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+
+ - PUTTING U.S. AVIATION AT RISK: THE IMPACT OF THE SHUTDOWN
+
+[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
+[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
+
+
+ PUTTING U.S. AVIATION AT RISK: THE IMPACT OF THE SHUTDOWN
+
+=======================================================================
+
+ (116-2)
+
+ HEARING
+
+ BEFORE THE
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE ON
+ AVIATION
+
+ OF THE
+
+ COMMITTEE ON
+ TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
+ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
+
+ ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
+
+ FIRST SESSION
+
+ __________
+
+ FEBRUARY 13, 2019
+
+ __________
+
+ Printed for the use of the
+ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
+
+[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+ Available online at: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-
+ transportation?path=/browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/
+ transportation
+
+ __________
+
+
+ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
+35-067 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020
+
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+ COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
+
+ PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon, Chair
+
+ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, SAM GRAVES, Missouri
+ District of Columbia DON YOUNG, Alaska
+EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD,
+ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland Arkansas
+RICK LARSEN, Washington BOB GIBBS, Ohio
+GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida
+DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky
+STEVE COHEN, Tennessee MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina
+ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania
+JOHN GARAMENDI, California RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois
+HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr., ROB WOODALL, Georgia
+Georgia JOHN KATKO, New York
+ANDRE CARSON, Indiana BRIAN BABIN, Texas
+DINA TITUS, Nevada GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana
+SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina
+JARED HUFFMAN, California MIKE BOST, Illinois
+JULIA BROWNLEY, California RANDY K. WEBER, Sr., Texas
+FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida DOUG LaMALFA, California
+DONALD M. PAYNE, Jr., New Jersey BRUCE WESTERMAN, Arkansas
+ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California LLOYD SMUCKER, Pennsylvania
+MARK DeSAULNIER, California PAUL MITCHELL, Michigan
+STACEY E. PLASKETT, Virgin Islands BRIAN J. MAST, Florida
+STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin
+SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California, Vice GARY J. PALMER, Alabama
+Chair BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
+ANTHONY G. BROWN, Maryland JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON,
+ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York Puerto Rico
+TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
+GREG STANTON, Arizona ROSS SPANO, Florida
+DEBBIE MUCARSEL-POWELL, Florida PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
+LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas CAROL D. MILLER, West Virginia
+COLIN Z. ALLRED, Texas GREG PENCE, Indiana
+SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
+ABBY FINKENAUER, Iowa
+JESUS G. GARCIA, Illinois
+ANTONIO DELGADO, New York
+CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire
+ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
+HARLEY ROUDA, California
+
+ (ii)
+
+
+ Subcommittee on Aviation
+
+ RICK LARSEN, Washington, Chair
+
+ANDRE CARSON, Indiana GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana
+STACEY E. PLASKETT, Virgin Islands DON YOUNG, Alaska
+STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida
+ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky
+ District of Columbia SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania
+DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois ROB WOODALL, Georgia
+STEVE COHEN, Tennessee JOHN KATKO, New York
+HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr., DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina
+Georgia LLOYD SMUCKER, Pennsylvania
+DINA TITUS, Nevada PAUL MITCHELL, Michigan
+JULIA BROWNLEY, California BRIAN J. MAST, Florida
+ANTHONY G. BROWN, Maryland MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin
+GREG STANTON, Arizona BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
+COLIN Z. ALLRED, Texas TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
+JESUS G. GARCIA, Illinois ROSS SPANO, Florida
+EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
+SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York SAM GRAVES, Missouri (Ex Officio)
+DONALD M. PAYNE, Jr., New Jersey
+SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
+ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
+GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
+SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California
+PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon (Ex
