Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3935) to amend title 49, United States Code, to reauthorize and improve the Federal Aviation Administration and other civil aviation programs, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3941) to prohibit the use of the facilities of a public elementary school, a public secondary school, or an institution of higher education to provide shelter for aliens who have not been admitted into the United States, and for other purposes.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, introduced by T&I Committee Chair Graves, Aviation Subcommittee Chair Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and myself.

I extend my thanks to the chairman of the full committee, Sam Graves of Missouri, and the Subcommittee Chair Garret Graves of Louisiana, for their commitment to a bipartisan effort done in good faith to get this bill done that protects the flying public and secures the future of the U.S. aviation system.

In my home State of Washington, the aviation sector is a powerful economic engine that creates good-paying jobs and supports local communities in the Pacific Northwest.

This bill delivers for my constituents as well as for all Americans across the country. It advances American leadership in aviation safety and innovation, strengthens and diversifies our aviation workforce, expands consumer protections and accessibility, and fosters environmental sustainability in aviation.

Although the U.S. aviation system is the safest in the world, the last few years have shown there is still work to do. The rise in runway near misses at some U.S. airports expose a vulnerability for the flying public. This reauthorization will help prevent these events by expanding ground surveillance and detection capabilities to all large and medium hub U.S. airports.

Further, unruly passengers continue to pose a threat to flight crews and other frontline workers. This bill better protects workers by creating a task force on preventing assaults against airline personnel and enforcing a requirement that airlines establish employee assault and response plans.

Recent flight cancellations and delays have shaken the confidence of passengers in the U.S. aviation system. To get us back on the right course, this reauthorization requires airlines to create resiliency plans to address mass flight disruptions. It also takes steps to make passengers whole by requiring airlines to develop policies to cover food and hotel expenses due to flight disruptions.

The bill also supports the administration's push for family seating by requiring airlines to establish policies allowing passengers to sit next to their young children if adjacent seats are available.

For too long, passengers with disabilities have experienced inexcusable barriers in air travel from challenges with boarding the aircraft and inaccessible onboard lavatories, to damaged and mishandled wheelchairs and mobility aids.

This bill paves the way for safer and more dignified air travel for this particular community by directing the DOT to create a roadmap for airlines to reduce damage to mobility aids and to improve training for airline personnel and contractors on assisting passengers with disabilities.

Climate change is a growing threat to millions of Americans and the infrastructure we rely on. This bill makes groundbreaking investments in sustainability, increasing Federal funding for the Airport Improvement Program from $3.35 billion to $4 billion and dedicating a minimum of $150 million to airport environmental and noise programs.

It also allows U.S. airports to use these funds for alternative fuel infrastructure and environmental resiliency projects and works to mitigate the impacts of aviation noise on local communities.

It directs the FAA to review and revise Federal aviation noise standards and to seek feedback from neighboring communities as well. Furthermore, the bill requires the FAA to take certain actions to reduce undesirable aircraft noise when implementing or revising a flight procedure. These actions build the foundation for a cleaner future for our aviation ecosystem.

To secure American leadership in aerospace innovation, we must provide a clear and predictable framework for emerging industries to scale safely while ensuring the needs of communities are addressed.

From drones to electric or hydrogen-powered aircraft, advanced aviation technologies have clear economic and societal benefits.

In Washington State, drones will soon be used to deliver critical medical supplies in the Tacoma area, helping to reduce barriers to care for patients. This reauthorization also requires the FAA to issue proposed rules for drones to safely scale in this country, providing regulatory certainty to a growing sector, ensuring their safe integration into our skies, and creating U.S. jobs.

It will also help State, local, and Tribal governments acquire drones for infrastructure inspection and repair to help workers do their jobs more safely. It also extends a program that I championed to fund State and community efforts to plan for a future with advanced air mobility operations and infrastructure.

Our talented and dedicated U.S. workforce is the backbone of American aviation and makes the Nation's leadership in aviation safety and innovation possible.

This reauthorization is a jobs bill. It helps build the economy from the middle out and bottom up and diversifies the aviation workforce, recognizing how critical that effort is to our Nation's long-term economic success.

It makes robust investments in the FAA's aviation workforce development program to upskill the next generation of pilots, maintenance technicians, manufacturing workers, and other critical professions.

This will help local businesses, like Aviation Technical Services in Everett, Washington, to expand their apprenticeship and training programs and compete in the rapidly evolving global aviation sector.

The bill also creates the Willa Brown Aviation Education Program and establishes a National Center for the Advancement of Aerospace to support and promote aviation workforce development opportunities for everyone.

Crucially, it requires the FAA to hire the maximum number of air traffic controllers, as well as to adopt the most appropriate controller staffing model to meet growing airspace needs.

I will spend my final bit of comments on the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. This bill also reaffirms and strengthens the U.S. Department of Transportation's DBE program. As we increase investment under this bill and dedicate Federal dollars to airport projects, it is imperative that we ensure the process of awarding Federal transportation contract dollars allows for full participation on a level playing field by minority-owned and women-owned businesses.

The committee has accumulated evidence attesting to systemic discrimination that women and minorities face in attempts to establish, grow, and operate construction businesses, including those seeking contracts for airport construction projects and airport concessions across the country.

This evidence includes testimony at a hearing titled: ``Driving Equity: The U.S. Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program'' held on September 23, 2020, since the passage of the last bill.

We have received and reviewed disparity studies, testimony, and other evidence, including statistical analyses containing numerous disparity studies conducted since 2018, the Department of Justice ``Report on Lawful Uses of Race or Sex in Federal Contracting Programs,'' and the DOT's own report on DBE goal attainment. These studies and reports continue to demonstrate that race- and gender-neutral efforts alone are insufficient to address the problem.

The evidence demonstrates that discrimination across the U.S. poses an injurious and enduring barrier to full and fair participation in airport-related businesses of women businessowners and minority businessowners and has negatively affected firm formation, development and success in many aspects of airport-related businesses in public and private markets.

The evidence provides a clear picture of the inequality caused by this discrimination that continues to plague our Nation and a strong basis that there is a compelling need for the continuation of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program to address race and gender discrimination in airport-related businesses.

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record 65 studies and reports spanning communities in 25 States showing significant disparity between the use of DBE and non-DBE subcontractors. The full text of each report is held on file electronically with the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

[July 19, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record evidence received by

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on the

compelling need for the continuation of the Disadvantaged

Business Enterprise (DBE) program.

This statistical evidence includes 64 disparity studies

conducted in 25 states since 2018, showing significant

disparities between the use of DBE and non-DBE subcontractors

in publicly financed, airport-related construction and

concession contracting and in publicly financed, non-airport

construction contracting that involves many of the same types

of subcontracting opportunities available on airport

projects.

The submission also includes reports prepared for and by

the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department

of Commerce, including a report analyzing over 200 disparity

studies produced by state and local government agencies

between 2010 and 2021 and other evidence related to

disparities faced by minority business enterprises in public

and private contracting markets; and DOJ's 2022 survey of

evidence documenting the compelling interest to remedy the

effects of discrimination in government contracting.

This evidence demonstrates a strong basis that there is a

compelling need for the continuation of the Disadvantaged

Business Enterprise and Airport Concession Disadvantaged

Business Enterprise programs to address race and gender

discrimination in airport-related business.

The full text of each study and report is held on file

electronically with the Committee on Transportation and

Infrastructure.

Alaska

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Study, Alaska Department

of Transportation and Public Facilities, Final Report and

Final Appendices, Prepared by MGT Consulting Group (2020).

Arizona

Arizona Department of Transportation 2020 Disparity Study,

Final Report, Prepared by Keen Independent Research LLC

(2020).

California

2022 Caltrans FTA Disparity Study, California Department of

Transportation, Prepared by BBC Research & Consulting (2022).

