Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010, Part III

I thank the gentleman for that very thoughtful comment. I consider myself hardworking. It's nice to have that affirmation from the gentleman who himself knows the value of, and puts in, hard work.

Perhaps the best news this afternoon was the announcement we just heard from the other body that the Senate has passed, by consent, H.R. 4853, the Airport and Airway Extension Act, with a substitute amendment carrying through the authorities through the end of this calendar year. That's good news. The unfortunate news that Mr. Costello has amply outlined and as Mr. Petri has also underscored is that the full authorization is still held up over disagreements in the other body. We passed this bill, we on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure under Mr. Costello's diligent leadership, by hard work, dozens of hearings and meetings and conferences and discussions to lead to the long-term authorization--then it was about $60 billion-- investing in the future of air traffic control, modernizing yet again. It's in a state of constant modernization. You can't say we do it once and then it's done. It's in a constant state of modernization. Resolving very thorny issues within the air traffic control workforce and the previous administration. We put all those together in a package, it passed the House and didn't pass the other body.

And then there was a threat from the previous administration, well, if the bill in its present form reaches the President, he'll veto it. Nonetheless, we had a bipartisan effort. Mr. Mica, Mr. Petri, Mr. Costello and I and the representatives from the White House; the Secretary of Transportation, Ms. Peters; the head of the FAA. We met for days, week after week after week, to try to resolve the issue of controller pay, try to resolve a number of other issues that were in the bill. And, as we quaintly say in this body, we came to no resolution thereon.

Now we're close. We're so very close. But there are just a couple of items that have nothing to do with the air traffic control system, nothing to do with the air traffic control workforce. This administration came in in January of last year and the first thing the President, the White House did, with the vigorous support of Mr. Costello and me, and I think even encouragement from Mr. Mica and Mr. Petri, settled the air traffic controller pay issue. That was the first thing they did. They tackled it head-on. They had a 95 percent support vote from the members of NATCA; and things are moving ahead. But now a dispute over whether one airline, who has the dominant position at National Airport, should have further dominance in long-haul service out of National Airport, that's got the other body all in a tangle.

We have not had a formal conference. We have not sat opposite face- to-face to discuss options. There is a flat-out resistance in the other body to increasing the Passenger Facility Charge so that airports, at their discretion, may choose to raise that fee and generate the roughly $2 billion that the capacity facility charge generates to invest in modernization of the airport facilities, improve the terminals in the parking areas and the hard side of the airport, runways and taxiways and parking aprons. All that money goes directly into investments and creates jobs, economic opportunity.

But they are hung up over there, just one person holding this and another

person holding something else and a third one holding something else and then have the secret holds and the hot holds and the threats of filibuster. The other body is just all tangled up in themselves. That's just an exasperating condition.

I have seen this over 25 years, back to the time when I chaired the Aviation Subcommittee, but we were always able to work it out. I have never seen such a tangle like this.

So I urge the other body to rise above themselves, get over these little petty differences, come to agreement in the greater good of this country. Aviation is 9 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States.

Last year a billion people traveled by air worldwide, 750 million moved in the U.S. airspace. We account for three-fourths of all air travel worldwide. Every other nation in the world wants to get into the U.S. and wants to serve our constituents because it is such a lucrative market.

But if we don't invest in the future and continuing the modernization of air traffic control, we are not going to be the leader in the world. That is what this legislation does. It lays down the charts, the path forward for continued modernization of the air traffic control system of the United States, which is the most robust in the world.

So you might ask, well, why are we doing just this short-term extension through the end of the year? Because I am confident that sanity will prevail, that equity will abound in the other body, and they will find themselves, and they will come to agreement in the post- election session, maybe before then, and then we could do the full, 4- year authorization bill.

So we must proceed on the course we have laid before you today.

I thank my colleagues on the committee, Mr. Mica, Mr. Petri. Mr. Boustany, thank you, from Ways and Means, a refugee from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure who has, as has Mr. Lewis, also a graduate of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, gone on to Ways and Means, where we still have the partnership. I am glad we are all together. At least on this side, we are all together moving in the right direction.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6190, the ``Airport and Airways Extension Act of 2010, Part III''. This bill ensures that aviation programs, taxes, and Airport and Airway Trust Fund expenditure authority will continue without interruption pending completion of long-term Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation. Because the long-term bill will not be completed before the current authority for aviation programs expires next week, H.R. 6190 is needed to extend aviation programs, taxes, and expenditure authority for an additional three months, through December 31, 2010.

The most recent long-term FAA reauthorization act, the Vision 100-- Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (P.L. 108-176), expired on September 30, 2007. Although the House passed an FAA reauthorization bill during the 110th Congress, and again last year, the Senate failed to act until March of this year. The FAA has, therefore, been operating under a series of short-term extension acts, the most recent of which expires on September 30, 2010.

Since passage of the Senate bill in March, we have been working diligently to resolve the differences between the House and Senate bills. As it stands now, the negotiated bill would provide the aviation sector with the stability of a multi-year authorization, safety reforms, record-high capital investment levels, acceleration of the Next Generation Air Transportation System effort, and a passenger bill of rights. Moreover, a comprehensive multi-billion dollar FAA reauthorization would create tens of thousands of well paying aviation sector jobs.