+Officio)
+
+ (iii)
+
+ CONTENTS
+
+ Page
+
+Summary of Subject Matter........................................ vii
+
+ STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
+
+Hon. Rick Larsen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
+ Washington, and Chair, Subcommittee on Aviation:
+
+ Opening statement............................................ 1
+ Prepared statement........................................... 3
+Hon. Sam Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State of
+ Missouri, and Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and
+ Infrastructure:
+
+ Opening statement............................................ 4
+ Prepared statement........................................... 5
+Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, a Representative in Congress from the
+ State of Oregon, and Chair, Committee on Transportation and
+ Infrastructure, opening statement.............................. 5
+Hon. Garret Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State
+ of Louisiana, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Aviation:
+
+ Opening statement............................................ 7
+ Prepared statement........................................... 8
+Hon. Stacey E. Plaskett, a Delegate in Congress from the Virgin
+ Islands, prepared statement.................................... 77
+Hon. Greg Stanton, a Representative in Congress from the State of
+ Arizona, prepared statement.................................... 77
+
+ WITNESSES
+
+Paul Rinaldi, President, National Air Traffic Controllers
+ Association, AFL-CIO:
+
+ Oral statement............................................... 9
+ Prepared statement........................................... 10
+Michael Perrone, President, Professional Aviation Safety
+ Specialists, AFL-CIO:
+
+ Oral statement............................................... 19
+ Prepared statement........................................... 21
+Nicholas E. Calio, President and CEO, Airlines for America:
+
+ Oral statement............................................... 25
+ Prepared statement........................................... 27
+Sara Nelson, International President, Association of Flight
+ Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO:
+
+ Oral statement............................................... 29
+ Prepared statement........................................... 31
+Peter J. Bunce, President and CEO, General Aviation Manufacturers
+ Association:
+
+ Oral statement............................................... 33
+ Prepared statement........................................... 35
+
+ SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
+
+Letter of February 12, 2019, from the Aeronautical Repair Station
+ Association et al., Submitted for the Record by Hon. Larsen.... 48
+Letter of February 12, 2019, from the Commercial Drone Alliance
+ et al., Submitted for the Record by Hon. Larsen................ 49
+Statement from the National Business Aviation Association,
+ Submitted for the Record by Hon. Larsen........................ 73
+Statement from Faye Malarkey Black, President and Chief Executive
+ Officer, Regional Airline Association, Submitted for the Record
+ by Hon. Larsen................................................. 74
+Statement from the American Federation of Government Employees,
+ Submitted for the Record by Hon. DeFazio....................... 78
+
+ APPENDIX
+
+Questions from Hon. Steve Cohen for Paul M. Rinaldi.............. 81
+Questions from Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr. for Paul M.
+ Rinaldi........................................................ 82
+Questions from Hon. Stacey E. Plaskett for Paul M. Rinaldi....... 83
+Questions from Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr. for Michael
+ Perrone........................................................ 83
+Questions from Hon. Stacey E. Plaskett for Nicholas E. Calio..... 83
+
+[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+ February 8, 2019
+
+ SUMMARY OF SUBJECT MATTER
+
+ TO: Members, Committee on Transportation and
+Infrastructure
+ FROM: Staff, Subcommittee on Aviation
+ RE: Subcommittee Hearing on ``Putting U.S. Aviation
+at Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown''
+
+ Purpose
+
+ The Subcommittee on Aviation will meet on Wednesday,
+February 13, 2019, at 10 o'clock a.m., in HVC 210 of the
+Capitol Visitor Center to hold a hearing titled, ``Putting U.S.
+Aviation at Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown.'' The hearing
+will gather stakeholder perspectives on how the recent 35-day
+partial shutdown of the Federal Government impacted Federal
+Aviation Administration (FAA) functions and operations, as well
+as the U.S. aviation industry and workforce. The subcommittee
+will hear testimony from the Association of Flight Attendants
+(AFA), General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA),
+National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA),
+Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), and Airlines
+for America (A4A).
+
+ Overview
+
+ The FAA is the Federal agency responsible for ensuring the
+safe and efficient operation of the National Airspace System.
