The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE FEDERAL AVIATION AUTHORIZATION BILL” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S11715-S11717 on Sept. 28, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE FEDERAL AVIATION AUTHORIZATION BILL
Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, as chairman of the conference on H.R. 3539, the Federal Aviation Authorization Act of l996, I rise to urge my colleagues to permit the Senate to immediately proceed to consideration of the conference report for this critically important legislation. H.R. 3539 is a bipartisan, omnibus aviation bill which reauthorizes the Airport Improvement Program [AIP], reforms the Federal Aviation Administration, improves aviation safety and security, and provides long overdue assistance to the families of victims of aviation disasters.
Mr. President, it is absolutely imperative that the Senate approves this conference report before we adjourn and that the President signs the report. Yesterday, the House met its responsibility to the American traveling public by passing this legislation. If the Senate fails to approve this excellent legislation which represents another significant legislative accomplishment for this body, we will have failed to meet our responsibility to the American traveling public. For example, if we do not approve this report, airports across the country will not receive Federal funding which is vital for safety-related repairs and other improvements.
If we fail to pass this report, the Senate will have neglected our responsibility to ensure the United States maintains the safest and most secure aviation system in the world. For example, the conference report implements many of the aviation security recommendations made by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security earlier this month.
Mr. President, there are dozens of important provisions in this legislation, but I would like to focus my remarks on four main areas.
First, aviation security. Air transportation in this country is safe. Indeed, it remains the safest form of travel. However, we can and we must do more. This legislation facilitates the replacement of outdated air traffic control equipment. It puts in place a mechanism to evaluate FAA's long-term funding which is critically important at a time in which enplanements continue to increase yet Federal budget constraints limit the ability of the FAA to respond to the increased needs of our aviation system. Additionally, this legislation eliminates the FAA's dual mandate. It ensures the FAA finally focuses solely on aviation safety.
A second area I want to highlight is aviation security. This conference report contains numerous provisions designed to improve security at our Nation's airlines and airports. The measure before us today incorporates many of the recommendations of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security of which I am a member. In fact, this legislation provides statutory authority requested by the President to implement several of the Commission's recommendations. Passage of this bill will improve aviation security by: speeding deployment of the latest explosive detection devices; enhancing passenger screening processes; requiring criminal history record checks on screeners; requiring regular joint threat assessments; and encouraging other innovative procedures to improve overall aviation security such as automated passenger profiling.
The third area I wish to highlight is how this legislation will help small community air service and small airports. The legislation before us today reauthorizes the Essential Air Service Program at the level of
$50 million. This program is vital to States such as South Dakota. By adjusting the formula for AIP funds, we would now ensure that all airports receive virtually all their entitlement funds in addition to being eligible for discretionary funds. This is great news for small airports which in recent years have received far less than their full and fair share of these funds. Also, the legislation directs the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a comprehensive study on rural air service and fares. For too long, small communities have been forced to endure higher fares as a result of inadequate competition. The Department of Transportation will now look into this issue as a result of this conference report. This follows on the important work that I instructed the General Accounting Office to initiate last year.
Mr. President, the final area I wish to highlight is the compassionate measures this legislation would put in place for the families of victims of aviation disasters. Last week, I chaired a hearing of the Commerce Committee in which the families of victims of five aviation tragedies courageously told the committee of their harrowing experiences. I promised those witnesses, as well as other families of victims in the room, that Congress finally would act this year to put in place measures to improve the treatment families receive, protect their privacy in a time of grief, ensure they receive timely and accurate information, and address a number of other concerns they eloquently voiced to the committee. The family advocacy and assistance provisions in this conference report are supported by these families and I hope the Senate will help me keep my promise to families who already have suffered enough. I hope we do not disappoint them.
Mr. President, despite all the vitally important aviation safety and security provisions in this legislation, I understand a very small group of Senators are concerned about one provision in the legislation which makes a technical correction affecting Federal Express. I refer to the amendment the ranking member of the Commerce Committee, Senator Hollings, offered in conference to correct a technical error in the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995. It is time we reach an agreement on this issue.