Availability and Disparity Study Report 2021, California

Department of Transportation, Prepared by BBC Research &

Consulting (2021).

North County Transit District 2022 Disparity Study Final

Report, Prepared by Keen Independent Research (2022).

2020 Disparity Study, City of San Diego, Prepared by BBC

Research & Consulting (2020).

Colorado

2020 State of Colorado Disparity Study, Final Report,

Prepared by Keen Independent Research LLC (2020).

2018 Disparity Study, City and County of Denver, Final

Report, Prepared by BBC Research & Consulting (2018).

Delaware

2022 Disparity Study, State of Delaware, Prepared by MGT

Consulting (2022).

New Castle County, DE 2022 Public Works Procurement

Disparity Study Final Report, Prepared by Keen Independent

Research LLC (2022).

Florida

City of St. Petersburg Disparity Study Final Report,

Prepared by Mason Tillman Associates, Ltd. (2021).

2019 Disparity Study, City of Tallahassee, Leon County, and

Blueprint, Prepared by MGT Consulting Group (2019).

Hawaii

Hawaii Department of Transportation 2019 Availability and

Disparity Study, Final Availability and Disparity Study

Report, Prepared by Keen Independent Research (2019).

Illinois

City of Chicago Disparity Study for Construction Contracts

2021, Prepared by Colette Holt & Associates (2021).

Chicago Transit Authority Disparity Study 2019, Prepared by

Colette Holt & Associates (2019).

Indiana

2019 Disparity Study, City of Indianapolis and Marion

County, Prepared by BBC Research & Consulting (2019).

City of South Bend Disparity Study, Prepared by Colette

Holt & Associates (2019).

2020 Disparity Study, State of Indiana Final Report,

Prepared by BBC Research & Consulting (2020).

Kentucky

2022 Disparity Study, Lexington-Fayette Urban County

Government Final Report, Prepared by BBC Research &

Consulting (2022).

Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District

Disparity Study, Final Report, Prepared by Mason Tillman

Associates, Ltd. (2018).

Louisiana

City of Alexandria LA Disparity Study, Final Report,

Prepared by Keen Independent Research LLC (2022).

City of Baton Rouge, Parish of East Baton Rouge Disparity

Study, Final Report, Prepared by Keen Independent Research

The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act is a long-term, comprehensive, and bipartisan reauthorization that cements a safer, cleaner, greener, more innovative and accessible future for the U.S. aviation system.

I will end my opening comments by again thanking Chair Sam Graves and Subcommittee Chair Garret Graves for making sure that they are reaching out to the Democratic side of the aisle to ensure that we could have a bipartisan and collaborative bill put together. I thank Subcommittee Ranking Member Cohen for his leadership as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Aviation, and for all of the staff for their hard work, as well.

Particularly, I thank the minority staff of the Subcommittee on Aviation: staff director, Brian Bell; professional staff, Alex Menardy; counsel, Adam Weiss; and our FAA detailee, Liz Forro, for the hard work and the countless hours they have spent crafting this legislation with their majority counterparts.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Auchincloss).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Sykes).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Scholten).

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Sorensen).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. DeSaulnier).

Mr. Chairman, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing.

Mr. Chair, I will conclude by saying that we encourage Members to support this. This is a bipartisan bill negotiated in good faith. It is a very substantial bill, and I think it is a product that we can certainly be proud of to move forward on.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, although I am not opposed.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, this amendment reflects bipartisan agreement on a variety of technical fixes and good policy worthy of inclusion in this bill.

It includes language from Representative Schrier of Washington State to focus FAA's aviation workforce development efforts on transitioning veterans to the civilian workforce, an amendment that the committee worked together on with Representative Gooden to make happen.

It requires the FAA to develop a process to restrict drones from flying over large outdoor gatherings. It clears unnecessary red tape for the FAA to issue airport improvement grants and ensures our air traffic controllers are consulted on major policy changes, protects information or data reported by pilots or engineers through voluntary safety reporting requirements, and includes language from Representative Stanton of Arizona to require the Secretary of Transportation to propose a rulemaking to improve seating accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

Finally, it expands FAA's counter-UAS testing authorities to consider the impacts to the safety of the National Airspace System beyond the airport environment.

Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to vote in favor of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this en bloc.

It includes a number of provisions that will improve the bill overall, including:

A proposal from Representative Brown of Ohio to ensure passengers on air carriers and foreign air carriers have the right to free drinking water on any flight longer than an hour;

A proposal from Representatives Carbajal, Yakym, and Davids directing the FAA to test the use of mobile technologies to deliver air traffic control clearances to general aviation pilots and part 135 operators;

A proposal from Representatives Ciscomani and Stanton to prioritize air traffic control staffing at towers with strategic traffic and safety considerations;

A proposal from Representative DelBene to expand the FAA's Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment to conduct research on hydrogen, supporting increasing efforts to decarbonize the aviation sector;

A proposal from Representative DeSaulnier to create a task force on human factors safety to harmonize disparate human factors work being done currently across the aviation community;

A proposal from Representative Donalds encouraging the FAA to embrace the use of drones for helping workers to conduct safer, more efficient infrastructure inspections; and

A proposal from Representative Eshoo to ensure community voices are heard on aircraft noise issues.

Mr. Chair, I support this en bloc, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I have no other speakers on the en bloc, so I will close by asking Members to please support the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this en bloc. It includes several provisions that will improve the bill overall, including amendments from Representatives Lee, Hoyle, Gottheimer, Lynch, and others.

I support this en bloc and encourage my colleagues to do the same. I have no other speakers on amendments en bloc No. 2, so I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this en bloc. It includes several amendments that strengthen the bill, including:

A proposal from Representative Magaziner to ensure AIP funding can be used for cybersecurity projects;

An amendment from Representatives Meng, Norton, Johnson, Nadler, and Raskin to ensure overflight community feedback is considered as the FAA updates its aircraft noise policies;

A proposal from Representative Neguse of Colorado to ensure the FAA directly interviews residents from communities impacted by aircraft noise as part of its community engagement efforts;

Several proposals from Representative Pettersen of Colorado to address community noise concerns, in-flight emergency medical kits, and pilot mental health;

A bipartisan proposal from Representatives Porter and Westerman to audit and improve the FAA's responsiveness to congressional requests--I just can't imagine who couldn't support that; and

A proposal from Representative Pressley to study transit access to airports.

Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to support en bloc No. 3, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, this amendment would create an apprenticeship program for individuals seeking to become commercial pilots.

I do want to say I am very pleased to be able to support many of Representative Donalds' amendments to the bill, working in a bipartisan manner.

This one I just couldn't come to a place where I am comfortable, but certainly as a long-time supporter of aviation and STEM-related apprenticeships, I do appreciate the intent of Representative Donalds' amendment. However, it is duplicative of several provisions in the underlying bill that already bolster the pilot pipeline.

This authorization already triples the funding for FAA's Aviation Workforce Development Grant programs, which funds aviation apprenticeship programs. It creates the Willa Brown Aviation Education Program, which could fund apprenticeship programs focused on underrepresented communities and creates a National Center for the Advancement of Aerospace, an independently, federally chartered nonprofit entity to administer grants to establish apprenticeships for aviation careers and serve as a centralized resource to provide comprehensive information on aviation apprenticeship opportunities.

I earlier adopted an amendment in the en bloc amendment that was sponsored by Representatives Schrier and Gooden to help veterans transition into the commercial pilot world. Apprenticeships are already well covered in this underlying bill.

Mr. Chair, I oppose the gentleman's amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment because it would create an exemption for nonhub airports from the requirement to have at least one individual who maintains certification as an emergency medical technician, or EMT, during carrier operations.