+During the recent 35-day partial shutdown of the Federal
+Government \1\--the longest in U.S. history--due to a lapse in
+appropriations, between 30 and 40 percent of FAA employees were
+furloughed,\2\ challenging the agency's ability to fulfill this
+critical mandate. Thousands of safety-critical FAA employees,
+including more than 14,000 air traffic controllers and a
+limited number of aviation safety inspectors and technicians,
+worked during the shutdown without compensation.\3\ In addition
+to impacts on the FAA workforce, the shutdown negatively
+affected the U.S. aviation industry, including airlines,
+general aviation, airports, manufacturers, and passengers.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \1\ Due to a lapse in Federal spending, a partial shutdown of the
+Federal Government occurred, from December 22, 2018, to January 25,
+2019.
+ \2\ See DOT, Operations During a Lapse in Annual Appropriations
+Plans by Operating Administration, at 3 (Dec. 2018), https://
+cms.dot.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/mission/budget/328471/
+consolidated-december-2018-shutdown-plan-final.pdf and revised on Jan.
+11, 2019, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/
+mission/budget/328471/usdot-consolidated-december-2018-shutdown-plan-
+01-11-19-red-line.pdf.
+ \3\ Id.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Shutdown Impacts on FAA Workforce
+
+ Air Traffic Controllers. More than 14,000 controllers
+worked during the shutdown without pay.\4\ During the shutdown,
+controllers in the busiest U.S. air traffic facilities worked
+overtime--as much as 60 hours per week.\5\ Controllers handle,
+on average, more than 40,000 flights daily, across 29 million
+square miles of airspace.\6\ Yet, according to NATCA, while
+controllers were performing their safety-critical
+responsibilities, some were concerned about when they would
+receive their next paychecks and how they would pay
+expenses.\7\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \4\ Figure provided to committee staff by the FAA on Dec. 21, 2018.
+ \5\ See Letter, Air Traffic Controllers, Pilots, Flight Attendants
+Detail Serious Safety Concerns Due to Shutdown (Jan. 23, 2019),
+available at https://www.natca.org/Images/NATCA_PDFs/Publications/
+20190123-AFA-ALPA-NATCA-Joint-Statement-FINAL.pdf.
+ \6\ See FAA, Air Traffic by the Numbers, https://www.faa.gov/
+air_traffic/by_the_numbers/ (last visited Feb. 4, 2019).
+ \7\ See TIME, ``We're All Human.'' Air Traffic Controllers Are
+Missing Another Paycheck, and It's Taking a Toll, Jan. 24, 2019, http:/
+/time.com/5512249/air-traffic-controllers-paychecks-shutdown/.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ According to NATCA, controller staffing at FAA air traffic
+control facilities is already at a 30-year low, due in part to
+the Government shutdown in 2013, and more than 20 percent of
+the current controller workforce is eligible to retire.\8\
+During the 35-day shutdown, the FAA's controller training
+academy was closed, preventing a pipeline of new controllers
+from completing the training needed to enter an FAA facility
+for on-the-job-training.\9\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \8\ See Letter, supra note 5.
+ \9\ Id.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Inspectors and Technicians. According to PASS, during the
+35-day shutdown, the majority of FAA aviation safety inspectors
+were furloughed. These inspectors are responsible for oversight
+of commercial and general aviation aircraft, pilots, flight
+instructors, and repair stations in the United States and
+abroad.\10\ In addition, FAA manufacturing inspectors--who
+oversee the manufacturing of aircraft and aircraft components--
+and engineering services technicians--who implement air traffic
+control operation projects--were furloughed,\11\ potentially
+impacting the FAA's ability to ensure the highest level of
+aviation safety. Despite the FAA recalling inspectors and
+engineers during the shutdown, these employees, like
+controllers, did not receive pay until the shutdown ended.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \10\ PASS, Aviation Safety Inspectors Grounded During Government
+Shutdown (Dec. 22, 2018), https://www.passnational.org/index.php/news/
+706-aviation-safety-inspectors-grounded-during-government-shutdown.
