't understand. 
This provision ensures transparency for proposed exemptions from 
current airworthiness standards. It puts the flying public--and, 
unfortunately, families have been impacted--more in the driver's seat 
of understanding what changes are being proposed to airplane 
certification.
  It also requires recurrent training and stronger standards for 
manufacturer's representatives who act on behalf of the Federal 
Aviation Administration as unit members, to understand the 
manufacturing process. This includes strengthening the members' 
understanding of what are the international aviation standards from 
ICAO for safety management systems--which is the gold standard for 
safety--and procedures to report safety issues, a key recommendation 
from the Expert Review Panel's report.
  To address safety concerns also, this legislation includes an 
analysis of what are called Service Difficulty Reports and regular 
updates to Congress. Service Difficulty Reports are information filed 
by pilots every day after a flight that tells somebody: This happened 
on our carrier. This incident happened.
  We are strengthening the requirement for the FAA to analyze that 
information early and frequently and to give Congress updates on this--
again, something requested by the families of the MAX air crash 
incident.
  Additionally, we authorize $66.7 billion to boost the FAA's staff and 
programs and resources to strengthen the oversight of the manufacturing 
process. This is critical in providing what are called safety 
inspectors by the FAA. These are people we hire and train at the FAA. 
They go to a community college and take a safety course, and they are 
required to understand what are the obligations of a manufacturer to 
implement the code that the FAA has. We need a more aggressive 
investment in these individuals from the FAA--their training, their 
skills, their ability to stay current on the latest and greatest 
technology.
  To better support the FAA's oversight, the Agency is required to 
revise and implement an updated aviation safety inspector model to 
reflect their increased oversight responsibilities. In 2021, the 
Department of Transportation inspector highlighted critical staffing 
shortages by facility at the FAA's Flight Standards and Certification 
Management District Offices.
  Mr. President, I want to take a moment to give my condolences to the 
family of Ian Won. Ian Won was one of these people who helped 
understand the certification process at what is called the Seattle 
BASOO office. That is the office of the FAA that oversees 
certification.
  We need people to stand up like Ian Won did, who said that the 
certification is only good when the FAA says it is good. Those are the 
kind of people we need in the system. We recently lost Ian to cancer 
but will remember his dedication to getting aviation right.
  The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, PASS, representing FAA 
safety employees, estimates that the FAA is currently experiencing a 
20-percent shortage of safety inspectors. So implementing a revised 
model helps us better capture the inspector workload, what it takes to 
ensure the next generation of technology is fully understood, and to 
make sure that operators and manufacturers are complying with the law.
  I also want to thank Senator Schatz for his helicopter tour safety 
provision. Many people know how many people travel to the State of 
Hawaii to travel on air tours in and around those beautiful islands, 
but that important safety responsibility has to be clear to those 
independent operators: that they are going to meet the highest 
standards when moving the public around.
  Another safety provision that went in the bill by Senators Baldwin, 
Capito, and Welch, called the Global Aviation Maintenance Safety 
Improvement Act, will strengthen the FAA's oversight of foreign repair 
stations and create a more level playing field.
  Unfortunately, as aircraft maintenance went overseas and the FAA 
didn't have enough inspectors, where did they not inspect the 
maintenance and repair of aircraft? In those overseas repair stations. 
But now we are taking away any incentive for someone to go do that 
overseas because the FAA will be there and will inspect and make sure 
that we are meeting the standard. So this will help us bring this back 
to the United States.
  There are nearly 1,000 FAA-certified maintenance and repair stations 
operating outside the United States, and we have to make sure that they 
are properly regulated.
  We are also, in this legislation, making sure that the FAA workforce 
is well trained and advised to help the FAA. It helps recruit skilled 
technical and expert staff to ensure that manufacturers don't take 
shortcuts. It helps the FAA do more direct hiring to quickly fill these 
positions.