This amendment poses a safety risk that would be detrimental to passengers. Unlike what the proponent said about the Federal Government imposing an employment requirement on an airport, this is actually a single safety standard that applies to all airports, that there be a certified emergency technician to respond to emergencies at all airports.

It is, indeed, a national standard, but one done for safety, especially in support of passenger carrying air carrier operations.

In the event of a medical emergency that occurs at the airport or on a flight, passengers and airport workers should receive care as quickly as possible regardless of where they are flying to. Having an EMT available at the airport could mean the difference between life and death in the event of an emergency.

All passengers should be reassured that even if they are traveling out of or through a nonhub airport, they have the same safety precautions at that airport as they do at all airports in the United States.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, as a Member of Congress who represents several small rural airports, including ones that are isolated on islands, I appreciate the argument that the gentleman from Iowa has been making. Yet, given the fact that I have a district with some of the same circumstances, even airports that are isolated on islands, I still believe that there needs to be EMTs available in the event of emergencies at these nonhub airports. I want one safety standard for the country, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, the FAA recently issued a final rule on requiring secondary barriers to protect the flight deck in newly manufactured aircraft. The underlying text of this bill creates a rulemaking committee to consider how to apply this requirement to existing aircraft, and this amendment adds a rulemaking requirement to that text.

Secondary barriers are a critical tool to keeping our pilots and flight decks safe and secure in the event of a horrible, horrible intrusion.

Mr. Chair, therefore, I rise to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. Chair, this amendment requires the FAA to consider the economic viability of commercial air tours over national parks.

In 2022, the National Park Service recorded 312 million recreational visits to our national parks. This number reflects the overwhelming significance our parks have to the American public. They serve as a place of recreation, a place used to teach new generations about conservation and wildlife, and a place to admire the beauty of our great outdoors in the U.S.

National park air tour management plans are in place to help protect the sanctity of our parks from incessant helicopter overflights, which can disrupt both the wildlife and the natural beauty of the parks visitors enjoy.

Mr. Chair, I urge everyone to protect our parks from the noise and disturbance of increased helicopter tours by voting ``no'' on this amendment.

This amendment would require air tour management plans to consider profits in the development of those plans, which would undoubtedly increase the number of helicopters flying above our parks. This runs contrary to the original purpose of these management plans, which is to protect the integrity of the parks.

Helicopter tours are an incredible way to see national parks for the privileged few, but they simultaneously degrade the park experience for the vast majority of other park visitors.

Our national parks were created as a public good, to preserve our natural wonders for all Americans to enjoy. We must not erode that in favor of tour profits and those who can afford to pay.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 3935.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, is a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and the Nation's aviation safety and infrastructure program for the next 5 years.

I thank Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen, Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Garret Graves, and Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve Cohen for working with me to develop and introduce this legislation.

For over a century, the United States has led the world in aviation safety and innovation. Unfortunately, our gold standard status is being threatened by increasing global competition, by rapid developments in technology, a shortage of aviation professionals, and the inefficiencies and lack of leadership in the FAA.

H.R. 3935 is critical to keeping America a global leader in aviation. It is vital to our economy, to millions of American jobs, and to the 850 million passengers that depend on our National Airspace System every single year.

If Congress fails to act on a new long-term aviation measure by September 30, when the current FAA law expires, key aviation programs will cease to function.

H.R. 3935 provides the necessary long-term certainty that is demanded by both the civil aviation system and the aviation community to guarantee its safety and prosperity for decades to come.

This bill not only improves FAA's efficiency through reasonable organizational changes but makes the agency more agile while simultaneously prioritizing safety each step of the way.

The FAA is simply too slow in everything it does, from rulemaking to aircraft registrations and from certifications to just simple paperwork.

This bill ensures robust investment in infrastructure for airports of all sizes, including the thousands of smaller and general aviation airports that make up the bulk of our aviation system.

I am proud to say our bill includes the first ever General Aviation title in the FAA reauthorization bill. GA is the foundation to our civil aviation system. It is where many of our pilots, mechanics, and other aviation professionals begin their careers, gaining valuable experience along their journey in the aviation industry.

This bill recognizes the importance of GA and protects the freedom to fly for every American.

As previously mentioned, growing shortages across the aerospace workforce are a true threat to the future of American aviation.

H.R. 3935 addresses workforce challenges head-on by removing barriers to entry for individuals and veterans interested in pursuing careers in aviation, such as through the CAREER Program.

Bottom line, our bill encourages growth in the aviation workforce through meaningful reforms, the most meaningful in decades.

What is more, H.R. 3935 maintains American leadership when it comes to the development and integration of new and emerging technologies into the airspace, such as drones and Advanced Air Mobility.

Specifically, this bill requires the FAA to stop endless testing and pilot programs that go nowhere to integrate innovation, such as drones and AAM into the National Airspace System.

As air travel recovers from the COVID pandemic, renewed growth in air travel has come with some difficulties, obviously, for the traveling public. Our bipartisan bill includes an entire title dedicated to improving the flying experience for the traveling public, an issue that each of our offices hear about from constituents probably on a daily basis.

Finally, and most importantly, the bill recognizes that while our aviation system is safe, we must continue to raise the bar for safety. As such, this

bill includes a number of safety-focused provisions to ensure that America continues to be the world's gold standard in aviation safety.

One of the most important safety features of this bill is a title for 5-year reauthorization of the National Transportation Safety Board, the NTSB. It is this independent Federal agency that investigates all civil aviation accidents and transportation accidents throughout this sector.

I believe the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act is one of the most important pieces of legislation this body is going to consider in the 118th Congress.

This bill is vital to America's airport infrastructure, to our economy, and to the future of American leadership in aviation.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space,

and Technology,

Washington, DC, July 6, 2023.

Hon. Sam Graves,

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning H.R. 3935, the

``Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation

Act,'' which was introduced on June 9, 2023.

H.R. 3935 contains provisions within the Committee on

Science, Space, and Technology's Rule X jurisdiction. As a

result of your having consulted with the Committee and to

expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee on

Science, Space, and Technology will forego action on the

bill. This is done based on our mutual understanding that

doing so will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of

the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology nor is it a

waiver of any future jurisdictional claim over subject matter

contained in this bill or in similar legislation.

I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming

this understanding and would request that you include a copy

of this letter and your response in the committee report and

in the Congressional Record during the floor consideration of

this bill. Finally, I ask that you support the appointment of

Science Committee conferees during any House-Senate

conference convened on this legislation. Thank you in advance

for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Frank D. Lucas,

Chairman.

Mr. Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman

from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), the chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas), the chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. D'Esposito).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chairman, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, it has been made clear through debate that H.R. 3935 is a must-pass bill that provides a path for America's future success, growth, and leadership in civil aviation.

This strong bipartisan, forward-looking legislation is going to improve efficiency and operations at the FAA. It is going to strengthen America's foundational general aviation sector, and it is going to grow the aviation workforce.

It is going to invest in airport infrastructure across the country. It is going to encourage domestic innovation in aviation, enhance the passenger experience, and uphold America's gold standard in aviation safety.

Before I yield back, Mr. Chair, I would like to recognize the work of staff on both sides of the aisle in the development of this legislation. I appreciate the many long days, weeks, and weekends, for that matter, that staff, including the folks in the legislative counsel's office, have put into this effort. I think it shows in the quality of the legislation that we have before us.

On the Republican Subcommittee on Aviation, I thank staff director Hunter Presti, Laney Copeland, Julie Devine, Andrew Giacini, Christopher Senn, and Will Moore.

On the Republican full committee staff, I thank staff director Jack Ruddy, Michael Falencki, Corey Cooke, Meghan Holland, Abby Wenk, Leslie Parker, Chris Divine, Tyler Micheletti, Wills MacKay, Payton Palazzolo, Justin Harclerode, Jake Murphy, and Kerry Goldberg.

