[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3433]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL

  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, today the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation approved legislation to reauthorize the 
Federal Aviation Administration. I applaud the work of my colleagues 
Senators Thune and Nelson. Their leadership on this important 
legislation was critical. I would like to make clear that, while we 
took important steps forward with this legislation, more work remains 
to be done to ensure the United States remains a global leader in 
aviation, safety, and innovation.
  Going into this year, many on the Commerce Committee, along with 
Department of Transportation Secretary Foxx and FAA Administrator 
Huerta and key stakeholders, aimed high on FAA reauthorization. We 
aimed high because there are big ideas we need to address when it comes 
to aviation in this country.
  From the current state and financing of our airport infrastructure, 
to completing NextGen implementation, to accelerating commercial use of 
UAS technology, to new proposals about our Air Traffic Control system, 
there were a lot of innovative ideas on the table, and while we made 
strides on some, more work remains to be done. There is widespread 
agreement that the status quo is not acceptable, and I was pleased to 
join my colleagues in taking this initial step forward to reauthorize 
the FAA for the upcoming 18 months.
  Furthermore, I am pleased that I was able to put forth amendments 
that were included in this bill to ensure adequate staffing levels at 
the Newark air traffic control tower. In addition, we were able to 
secure a much-needed study of the New York and New Jersey airports, 
which cover the busiest airspace in the country. Findings from this 
study will enable us to make informed decisions about how best to 
address this staffing problem in the future.
  I am also concerned about staffing levels at the Transportation 
Security Administration, TSA. There have been incredibly long delays at 
Newark airport because of inadequate staffing of TSA agents at our 
airport. Safety is absolutely paramount in our airports. It is my hope 
that we can achieve both topnotch security and an efficient, reliable 
process for travelers using our airports. Increased staffing should 
help us achieve that goal.
  In this reauthorization, I was pleased to work with Senator Cantwell 
to increase competition in the Newark airport with the hope that 
increased competition and opening up more flight slots at the airport 
may yield more options and price points for consumers. But I must 
stress that these changes cannot move forward without ensuring the 
airport is equipped to handle more traffic and passengers. I look 
forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on this issue and am 
excited by the opportunities this could bring for my constituents.
  We also made progress on furthering the integration of unmanned 
aerial systems, UAS, or drones into our airspace in our legislation. 
This technology is literally taking off around the world. It has the 
power to enhance search and rescue, deliver humanitarian aid, improve 
agriculture practices, and newsgathering. I introduced the Commercial 
UAS Modernization Act to help advance this technology and was pleased 
to see many of our ideas incorporated in this legislation. I worked 
with committee leadership to further advance a microUAS rule, which 
would allow U.S. businesses to fly micro-drones under 4.4 pounds 
responsibly and safely.
  Advancing microUAS use will bring tremendous innovations and new 
efficiencies across the country and will keep the United States on par 
with other developed nations who have been making great strides ahead 
of us in utilizing this technology. From improving research to 
providing unmanned bridge inspections, the benefits of this technology 
are truly limitless. UAS has the power to save lives and create new 
efficiencies across industries. I am excited to see what the innovators 
and entrepreneurs come up with as a result of our rule which sets forth 
clear safety guidelines for responsible operation.
  Finally, I want to address a couple of amendments that I put forth 
that were not included in this legislation and express my sincere hope 
that the chairman and ranking member will work with me before this bill 
gets to floor. I introduced two amendments to the bill that would 
address disadvantaged business enterprise, or DBE, projects. The goal 
of this program, of course, is to promote equity and inclusion in 
federally financed transportation projects. While neither of these 
amendments were incorporated into this legislation as of yet, I am 
confident that we can work together to advance this important policy 
goal. One amendment would ensure conformance of the DOT size standard 
for small businesses to the metric defined by the Small Business 
Administration.
  This update will enable more minority and women-owned businesses to 
compete for infrastructure work. The second amendment sets goals for 
minority and women-owned businesses on projects financed only by 
passenger facility charges, or PFCs. I ask the chairman and ranking 
member to continue to work with me as this bill goes to the floor to 
advance these two important goals.
  Thank you.

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