“Quite honestly, I am a little tired of all the noise from Capitol Hill about how bad aviation delays are when they are sitting on the sidelines in Washington while passengers sit waiting in airports and on taxiways across the country,” declared Department of Transportation Security Mary Peters to the Aero Club of Washington. “We are spending our time fighting over quick fixes, while Congress drags its feet on real solutions. That needs to change.”
She noted that Congress has had the administration’s controversial reauthorization proposal for nearly a year that would pave the way for modernization but has yet to act. In addition, it has had the nomination of Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Bobby Sturgell for three months, and again has failed to act. Her comments apparently hit the mark with Sturgell’s confirmation hearings set for February 7.
Even as she criticized legislators, the admnistration’s proposals to change the aviation funding methodology, stalled the process as being too controversial for non-airline users. While new fees passed the Senate last year, it failed in the house and now, must start over again in order to get anything passed in this, an election year.
“An impending presidential election is no excuse for suspending business in Washington,” she said. “Frankly, there isn’t an excuse good enough for playing politics with aviation safety, aviation capacity, and aviation leadership. That is precisely why Congress made the FAA Administrator a five-year termed appointment – so politics would not be the driver of the process.
“We have got to upgrade our outdated air traffic control system with satellite-based NextGen technology if we are going to get ahead of the congestion problem,” she continued. “I can tell you that Admiral Tom Barrett, the Department’s Deputy Secretary, and Acting Administrator Sturgell are stepping up the pressure on everyone involved with NextGen to start delivering tangible results for the traveling public.”
She pointed to the successful achievement of last year’s milestone for the FAA’s contract for the satellite-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) system and its proposed rule for equipping aircraft with ADS-B avionics. “We are already getting a first glimpse of the powerful ADS-B technology in action,” she said. “UPS is using it to guide planes more efficiently at its WorldPort Hub in Louisville, and to help manage noise, emissions, and fuel consumption. The technology is there. But the support from Congress isn’t. Their inaction on our proposal leaves us without the funding reforms we need to transform the system.
“Worse, while Congress continues to play politics with our reauthorization, come March 1st we may not be able to invest in critical NextGen technologies and demonstration projects as planned for 2008,” she said of the impact of legislative delays in passing reauthorization. “NextGen is not the only thing jeopardized by congressional inaction on an aviation bill. As of December 31st, the Airport Improvement Program has been effectively shut down. That means no new grants for airport expansion and runway safety projects or to help smaller airports improve centerline markings on taxiways to prevent runway incursions. There is no excuse for Congress to short-change safety.”
“How much longer is Congress going to keep critical aviation issues in a holding pattern,” she asked. “How much longer will their inaction force the American people to suffer unreliable schedules, missed connections, and lost opportunities? How much longer will they ask Americans to pay the economic cost of congestion and delay – already estimated at $15 billion a year? We have arrived at the cross-roads moment when it comes to the congestion that is clogging our airports and overwhelming our airways. Let’s join together to bring about real change in our aviation system. It is time to end the delays in Washington, and get travelers back on schedule.”