I also thank Maggie Aryea of subcommittee chairman Garret Graves' staff.

On the Democratic staff, I thank committee staff director Kathy Dedrick, Helena Zyblikewycz--I am sorry; I apologize--Stanton Johnson, aviation staff director Brian Bell, Alexandra Menardy, Adam Weiss, and again, all the staff who worked on this complex and critical legislation.

Mr. Chair, I urge support of the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in the American Aviation Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of the Graves-Larsen amendment. This amendment makes several technical conforming and clarifying changes throughout the underlying bill.

Furthermore, the amendment includes provisions that were the result of bipartisan negotiations on several policy issues.

These provisions include additional requirements for FAA to further coordinate the safe integration of new entrants into the National Airspace System, adding pilot apprenticeship, internship, or scholarship programs or veteran career transition nonprofits as an eligible grant recipient under the aviation workforce development program, protections on voluntary safety information disclosures, and several other provisions that reflect the bipartisan work with our colleagues across the aisle.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I would urge my colleagues to support this important amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 597, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of en bloc No. 1, containing 18 amendments from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. This en bloc contains a number of important amendments that address issues of national importance as well as issues that are impacting individual districts.

This package allows airports to use their Federal dollars to better understand the communities which they serve and the length people travel in order to take a flight.

It will instruct the FAA to test and evaluate means by which general and business aviation can utilize technology to receive flight clearances as opposed to using antiquated systems.

It also instructs the FAA to stand up a multidisciplinary task force to review the impact that human factors have on aviation safety and to make related recommendations.

In addition, this package instructs the Government Accountability Office to consult with airports to review emergency response plans and assess electrical resiliency for the safe operations of an airport during emergency scenarios.

This en bloc includes a number of provisions from members of the T&I Committee that were raised at markup but that we didn't have time to resolve. I am very glad that we were able to work together to resolve the few issues and support changes on a bipartisan basis.

Mr. Chair, I urge support of this bipartisan en bloc package and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Yakym).

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of en bloc No. 2, containing 20 amendments from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. This en bloc reflects the bipartisan work of our committee, which has done what we have done to address Members' priorities.

This includes bipartisan agreements on several amendments that we considered during our markup, including requiring the FAA to develop training materials to improve safety for airport ramp workers, and it requires the GAO to conduct a study on air cargo operations in Puerto Rico.

Furthermore, the en bloc package includes amendments to ensure the Secretary responds to essential air service contracts in a timely manner, allowing the FAA to provide weather observer training to airport personnel and ensures that United States passengers on foreign air carriers are protected in the same manner as they would be on United States air carriers by avoiding Russian airspace.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan en bloc package, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I don't have any speakers, so I am prepared to close. I urge my colleagues to support these amendments en bloc, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this en bloc, which contains 17 amendments to H.R. 3935 offered by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

This en bloc package includes amendments that seek to require the Government Accountability Office to study the pilot shortage, require community feedback regarding aircraft noise matters, improve emergency medical kits on board aircraft, require an audit of recent flight cancellations that continue to plague passengers and travelers, as well as many more things in this en bloc.

I urge support of this en bloc package and encourage a ``yes'' vote by all Members.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).

Mr. Chair, I have no further speakers at this time.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to amendment No. 10 offered by Mr. Langworthy.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, it is hard to even know where to begin. The sad thing about it is that very few people have actually read the report on what happened to Flight 3407.

Starting out, I have to say that I don't question anybody's motives on whether they oppose or support, or whatever the case may be. The sad thing about it is the wrong questions are being asked.

Now, what we are trying to do does not in any way change or weaken the 1,500-hour rule. What we are trying to say is that simulator time-- which you can simulate anything--should be used in training pilots.

I am an ATP, and I will kind of explain how that process works. You get your private pilot certificate, and then you move on to your commercial certificate. After an instrument rating, you get the single- engine commercial rating, the multiengine commercial rating, and then you move on to the ATP. It stands for airline transport pilot, and I have that rating. I have flown all the profiles that anybody would have to go through to achieve an ATP.

What is interesting in this whole process is that if you take a look at the recommendations that came out of the investigation when it comes to Flight 3407, the Buffalo accident, you have to wonder--again, this is where the wrong questions are being asked.

The pilot had 3,379 total hours before the accident. This pilot failed six checkrides, and not just checkrides that were recurrent. He failed his initial instrument checkride. He failed his commercial single-engine checkride. He failed his commercial multiengine checkride. He failed at the Gulfstream Academy when he was checking out in Gulfstreams. He failed his checkride in the Gulfstream. He failed his ATP checkride and had to do remedial training. Then, ultimately, when he was upgraded to the plane that was in the accident, he failed his sixth checkride.

He didn't fail some of his checkrides when he advanced from one rating to the next. He failed all of them and had to go to remedial training.

I ask whether you would get on an airline or a flight or put your family on a flight if you knew that the captain had failed all six checkrides as he advanced through his process. No, you wouldn't, not in a minute. Would you get on a flight if it was recommended that the pilot have remedial training?

Here we are with a simulator. You can simulate anything. I remember one of my simulator profiles, one of my simulator flights. We were coming in. I was doing an approach and lost my autopilot as a result, so I had to hand-fly the approach--zero visibility, 200-foot ceiling, which is at the minimum.

As I am on approach, I lose sight of the runway because the ceiling comes down. I have to execute a go-around to reestablish my approach. This is all being done in the simulator.

As I am executing my go-around, I lose an engine. I have to execute a go-around with one engine to minimums, and I have to get it on the ground in zero-zero visibility.

You can't simulate that in a real airplane. You can't simulate any of this, any emergency, in a real airplane.

First of all, in an airliner, that means the airplane is going to have to be taken down because it is going to have to be checked. If you do stalls in a full-blown airliner, you are going to have to take that aircraft down to have the airframe inspected because of the stress that is put on it.

Now, what I do want to point out is ALPA, the airline association that represented the pilots, I got on their website and found it fascinating. One of the things that they like to point out--I am glad they were part of the board that was the ARAC. That is the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, which is who we established to make recommendations on exactly how much simulator time we should add. They co-chaired the ARAC when it came to investigating this accident.

Do you know one of the things that they tout, one of the things that they are very proud of on their website that they push? When it comes to one of the recommendations made by the NTSB, additional training on upset prevention and recovery, a new certification training program course requirement. These new simulator-based training requirements also include performing manual controlled maneuvers, procedures, slow flight--all these things. They actually endorsed more simulator training because you can simulate anything.

Today's simulators, by the way, are far and above what they were just 10 years ago.

I also have the testimony that the NTSB gave in the Senate hearing. It is unfortunate, Mr. Chairman, because the testimony in the Senate hearing says it all.

Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues not to support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, with the two bills under consideration in today's rule, we have a striking example of the best and worst that this Chamber can produce.

The first bill reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration for another 5 years. That bill is the product of bipartisan negotiations between the members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. It was debated and amended in committee with the full participation of all members, Republicans and Democrats, and it passed out of that committee with unanimous support--unanimous support.

So this FAA bill is an example of how the legislative process can and should work when Members of Congress seek results and are willing to work together to address the interests of the American people.

The other bill in today's rule could not be more different. It is an unserious, hyper-partisan proposal from rightwing extremists designed to sow division and fear by pushing false narratives about immigrants and what is happening in our public schools.

In a truly bizarre twist for the party of small government, this bill would have the Federal Government dictating to our local governments and schools what they should do with their buildings.

All of this is done under the guise of solving a fake crisis manufactured by Republicans, both by sending migrants to cities run by Democrats in a failed attempt to score political points and, more importantly, by refusing to come to the table and genuinely address the critical need for substantive reforms to our immigration system.

