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.
“FAA EXTENSION, SAFETY, AND SECURITY ACT OF 2016” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1087-E1088 on July 12, 2016.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
FAA EXTENSION, SAFETY, AND SECURITY ACT OF 2016
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speech of
HON. RICK LARSEN
of washington
in the house of representatives
Monday, July 11, 2016
Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this extension to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This measure is the product of dedicated bipartisan work. For that, I thank Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member DeFazio--and, from across the Capitol, Senator Thune and Senator Nelson. I am pleased that we included some time-sensitive and safety- and security- critical measures in this legislation. Passing this extension is the right thing to do for the safety and security of the American traveling public.
In addition, I am pleased that the legislation directs the FAA to continue moving forward on safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and directs the Department of Transportation to move forward on a long-overdue rule to better assist disabled travelers.
However, there are many important bipartisan provisions that regrettably did not make the cut. I stand by my remarks regarding the first extension in September as well as the extension we passed in March. We did not have to go down this road.
Because of a desire to privatize the nation's air traffic control
(ATC) system, some critical pieces of the legislation have been tied up.
We could have been here on the Floor today with a long-term reauthorization bill that took a comprehensive approach to addressing the pressing needs of the FAA, aviation safety and air travel. Mr. Speaker, if you ask 10 aviation stakeholders to identify the area of the FAA most in need of reform, I would venture to say most if not all 10 of them would say, ``certification.''
Both the House and Senate long-term FAA bills included far-reaching reforms to streamline the FAA certification process that would help U.S. manufacturers become more competitive, expand their global presence and create jobs in the United States.
The certification reforms that have bipartisan and bicameral support would have immediate benefits in my home state of Washington--where aviation manufacturing is a significant economic driver--as well as for the entire U.S. economy.
They would improve safety by permitting manufacturers to deliver newer and safer technology to the market more quickly.
Yet this legislation omits most of those reforms. That is a critical and unfortunate omission, in my view.
In addition, this legislation fails to synchronize flight attendant rest rules with pilot rest rules. Synchronizing these rules would enable flight attendants to receive the rest they need and further improve the safety and security of the flying public.
And while it falls outside the jurisdiction of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, I have serious concerns about expanding the look-back period to fifteen years for current and prospective airport employees.
I said back in February, when T&I marked up a controversial long-term FAA reauthorization, that I feared we were in for more serial extensions.
All Democrats and two Republicans voted against that bill because of its science experiment with air traffic control privatization. But the rest of the bill had strong bipartisan support, and instead of enacting another extension, we could be here to enact meaningful reforms that aviation stakeholders need.
So it is with disappointment that I am here to support a temporary extension.
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