This would build upon the aviation investments funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We know that Recovery Act aviation investments have been a tremendous success. Work is underway or completed on 758 aviation projects ($1.2 billion), representing 96 percent of the total available Recovery Act aviation funds. Within this total, work is underway on 205 projects ($627 million), and work is completed on an additional 553 projects ($622 million). Aviation investments will result in 155 runway improvements at 139 airports that accommodate 11 million annual takeoffs/landings ($483 million); 83 taxiway improvements at 78 airports that accommodate 8.1 million annual takeoffs/landings ($220 million); and 25 projects to modernize air route traffic control centers ($50 million). This record of success underscores the need to build upon these efforts and pass a long-term FAA reauthorization act.

Unfortunately, since July, the FAA reauthorization bill has been hung up in the Senate, primarily over a provision that would significantly increase the number of long-distance flights at Washington National Airport. The Senate provision was included in neither the House-passed nor the Senate-passed FAA bill, and it is strongly opposed by Members of Congress and Senators who represent the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. They argue it would create a burden on Washington National Airport by creating congestion at terminals and that it would siphon passengers away from Washington Dulles International Airport. I also have concerns that the provision, as written, would unduly benefit the dominant incumbent carrier at National Airport, US Airways.

We will continue to work as hard as we can on behalf of the American public for a strong, comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill, which I still remain confident that we can deliver this Congress.

I thank my friend from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6190, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010, Part III. I want to thank Chairman Oberstar of the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Chairman Levin and Congressman Lewis of the Committee on Ways and Means for bringing this bill to the floor today.

Two months ago, we passed bipartisan legislation, H.R. 5900, the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, which was signed into law. It included important airline safety and pilot training provisions from House passed H.R. 3371, the Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009. I am pleased that President Obama signed the legislation, H.R. 5900, into law, and I am proud of our efforts to work together in a bipartisan manner to produce the strongest aviation safety legislation in decades.

In addition to the aviation safety provisions, H.R. 5900 included a clean extension of the FAA reauthorization bill until September 30. We passed another extension because the leaders in the other body said they could not reach an agreement with their members and they were at an impasse.

We have reached consensus on the majority of the items from both bills and only a few issues remain which I believe can be worked out. It is unfortunate that we have reached this point after nearing the end of working through both of these bills.

In the interest of keeping the FAA and the aviation transportation system operating safely, we cannot let this reauthorization expire on October 1. H.R. 6190 extends the FAA reauthorization through the end of the calendar year.

There are many important provisions in the FAA reauthorization bill, such as binding arbitration for the air traffic controllers, addressing the consolidation and realignment of FAA facilities, and making investments in NextGen and the air traffic control modernization program. I am committed to passing a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill next year so that we can provide stability to the FAA and our Nation's aviation system.

With that, Madam Speaker, I urge support and ask my colleagues to vote for this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6190) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend the airport improvement program, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to give Members 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the bill, H.R. 6190.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6190, the Airport and Airway Extension Act, Part III. The Airport and Airway Trust Fund taxes and spending authority are scheduled to expire on September 30. This bill extends its authority through December 31, 2010, while we work together on a long-term solution.

This extension is critical for our airports and communities across our country. Our aviation system is also key for our economy and jobs. For example, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, located in my congressional district, is the busiest passenger airport in the world. Over 250,000 passengers travel through the airport each day. The Atlanta airport has a direct impact of more than $32 billion on Georgia's economy and employs almost 60,000 people throughout our State. Extending this authority provides the necessary revenue to maintain our Nation's airports and air traffic control system.

Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to come together and support this very simple, commonsense, necessary legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois, the chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, Congressman Costello.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota, the hardworking chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mr. Oberstar.

Madam Speaker, I fully support H.R. 6190. I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' for this important piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. BOUSTANY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6190.

This is a straightforward bill to extend for 3 months, through December 31, the existing FAA authorization law, the excise taxes that support the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, and the trust fund's expenditure authorities. The current FAA authorization, as well as the excise taxes and spending authorities, are currently scheduled to expire on October 1.

For the past several months, the House and Senate have been negotiating on a long-term FAA reauthorization bill, but those negotiations have not yet come to a close. This extension will give Congress additional time to try to resolve the differences between the Chambers' bills and to determine whether modifications to the financing structure of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund are appropriate.

I would note, however, that because the majority has chosen to extend the FAA authority only through the end of the year, they are ensuring that Congress must return for a lame duck session to prevent the FAA authorization from expiring. Many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle have voiced legitimate concerns about the mischief that could be made in an extended lame duck session, with various pieces of must-pass legislation being held hostage to unpopular tax increases and spending increases that the majority might decide to postpone until after the election.

Despite this risk, it is important that we take the necessary steps to extend the current FAA authorization and its related excise taxes and expenditure authorities on a temporary basis, and I join with my colleagues across the aisle in support of this legislation.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am now pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri).

I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank my colleague from Louisiana.

In May 2009, the House passed H.R. 915, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009. In March of this year, the Senate passed its own FAA reauthorization bill which the House took up, amended, passed and sent back to the Senate. Since that time, we have been in informal discussions to reconcile the two versions of the bill. While these discussions have led to tentative agreements on nearly all of the provisions, a few controversial issues have stalled progress on a final agreement. Therefore, with the FAA's authorities set to expire on September 30, we again find it necessary to consider another extension bill. Likes the 15 earlier extensions over the past 3 years, H.R. 6190 would provide a short-term extension of the taxes, programs, and funding of the FAA, this time through the end of this year, 2010.

I remain very disappointed that a few issues in the reauthorization package are holding up final agreement on a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill. However, in order to ensure the safe operation of the national airspace system while Congress continues to debate a full reauthorization package, I support passage of today's extension.

I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.