If everyone would follow the lead of our colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and if our rightwing colleagues could drop the heated rhetoric and partisan nonsense, there are many solutions that Republicans and Democrats could work on together to serve the American people, and we would welcome that opportunity.

I will return to this point, Mr. Speaker, but first let's talk about the two bills.

H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, will reauthorize the FAA for 5 years and make a variety of much-needed improvements to the laws governing aviation in the United States.

I am encouraged by many of the policy wins that Democrats achieved in the bill, including policies to increase funding for airport infrastructure, increase the scope of projects eligible for funding, hire more air traffic controllers, and grow the talent pipeline for hiring and training the next generation of pilots, mechanics, and aviation manufacturing workers.

This bill also takes some much-needed steps to improve the passenger experience. The bill requires airlines to reimburse passengers for hotel and meal costs when their flight is canceled or significantly delayed.

It requires airlines to allow families to sit together, and it requires airlines to make accommodations for passengers traveling with wheelchairs or other assistive devices, and to compensate those travelers if their property is damaged.

While this bill is good, it is far from perfect. I recognize that when you negotiate, Mr. Speaker, you don't always get what you want. However, Mr. Speaker, when you negotiate with this House Republican majority, it is not only that you don't get what you want, it is also that you get less than what is needed to actually fix the problem at hand.

Mr. Speaker, anyone who has taken a flight knows the sorry state of our Nation's airports. While our country was once First in Flight, our airports are now collectively second and third rate, and that is a policy choice by Congress.

Over the past 30 years, we have underfunded our airports, forcing them to get by on inadequate budgets and limited revenue streams. The result is crystal clear to anyone who flies: old, crowded airports, large backlogs in runway maintenance, and a passenger experience that is often unpleasant from the moment you try to check in, Mr. Speaker, until you arrive at your destination. We did hear a fair amount of commentary on that from our colleagues in the Rules Committee last night.

The passenger experience at many U.S. airports is eclipsed by virtually every other airport in Europe and Asia, and there is no good excuse for that.

Beyond the benefits of improving the flying experience for American travelers, having first-class airports should be a point of national pride. We are not putting our best foot forward when foreign tourists visit the United States, the richest country on Earth, and the first thing they experience is a crumbling, unattractive, and inefficient airport.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act made a massive investment in our Nation's airports, and dozens of projects have broken ground as a result. However, the IIJA was a onetime investment and gives us about 5 years of boosted airport funding. We need to build on the success of that bill, not rest on our laurels and pretend that this short-term fix was a long-term solution to decades of underinvestment.

In addition, I would have liked to have seen stronger protections for workers and consumers. I strongly oppose the provision in the bill to raise the pilot retirement age to 67, and I would have liked to have seen reforms to organize and form a union and to hold the airlines accountable for junk fees, delays, and cancellations.

However, Mr. Speaker, again, I recognize that any bill of this sort is a compromise, and in a compromise you have to work with others who don't share your beliefs, and you can't always get your own way.

It is important to pass this bill in a timely way so that we are able to maintain and improve our aviation functions without a lapse.

Mr. Speaker, the other bill in today's rule is the so-called Schools Not Shelters Act or, as one of my colleagues called it, the defund our schools act.

This bill is a monumental waste of the House's time and taxpayer dollars.

It is nothing more than an attempt by House Republicans to double down on their demonization of immigrants. The House had this same debate last month when Republicans brought to the floor a poorly drafted and fact-free resolution to the same effect.

Now they have turned that resolution into a bill so they can continue their failed efforts to sow fear of immigrants in order to score political points. This bill does nothing to address the needs of communities facing an influx of migrant families or to solve the problems facing our schools. It is nothing more than another vehicle to create division and stoke culture wars because that is the point.

Starting with the last administration, rightwing Republicans at the State and Federal level have abused migrant families and children fleeing poverty and violence to manufacture a crisis using them as pawns to score points.

For example, if Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, was genuinely unable to safely shelter migrants, he could have reached out in good faith to State and local leaders around the country to collaborate on solutions instead of shipping migrant families to those places without any notice or coordination.

He could have reached out to the Biden administration for additional resources, and he could have come to Congress and asked for emergency funding.

Instead, when faced with all those options, Governor Abbott decided to mislead or trick migrants and ship them to other parts of the country with no coordination or communication to the receiving communities.

One of the destinations chosen by Governor Abbott, and Governor DeSantis as well, was Philadelphia. I met some of those migrant families last winter. During the week between Christmas and New Year's when temperatures were at or below freezing, they sent buses of families and children to Philadelphia. These families arrived in T- shirts and sandals. They had no jacket and no gloves, and they were dropped off on the street at 6 a.m. and in the middle of the night.

If not for the mercy and decency of our city officials, charities, churches, and advocates, those poor souls would have been left on the street in the middle of winter.

These are human beings. These are families with children. They are people escaping horrors that apparently our colleagues can't even imagine. I still struggle to process the willingness of those Republican Governors to harm people and the willingness of our colleagues to enable them.

While those Republican Governors thought that everyone shared their contempt and disregard for the humanity of these families, they were dead wrong. All over the country, the cities that have received these migrants did so with open arms and worked in unison with their faith communities, with volunteers, and with advocates to find solutions rather than to inflict further harm.

They refused to play this sick game. They welcomed the migrants with compassion. I continue to be inspired by the fundamental decency and kindness of the Americans who mobilized to help migrants come to our shores yearning to breathe free, as we have throughout our American history.

We are the country we are today because of the innumerable contributions of immigrants from all over the world. So instead of debating rightwing messaging bills to posture for the Republicans' extremist base, we should be using our time to pass a clear, legal, and efficient path to work, residency, and citizenship.

We need to pass the American Dream and Promise Act again to provide Dreamers with a pathway to citizenship. However, our colleagues are not offering solutions to our immigration challenges, they are just offering complaints. They don't have a single, serious proposal for how we can address the needs of our immigration system.

It is particularly galling that they have tried to reframe their active mistreatment of migrant families as a threat to public schoolchildren calling to defund public schools in retaliation against local governments for addressing the mess that Governor Abbott created.

As my colleague, Mr. Neguse, pointed out in the Rules Committee hearing last night, the House majority has made clear its priorities: pushing unserious bills like this anti-immigrant bill while failing to address the actual issues facing our public schools, including teacher pay, student achievement gaps, gun violence, and hunger--daily hunger-- for schoolchildren.

Later this week when Republicans host their press conference to celebrate passage of this bill, all these problems will still exist.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to passage of the FAA reauthorization later this week, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am so sorry my colleague across the aisle

misunderstood me. The fake crisis I was referring to was the crisis that this defund our schools bill is seeking to address, which is the use of active public school buildings to house migrants.

That is a fake crisis. It is actually not happening across the country, and it was brought up only after the Texas Governor sent migrant families unannounced to New York State.

Obviously, we have an issue with the amount of migration occurring throughout our hemisphere and the impact on our communities. I would gladly work with anyone to make sure that all of our communities, whether in Texas or New York or Philadelphia or Martha's Vineyard or anywhere across our country have the resources they need to feed and clothe the hungry and unsheltered people in those communities.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan).

Mr. Speaker, as I suggested, this is just about rightwing messaging, pushing a false narrative that anybody is advocating for an open border--they aren't--while still refusing to come to grips with what do we do with the people who come here? What do we do with the people who are here?

If there are solutions, we would love to work together on them. One of them appears to be providing enough resources for our communities to feed and house folks.

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of a resolution which unequivocally states that it is the House's duty to keep our sacred promise to American workers and seniors to protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare and reject any cuts to those essential programs.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Escobar) to discuss this proposal.