+ \11\ Id.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Other FAA Employees. Despite contract authority provided by
+the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, multiyear appropriations,
+and use of franchise funds, allowing the FAA to pay and keep on
+the job approximately 2,300 FAA employees, in total, more than
+17,000 employees with positions at the FAA were furloughed at
+the start of the shutdown. The furlough of these employees,
+across all of the agency's lines of business, temporarily
+ceased, disrupted, or delayed important work and agency
+oversight of the industry. Below are examples, provided by
+various aviation stakeholders, of how the furlough of FAA
+employees impacted agency operations and the U.S. aviation
+industry.
+ Airspace Modernization: The FAA's work on
+NextGen--the modernization program for the U.S. air traffic
+control system--was suspended,\12\ further delaying the
+anticipated safety and efficiency benefits for airspace users
+and the traveling public.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \12\ Id. at 5.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Important FAA Rulemakings: Planned and ongoing
+aviation rulemaking activities were suspended.\13\ Many of
+these rules, such as safety rules to address the risks posed by
+drones in U.S. airspace, are needed to advance the U.S.
+aviation industry and make our skies safer.\14\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \13\ Id.
+ \14\ See DOT, Report on DOT Significant Rulemakings, Nov. 2018,
+available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
+eAgendaMain?operation=OPERATION_GET_AGENCY_RULE_
+LIST¤tPub=true&agencyCode=&showStage=active&agencyCd=2100&Image58.
+x=
+25&Image58.y=14 (listing more than 20 FAA-significant rulemakings).
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Certification and Validation: The shutdown
+prevented the aviation industry from receiving important FAA
+approvals. For example, airlines were unable to add new planes
+to their fleets, delaying or disrupting services,\15\ and
+manufacturers could not receive the FAA-approval needed to get
+new aircraft, aviation equipment, and products to market.\16\
+In addition, the furlough of FAA employees temporarily halted
+FAA-inspection and certification of repair stations and
+training manuals for pilots.\17\ Combined, the lack of FAA-
+approvals cost companies, especially small businesses,
+financially.\18\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \15\ Letter from more than 30 aviation and aerospace organizations
+to the President of the United States, Speak of the U.S. House of
+Representatives, and Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, Jan. 10, 2019,
+https://www.iata.org/pressroom/Documents/letter-us-aviation-shutdown-
+impacts.pdf.
+ \16\ GAMA, FAA Shutdown Impacts on General Aviation Manufacturing
+and Maintenance (Jan. 22, 2019) (on file with committee staff).
+ \17\ Id.
+ \18\ Id.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Airport Infrastructure: The FAA issued no new
+Airport Improvement Program grants to U.S. airports during the
+shutdown, and the furlough of FAA employees who work with
+airports on upcoming construction projects may cause
+unnecessary delays and increased costs of infrastructure
+projects.\19\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \19\ See Letter, supra note 15.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Congressional Mandates: Nearly all of the FAA's
+implementation of congressional mandates in the recently
+enacted FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 and prior laws was
+brought to a halt. Such mandates include requiring 10 hours of
+minimum rest between duty periods for U.S. flight attendants,
+FAA review of its current cabin evacuation procedures,
+requiring the installation of secondary cockpit barriers on
+each new aircraft that is manufactured for delivery to
+passenger airlines, general aviation safety provisions, and
+other important FAA reform mandates.\20\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \20\ See sections 335-337, and sections 392-396 of the FAA
+Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-254).
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Other Shutdown Impacts on U.S. Aviation
+
+ Civil aviation plays a central role in the United States,
+supporting more than $1.5 trillion of economic activity and
+more than 11 million jobs, according to industry groups.\21\
+The unprecedented 35-day partial shutdown negatively affected
+the U.S. aviation industry, including airlines, general
+aviation, airports, manufacturers, and passengers. The shutdown
+also affected:
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \21\ See Letter, supra note 15.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Aviation Security. More than 50,000
+Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport security
+agents worked during the shutdown without paychecks.\22\ As the
+shutdown stretched on, an increasing number of TSA agents took
+unscheduled leave or quit their jobs, leaving airports worried
+about staffing at security checkpoints.\23\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \22\ N.Y. TIMES, T.S.A. Agents Refuse to Work During Shutdown,
+Raising Fears of Airport Turmoil, Jan. 11, 2019, https://
+www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/nyregion/tsa-shutdown.html.
