Secretary Peters Blames Congress

“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 Secretary Mary Peters...

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“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 Secretary 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.”
Peters 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.
Industry reaction to the speech was muted with most seeing it as the same-old, same-old rhetoric that has always come out of the administration.
“Both the House and the Senate rejected that proposal for user fees and a 70-cent-per-gallon tax on avgas and jet fuel in favor of the current tax-based structure, although the Senate retained vestiges of the administration’s user fee proposal,” said the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. “In late summer, the full House approved its version (H.R.2881), supported by AOPA, but the Senate has yet to bring its two competing versions to the floor for debate.”
Congress extended the FAA’s current authorization and taxes through Feb. 29, 2008, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R.2764), which was signed into law by President Bush on Dec.26, 2007. On February 4, the administration is set to submit its proposed budget for fiscal year 2009, including proposed funding levels for the FAA.
Even as she criticized legislators, the administration’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.
“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 continued. “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.”