Mr. Speaker, I find myself in complete agreement that we should be addressing the actual issues, like student achievement, that are impacting our students, but, obviously, this bill does none of that.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New Mexico.

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

As I was listening to some of the prior speakers, I started to understand why we have this defund the schools bill before us today. It is based upon a whole bunch of misunderstandings.

The idea that migrants who are in the position where they are potentially being housed in our communities, these folks have, in fact, been vetted by our immigration agencies.

Second of all, no Federal school funding can be used for that purpose. That funding is already restricted, and if it were to be used for the purpose of housing migrants, it could be immediately clawed back.

Again, this is a bill that accomplishes nothing and is based on a series of alternative facts, and I strongly urge that we reject it and the rule.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, we heard the gentleman describing parents of schoolchildren being frightened, upset, and agitated because their school needs, their education needs, their needs for food or remedial education, are not being met.

I remind my colleagues that they hold the majority. They are able to bring forward those bills and have the committee work to address those needs, but, again, the bill before us today does none of that.

We would love to work together in a bipartisan manner, as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has done, to present a really good, forward-looking bill to address our Nation's aviation needs. We would just like to extend that ability to work on solutions, as opposed to culture wars, throughout the work before us for the good of the people.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing this week is a tale of two Congresses, one that is capable of working across the aisle to solve real problems but one that is increasingly held hostage by forces more interested in culture wars and punching down on vulnerable people to score political points.

I ask my House colleagues, again, to follow the example set by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as the House Armed Services Committee. I think this building and our country work a lot better when Members put their heads down and work on solutions to the problems facing the country. I would like to think there are many Members in both parties who would agree with that view. However, we learned a lot last week from Kevin McCarthy and the most extreme members of the Republican Party.

Since the first day of the 118th Congress, particularly on the Rules Committee, we have heard countless lofty speeches from our Republican colleagues about the need for more transparency in our processes, for more amendments to be considered on the floor, for more debate, and for more rank-and-file Members to have their priorities considered by the whole House.

Last week, House Republicans had the chance to stand behind those words and instead blocked over 1,000 amendments submitted to the NDAA.

Today's rule and the amendments allowed on it were negotiated behind closed doors--not between Democrats and Republicans but between Republicans and the most extreme members of that party.

Next week, Kevin McCarthy has already signaled that he is abandoning his commitment to consider appropriations legislation under an open rule.

It has become increasingly clear what the real deal is. It is an open rule for the rightwing Freedom Caucus and a closed rule for everyone else, including many Republicans who do not endorse the chaos and antidemocratic impulses pushed by the far-right members of their party.

Despite the griping about regular order and empowering individual Members, this Congress remains enthralled by a power grab--plain and simple--by the most extreme members of the Republican majority.

We can now expect Speaker McCarthy to fold at the first sight of trouble, meaning that the House is now run by its loudest and most extreme Members.

Beyond being an embarrassing way to run a democratic institution, this arrangement only serves to weaken the House and all but guarantees that the Senate will jam us on big legislation like appropriations, the NDAA, and the FAA reauthorization.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the previous question and the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in strong opposition to the Rule for H.R. 3941, ``Schools Not Shelters Act of 2023''.

This bill is an absurd measure to condemn the use of elementary and secondary school facilities that provide shelter for people caught up in emergencies, just like we do for other disasters.

Using the facilities of a public elementary or secondary school to provides shelter for non-U.S. nationals who are not admitted into the United States should not be politicized, as this is humanitarian issue and failure of our broken immigration system.

As a Member on the Homeland Security committee, and more specifically the Border Security and Enforcement subcommittee, I interact with those at the border and migrants frequently.

I believe that a comprehensive approach is needed to find a lasting solution to the current immigration crisis.

However, I think it is essential that migrants are brought and allowed into the country through legal immigration.

I am a strong proponent of humanitarian aid efforts in the immigration context, from preventing the breakup of individual families because of a wrongful deportation to ensuring that victims of civil wars and national disasters around the globe receive a temporary protected status under the U.S. immigration laws.

We should not condemn the use of public elementary or secondary schools provide shelter for non-U.S. nationals who are not admitted into the United States.

I acknowledge that school are places of learning and development for students, but there are time periods when school campuses are not being used, such as during school breaks.

Because of this, the space could be used for humanitarian aid purposes, such as allowing migrants to stay there while they wait for legal processing and paperwork to conclude.

Other exceptions need to be reviewed, such as whether migrants could stay at schools when school is in-session, but humanitarian aid should not be overlooked in the immigration context.

As a leading country on the global stage, it is our duty and responsibility to assist who we can in a legal manner.

More importantly when it comes to schools in America, we should be addressing critical issues that are truly impacting our educational system--namely, the hostile state takeovers of majority-minority school districts--as is what is happening in my district with the Texas Education Agency takeover of the Houston Independent School District.

State takeovers in other districts have led to school closures, layoffs, and no improvements in test scores.

The vast majority of school districts that have been taken over by state agencies (TEA included) have not improved but declined.

With data ranging back to the late 1980s, researchers found that most state takeovers don't translate to academic improvements.

We have to stop the State from intermeddling and overstepping into our educational systems--causing further harm and damage to our communities,

That is why I have called upon President Biden and the Department of Education to investigate and take immediate I action to address the recent systematic and dangerous efforts underway by state and local officials in Texas seeking to undermine and undo decades of civils rights protections and advancements in educational institutions and student populations.

And so, I am here today to say that these are the issues that the American people truly care about and want us to be fighting for, for the protection and preservation of their educational rights .

Emergency response agencies have always used school facility sheltering to provide emergency services to affected individuals and communities; the use of these facilities as a

temporary shelter for migrants puts no students in danger.

These school facilities have always been used as emergency shelters during disasters such as weather-related events.

No colleges or public K-12 schools should lose federal funding because they provide temporary relief to migrants.

If Republicans are really concerned about measures needed to ensure school safety, they should support all measures that address gun violence prevention and mental health issues.

If my colleagues genuinely want to address students' safety, they should join with us to focus on the real causes of violent deaths in our country--guns.

Gun violence is decimating our families and communities--mass shootings in schools, places of worship, shopping malls, concerts, and urban neighborhoods.

A majority of Americans, including parents, teachers, students, and educational workers support common sense and meaningful actions that address the surging violence in our schools and colleges.

All that this bill does is to punish schools that Republicans think are helping migrants.

By singling out emergency use for migrants, this bill is only about Republicans' continuous opposition to any effort that provides support for the migrant community.

That is why I had offered the following amendments to be considered by the Rules Committee:

Jackson Lee Amendment 13 would simply prevent the enactment of H.R. 3941 until we actually address and enact comprehensive immigration reform in the United States such that the Federal immigration system operates efficiently and offers a fair, humane, and orderly pathway to citizenship.

Jackson Lee Amendment 15 would also prevent enactment of this bill until my bill the ``Grant Relief for American Children's Elevation (GRACE) Act of 2023'' is implemented such that the ``exceptional and extremely unusual hardship'' term as defined in Section 240A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 12229b(b)) is amended, to include hardship resulting from separating a family member who is a United States citizen, a lawful permanent resident or an individual lawfully admitted to the United States and a family member who is subject to deportation or removal from the United States.

A study on Facts and Fictions of Race and Family in U.S. Immigration Policy found that the United States governing framework of family sponsorship is rooted in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act.

The act eliminated the 1924 national origins quotas while maintaining the principle of numerical restriction by specifying annual caps as well as per-country limits on immigration.

Under the act, ``immediate family,'' specifically spouses, minor children, and the parents of U.S. citizens, are admitted without numerical quotas.

After that, there is a system of hierarchical preferences in which the claims of U.S. citizens are placed above those of legal permanent residents.