The Hollings amendment, which I strongly support, is not the partisan provision these Senators believe it to be. All five Senate conferees--
Senator McCain, Senator Stevens, Senator Hollings, Senator Ford and I--
voted in favor of that amendment because, despite all the rhetoric, it is simply a technical correction which fairness dictates the Congress make.
I would like to briefly discuss the rhetoric that has clouded the Hollings amendment issue and, regrettably, has transformed the Hollings amendment into an issue which some now feel is more important than enhancing aviation safety and security. When the House debated the conference report, I heard a number of Members make blanket statements that the Hollings amendment is not truly a technical correction. Those same Members claimed their statements were based on their purported knowledge of the Senate's intent when it considered and overwhelmingly passed the ICC Termination Act. With all due respect to those Members of the House, I authored the ICC Termination Act and can unequivocally say they are dead wrong. The Hollings amendment is nothing more than a technical correction.
Let me explain. Prior to the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995, the Railway Labor Act had jurisdiction over carriers including express companies. A conforming amendment in the ICC Termination Act inadvertently dropped express companies from the scope of the Railway Labor Act. As the author of the ICC Termination Act, I can say unequivocally that the Senate never intended to strip Federal Express or any person of rights without the benefit of a hearing, debate, or even discussion. Section 10501 of the ICC Termination Act makes that point crystal clear. Section 10501 states ``[t]he enactment of the ICC Termination Act of 1995 shall neither expand nor contract coverage of employees or employers by the Railway Labor Act.''
Mr. President, fairness dictates we correct that inadvertent technical error. That is precisely what the Hollings amendment does. It is exactly why I supported it in conference. It is why I continue to strongly support it. Contrary to what some Senators have claimed, it is my understanding the Hollings amendment will not create any new labor protections which Federal Express did not have prior to enactment of the technical error in the ICC Termination Act. Nor will it broaden labor protections Federal Express previously had. The amendment is precisely what it purports to be, a technical correction.
The conference report should be on the floor for consideration and we should be debating a truly historic piece of aviation legislation which reflects the outstanding work Congress does when it proceeds on a bipartisan basis. Unfortunately, instead of discharging our duty to the American traveling public, the Senate is bogged down in procedural maneuvers by a small group of Senators to prevent the conference report accompanying H.R. 3539 from being considered by the Senate. Why? We cannot consider this vital legislation because a small group of Senators does not support the Hollings amendment which is contained in just 5 lines of a 189-page bill. All too often, Congress is criticized for losing sight of the big picture. Today, regrettably, the Senate is reinforcing that perception.
Some members of the American public watching these proceedings either from the gallery or on C-SPAN will understandably ask themselves ``has the Senate lost sight of the goal of ensuring the safety and security of air travel in the United States?'' Others will ask themselves ``has the Senate forgotten the importance of safety-related repairs and other improvements at our Nation's airports?'' And the family members of aviation disaster victims will correctly ask ``why has the Senate failed to listen to our pleas to put in place measures to improve the treatment of families of future aviation disaster victims?"
And, Mr. President, each and every one of these questions is perfectly valid. If we fail to pass this conference report before we adjourn, I would hate to be in the position of having to answer them.
We owe it to the American public to preempt these questions by resisting the invitation to lose sight of the bigger picture. Today, we are trying to pass an historic aviation safety and security bill. Let us get the job done for the American public. I urge that the Senate immediately take up for consideration the conference report to accompany H.R. 3539.
Let me add that I pledge to join whatever efforts the Senator from Alaska, who is in the chair, or others take to ensure this conference report passes before we adjourn. This legislation is yet another example of the excellent bipartisan cooperation of the Commerce Committee. The Hollings amendment enjoys the bipartisan support of all of the Senate conferees. In that bipartisan spirit, I urge Senators from both sides of the aisle to join our effort to pass the FAA conference report.
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