  And one of the most important aspects of the legislation is our most

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pressing workforce problem, and that is the shortage of over 3,000 air 
traffic controllers. Everyone knows that these air traffic controllers 
are what guide us every day to the safety of our destinations. This 
bill recognizes that we have shortchanged that investment, with air 
traffic controllers sometimes working as many as 6 days a week. We need 
a workforce that is going to continue to tackle these challenges, and 
this bill makes the investment so that happens.
  We have seen the FAA fall short of goals before in workforce 
training, but this staffing model and the FAA staffing committed to in 
this bill will help us fill that gap.
  I want to thank Senators Klobuchar, Duckworth, Warnock, Moran, Thune, 
Peters, and Kelly for their Aviation Workforce Development Grant 
Program in this legislation. It helps us grow pilots, mechanics, 
engineers, and technical workforce and streamline the job pathway for 
veterans who have real skill in the military and can more easily help 
us fill these aviation roles.
  Our bill requires the GAO to also study airport worker standards, a 
step toward getting our baggage handlers, our ramp workers, and our 
aircraft cleaners the pay and benefits they deserve.
  This bill also does something for the first time for consumers. It 
says that you deserve a refund after a 3-hour delay, even if you have a 
nonrefundable ticket. You also deserve a refund for an international 
flight if it has been delayed for 6 hours. And you can get that refund 
immediately by talking to the carrier or, if you decide you just don't 
even want to be on the delayed flight, you can get a refund.

  I want to thank Senators Markey and Vance for a mandate in the bill 
that says families get to sit together, and you can't charge us more. 
If the airlines break these rules, guess what happens. The DOT 
Assistant Secretary is authorized to issue penalties up to $75,000 for 
fines and penalties to have a strong deterrent here.
  I also want to thank Subcommittee Chair Duckworth for her leadership 
in making sure airlines better accommodate passengers with 
disabilities. It is because of her unbelievable advocacy here that we 
are going to reduce the damage that is done to wheelchairs and to the 
passengers who have to make these flights for their own needs, and I 
certainly thank Senator Duckworth, who is one of our national heroes 
and veterans, for her unbelievable pilot expertise in helping us.
  Senators Tester, Fischer, and Sullivan are to be commended for their 
hard work to improve the Essential Air Service Program for small and 
rural communities that need important economic lifelines to have 
aviation in their community. We authorized a record $1.7 billion for 
that program.
  And, overall, airport infrastructure is getting a big boost too. I 
thank Senators Peters, Baldwin, and Warnock for championing making sure 
that airports dispose of harmful chemicals that are harmful to all of 
us.
  And I want to thank the Presiding Officer Senator Hickenlooper and 
Senators Rosen, Moran, Thune, Young, Warner, and Wicker, who helped 
usher in the next generation of technologies for aviation--not just 
drones and air mobility aircraft but also the research and development 
necessary to see the electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft industry 
take off in the future. Companies like ZeroAvia in my State and 
Universal Hydrogen are leading the way with the next generation of 
strategies that will help us make these technologies a reality.
  I just will say, too, that this legislation gives the FAA the 
direction to provide safe operating standards for advanced air mobility 
and safety for the 2028 Olympics, coming soon, in Los Angeles.
  And I also thank Senators Thune and Warner for their legislation 
creating a pathway for drones to operate beyond the visual line of 
sight, which we have also included in this bill. And I acknowledge 
Senator Rosen's hard work on the legislation for grants so that States 
are using the U.S.-manufactured drones to inspect, repair, and fix 
critical infrastructure.
  So my colleagues can see that this legislation is full of safety 
improvements. It helps address a huge part of our U.S. economy. It 
helps make the aviation system today work better and guarantee that we 
are going to continue to focus on this for the future.
  So I thank all my colleagues. I urge them to support the motion to 
move forward on this legislation that we will be taking shortly and get 
this to the House before the May 10 deadline. It is great bipartisan, 
bicameral work. But most importantly, it is safety improvements for our 
aviation system.
  I yield the floor.