There is also a ranking of the family relationship that is based on assessments of familial proximity and of age, especially in the case of parents and children.

The dominant political narrative of the 1965 act at the time of its passage was one of national values, family unity, and the American commitment to ending racial discrimination.

However, according to the Washington Post, the Trump administration's immigration policies separated more than 5,400 children from their families, sending families to Mexico to await the chance to make asylum claims and seeking the chance to detain children indefinitely.

My amendment, the ``Grant Relief for American Children's Elevation Act'' or ``GRACE Act,'' would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish certain family separation as an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has noted that ``highly stressful experiences, like family separation, can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child's brain architecture and affecting his or her short- and long-term health.

This type of prolonged exposure to serious stress--known as toxic stress--can carry lifelong consequences for children.''

Just last year, two pediatricians wrote in the Houston Chronicle that ``this kind of stress makes children susceptible to acute and chronic conditions such as extreme anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, hypertension and heart disease.''

As we take into consideration the long term negative psychological effects of family separation as the result of immigration, it becomes abundantly clear that we cannot move forward until this cycle is stopped.

As a Member on the Homeland Security committee, and more specifically the Border Security and Enforcement subcommittee, I interact with those at the border and migrants frequently.

I believe that a comprehensive approach is needed to find a lasting solution to the current immigration crisis.

However, I think it is essential that migrants are brought and allowed into the country through legal immigration.

Under the Jackson Lee Amendment 15, the Immigration and Nationality Act would have no longer subjected human beings to extreme trauma by separating a family member who is a United States citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or an individual lawfully admitted to the United States and a family member who is subject to deportation or removal from the United States.

And the Jackson Lee Amendment 16 strikes one word--``not'' from Sect. 2(a) such that it reads as follows:

In General.--As a condition on receipt of Federal financial assistance under applicable program by a public elementary school, a public secondary school, or an institution of higher education, the facilities of the school or institution may [not] be used to provide shelter or housing for specified aliens.

Thus, my amendment strikes the very language preventing the use of school facilities for the purpose of providing shelter or housing to individuals as defined by section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) who has not been admitted (as so defined).

I am a strong proponent of humanitarian aid efforts in the immigration context, from preventing the breakup of individual families because of a wrongful deportation to ensuring that victims of civil wars and national disasters around the globe receive a temporary protected status under the U.S. immigration laws.

We should not condemn the use of public elementary or secondary schools to provide shelter for non-U.S. nationals who are not admitted into the United States.

Whenever appropriate, space in our schools should be made available for humanitarian aid purposes, such as allowing migrants to stay there while they wait for processing and paperwork to conclude their legal residency status.

Other exceptions need to be reviewed, such as whether migrants could stay at schools when school is in session, but humanitarian aid should not be overlooked in the immigration context.

As a leading country on the global stage, it is our duty and responsibility to assist who we can in a legal manner.

More importantly, when it comes to schools in America, we should be addressing critical issues that are truly impacting our educational system--namely, the hostile state takeovers of majority-minority school districts--as is what is happening in my district with the Texas Education Agency takeover of the Houston Independent School District.

State takeovers in other districts have led to school closures, layoffs, and no improvements in test scores.

The vast majority of school districts that have been taken over by state agencies (TEA included) have not improved but declined.

With data ranging back to the late 1980s, researchers found that most state takeovers don't translate to academic improvements.

Republicans provide no evidence that the academic progress of students is negatively impacted simply by attending a school which houses migrants.

H.R. 3941 is distractive, it is uninformed, it is pointless, provocative, inflammatory, and at best, an absolute waste of time.

Using the facilities of a public elementary or secondary school to provide shelter for non-U.S. nationals who are not admitted into the United States should not be politicized, as this is a humanitarian issue and failure of our broken immigration system.

Instead of denying innocent people temporary humanitarian relief we should focus on stopping the State from meddling in and overstepping the boundaries of our educational systems--causing further harm and damage to our communities.

Lastly, the Jackson Lee Amendment 19 was offered to add the word ``freeze'' to be included in the definition of ``specified disaster''.

This definition is particularly important to signify the dangers of deadly and disastrous weather conditions without snow.

In February 2012, my home state of Texas experienced an unprecedented deep freeze that crippled our state as temperatures dropped to as low as six degrees.

The freeze triggered the worst energy infrastructure failure in Texas state history, leading to shortages of water, food, and heat.

More than 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power, some for several days and at least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly, with some estimates as high as 702 killed during the crisis.

These Jackson Lee Amendments 13, 15, 16, and 19 would have ensured that unaccompanied minors and migrants in need of temporary relief may be provided emergency shelter or housing using institutional facilities where appropriate.

It is a shame that we not made in order, and that we here with such an offensive and counterproductive bill, and that we are spending time on ineffective efforts instead of focusing on real immigration reform and resolutions for our nation's broken pathways for citizenship.

The text of the material previously referred to by Ms. Scanlon is as follows:

An Amendment to H. Res. 597 Offered by Ms. Scanlon of Pennsylvania

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 6. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the

House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the

resolution (H. Res. 178) affirming the House of

Representatives' commitment to protect and strengthen Social

Security and Medicare. The resolution shall be considered as

read. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on

the resolution and preamble to adoption without intervening

motion or demand for division of the question except one hour

of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and

ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means or

their respective designees.

Sec. 7. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of

H. Res. 178.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding time. Let me first say that the administration enthusiastically supports the work of Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen for the great work that they have done.

This is good for America. This is good for Houston, Texas, and it is good for Texas. I have two airports in the region, including Hobby International Airport and Bush Intercontinental Airport, and Ellington Field that see some commercial flights.

It is good that we will get between $3.35 billion and $4 billion to help in the airport funding program of which I saw about 40 to 80 million come to our Bush Intercontinental Airport in the last couple of weeks.

It is important to have the flexibility to deal with environmental issues, and, of course, it is extremely important to have a $45 million training program for a pipeline for pilots, aviation maintenance, and aviation manufacturing. Why? Because schools like Texas Southern University that uniquely has one of the only HBCUs training of pilots program will be able to do more and fill that pipeline with pilots.

In addition, we respond to the assaults that have been occurring against employees and crew, and respond by an employee assault prevention response plan, which is extremely important.

We did this during 9/11, but now we are looking at more secondary cockpit barriers that will be more important. As well, we want to make sure that we have a task force of air carriers.

This bill is for airlines and airports, but it is for the traveling public, as well. It deals with air law enforcement, aviation labor unions, and others to be able to work together.

I am excited about the Bessie Coleman Women in Aviation Advisory Committee to encourage more young women to become pilots, as we need more pilots every single day.

The matter that I worked on as a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, finally we set standards for foreign aircraft repair stations, so that when our American airlines are overseas, they are subject to the same standards of American repair stations. We were very concerned about that after 9/11.

Mr. Chairman, let me dwell on an amendment that I offered to get through the backlog of pilots that are now well after they have been off for some medical reason and the backlog of getting them back into the stream of flying is taking long. We need to look at that because these are perfectly able pilots, but they are still on medical leave.

I also want to ensure that we have mental health relief for our pilots, like 29-year-old Chris Daniel, who was doing well, but after the pandemic began experiencing depression. Chris' doctor suggested treatment for his depression, but as a pilot, he was too afraid to go.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to speak in support of H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in America Aviation Act of 2023.

The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act helps maintain America's gold standard in safety, fosters innovation, strengthens and diversifies the U.S. aviation workforce, and invests in resilient and sustainable infrastructure.

This is an important bill that I offered an amendment to help improve through the Rules Committee, the Jackson Lee Amendment.

While the Rules Committee did not make my amendment in order, it is important to highlight what it would have done and what is still needed to assist and strengthen aviation in our country.

In particular, the Jackson Lee Amendment would do the following:

Implement the creation of the Aviation Medical Innovation and Modernization Working Group and a report on recommendations from the Working Group on the evaluation of the conditions an Aviation Medical Examiner can issue. Improve and reform to the Special Issuance process, including whether, after initial medical certification by the FAA, renewals can be based on a medical evaluation and treatment plan by a pilot's treating medical specialist with concurrence from the pilot's Aviation Medical Examiner, in addition to other measures that will help ease the process and remove the backlog for when pilots return from medical leave.

It would pilot a mental health task group to develop and provide recommendations related to supporting the mental health of aircraft pilots.

Finally, my amendment requests a report that would provide recommendations for best practices in detecting, assessing, and reporting mental health conditions and treatment options as part of pilot aeromedical assessments.

The Jackson Lee Amendment would have strengthened this legislation by keeping the health and safety of airline pilots at the forefront.

Mr. Chair, let's help our pilots be strong medically and mentally, and let's make this the best aviation system in the world.

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record an article from Scientific American.

[From Scientific American, Nov. 22, 2022]

We Need To Change the System That Keeps Pilots From Seeking Mental

Health Care

(By William R. Hoffman)

By 29 years old, Chris Daniel felt he had it all: a wife,

two beautiful children and fulfillment of his lifelong dream

of becoming a U.S. airline captain. But in the spring of

2022, after years of flying, Chris knew something was not

right. Shadows from his past

were reemerging, strained by post-COVID travel demand and

long, taxing weeks on the road. Years earlier, Chris's

physician had suggested that his low mood and trouble

sleeping might be symptoms of mild depression. But like many

pilots, he balked at the idea. If a doctor diagnosed

depression or if he sought help, Chris assumed he would never

be able to fly again. Seeking help seemed unthinkable because

losing flying was akin to losing everything; being a pilot

was who he was.

Chris's story is not unusual. While mental health symptoms

are common in airline pilots, getting help can affect their

ability to work in a big way. Airline pilots are required to

meet certain medical standards in order to maintain an active

flying status, and disclosing a new symptom or condition to

the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) puts them at risk

of losing, usually temporarily, their ability to work and

fly. This is particularly true for mental health symptoms.

The FAA bars pilots from the cockpit if they report seeking

regular talk therapy for even mild anxiety or depression;

this may last for months and sometimes even years based on

the assumption they pose an unacceptable risk to safety. In

fact, pilots find themselves among only a handful of

professions that require disclosure of any encounter with the

health care system, including mental health visits.

While it makes sense to ground a pilot in distress, the

current system often fails to recognize the dynamic and often

situational nature of mental health symptoms and often drives

pilots from seeking care. Time off the job can have negative

repercussions such as loss of pay and need for recurrent

training, and the expenses of additional medical evaluations

required by the FAA often fall onto the pilot. All of these

together result in a population of pilots working the fleet

who are suffering in silence and fearful to get the help they

need. We must rethink the system that drives pilots from

attending to their mental health and change what seeking

mental health care services means in aviation.

Data my group and others have gathered are beginning to

reveal the scope of this problem. Our findings demand

attention. In our recent study of more than 3,500 U.S.

pilots, 56 percent reported behavior that we classify as

avoiding health care (for example, getting health care

outside the traditional system to avoid its documentation)

specifically because they feared the loss of their clearance

to fly. Interestingly, 26 percent of pilots reported that

they had withheld information during their FAA health

checkups for the same reason: the fear of losing their

medical clearance. This is sometimes called ``losing their

wings.''

In a sister study, more than half of pilots in our sample

had something they felt needed to get checked out--maybe it

was mental health related, perhaps a knee injury, or even

just a rash--but waited or decided against it because they

worried about their career. While our studies focused on

overall health care, we suspect this finding also applies to

mental health.

Many pilots have reasonably good access to health care.

This includes health insurance, paid time off and sometimes

other union protections. Instead, these data suggest a

barrier exists because pilots are asked to weigh the benefits

of seeking help against the professional costs that they

alone bear. How bad does mild anxiety need to become to

warrant a prolonged absence from work? For most pilots,

very bad.

The growing demand for pilots in our travel-hungry, COVID-

endemic world is likely to make this problem more

complicated. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects

18,100 new pilot jobs each year for the next decade,

precipitated by the continued growth of air travel. As

compensation has soared in 2022, more is being asked of

pilots, including longer and more frequent trips to keep pace

with passenger demand, This is in the context of other

airline professions--such as maintenance and administrative

staff--facing major personnel shortages, placing further

strain on a system already operating at its limits. Higher

demand on pilots can lead to additional time away from family

and friends, leading to an even greater need for mental

health care services. Simply put, pilots' need for mental

health care is likely to only grow in the coming years.

While on the surface it might seem that increasing the pool

of pilots would ease the situation, more pilots won't fix the

existing challenges in the system. Flight training programs

are expanding, and some airlines are taking the unprecedented

step of establishing their own training programs. But, while

class sizes are growing, they are being filled by a younger

and more diverse generation of student pilots who may not be

as willing as their predecessors to quietly suffer. In fact,

emerging data suggest the willingness of current pilots (who

are still largely in the 40-to-60 age range) to avoid health

care for job security may not be as true for the next

generation.

``Younger pilots are different from past generations and

are more willing to identify as needing help when it comes to

their mental health,'' John Dulski, 21, an aviation student

at the University of North Dakota and advocate for aviation

mental health reform, told me during a recent phone call.

``Many are more willing to choose to get care at the risk of

stepping away from flying.'' The answers to why such a

phenomenon is occurring remains an open question that our

research group is trying to understand. Could it be related

to social media lowering the stigma of mental health or the

influences of growing up through the pandemic? We hope future

research will reveal the answer.

A new generation of Gen Z airline pilots more open to

stepping away from flying to seek mental health care services

may only further strain the shortage of pilots. But more

importantly, it should call for industry to rethink what it

means for an airline pilot to be mentally fit and what

services they should be able to receive while still working

the fleet. We can all agree that safety in aviation should be

the foundation for meaningful change. Certainly, a pilot with

a severe mental health condition shouldn't be flying. But the

opportunity lies for pilots with mild symptoms. These are

high performing professionals who are perhaps facing one of

life's usual stressors--a divorce, a family death or even

just the chronic stress of the job. How might we rethink a

system that enables this group to seek mental health care

services in hopes of sidestepping a diagnosis that could go

on to fully pull them from flying?

One answer is clear. The FAA should change policy to permit

pilots with mild symptoms to seek professional regular, and

if needed prolonged, talk therapy without loss of their

medical certification. Such a change would have major

benefits for people on both sides of the flight deck door,

including treatment to prevent symptom worsening, and regular

pilot assessment by a professional mental health provider.

Recognizing that mental health is on a dynamic spectrum and

that many pilots could benefit from talking to a professional

mental health provider at some point in their career has the

potential to keep pilots flying healthy while also increasing

safety in the system. Pilot unions and airlines should fuel

this movement by raising awareness about the problem their

pilots face and by lobbying for an alliance of stakeholder to

determine how best to safely enact this change. While credit

is due to the FAA for recently making several positive policy

changes related to mental health, there is still work to do

and time is of the essence.

Chris Daniel never did get help for his mental health

symptoms, and despite an excellent flying record, he died of

suicide in June 2022. While we believe suicide is relatively

rare among pilots, this extreme outcome is in part why we

must create positive change. With the use of appropriate

supervision and reevaluation, aviation's safety culture

should shift to thinking of mental health care services as a

marker for wellness and prevention instead of risk and

disease. This change would not only benefit pilots, but also

the 2 million U.S. passengers who trust the aviation system

every day.