+ \23\ Id.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Air Travel. One U.S. airline reported losing an
+estimated $25 million in business due to fewer Government
+employees and contractors traveling during the shutdown.\24\ In
+addition, airport security lines at the Nation's busiest
+airports grew due to fewer TSA agents on duty, causing longer
+than normal wait times.\25\ The shutdown also resulted in the
+furlough of all employees in the Department of Transportation's
+aviation consumer protection division--the office responsible
+for monitoring compliance with and investigating violations of
+U.S. consumer protection and civil rights requirements.\26\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \24\ USA TODAY, Delta CEO: Government Shutdown Tab $25 Million and
+Counting, Jan. 15, 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/
+2019/01/15/delta-ceo-government-shutdown-costs-25-million-lost-
+business/2576031002/.
+ \25\ See N.Y. TIMES, supra note 22.
+ \26\ See Operations During a Lapse, supra note 2.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Accident Investigations. The furlough of
+employees at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)--
+the independent agency responsible for investigating
+transportation accidents and advocating for safety
+improvements--stopped work on more than 1,800 ongoing general
+aviation and limited aviation safety investigations, and
+prevented the Board from working with the FAA to investigate 15
+general aviation accidents that occurred during the
+shutdown.\27\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \27\ NTSB, NTSB Resumes Normal Operations--Updated (Jan. 29, 2019),
+https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20190129.aspx.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Witnesses
+
+ Mr. Paul Rinaldi, President, National Air Traffic
+Controllers Association, AFL-CIO
+ Mr. Mike Perrone, National President,
+Professional Aviation Safety Specialists
+ Mr. Nicholas E. Calio, President and CEO,
+Airlines for America
+ Ms. Sara Nelson, International President,
+Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
+ Mr. Pete Bunce, President and CEO, General
+Aviation Manufacturers Association
+
+
+ PUTTING U.S. AVIATION AT RISK: THE IMPACT OF THE SHUTDOWN
+
+ ----------
+
+
+ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2019
+
+ House of Representatives,
+ Subcommittee on Aviation,
+ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
+ Washington, DC.
+ The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in
+room 210, House Capitol Visitor Center, Hon. Rick Larsen
+(Chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
+ Mr. Larsen. The subcommittee will come to order. Before we
+start, I want to recognize Chairman DeFazio.
+ Mr. DeFazio. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. In
+commemoration of this long-anticipated occasion, your first
+chairing of the Subcommittee on Aviation, I have here a small
+gift. So hopefully that will come in handy.
+ Mr. Larsen. Craft brewery from Oregon.
+ [Laughter.]
+ Mr. DeFazio. That is after the hearing.
+ Mr. Larsen. Then we had better finish after noon. Very
+nice. Thank you very much, Peter.
+ Mr. DeFazio. A gavel, which is commemorative.
+ [Applause.]
+ Mr. Larsen. It has got my name on it, so I never have to
+give this one away.
+ Mr. DeFazio. Right.
+ Mr. Larsen. Well, then, we will take a recess and come back
+into order with the new gavel.
+ [Laughter.]
+ Mr. Larsen. Thanks, Pete. Appreciate it. Garret will take
+the other one.
+ So I ask unanimous consent that Members not on the
+subcommittee today be permitted to sit with the subcommittee at
+today's hearing and ask questions. Without objection, so
+ordered.
+ And I want to say good morning to everyone and welcome to
+the first Aviation Subcommittee hearing of the 116th Congress.
+Nineteen days ago, the partial Government shutdown ended but
+left significant consequences to the U.S. aviation workforce,
+industry, and economy in its wake.
+ But we have a forward-looking aviation and aerospace agenda
+for this Congress. In fact, it was my intention for the first
+hearing of this subcommittee to be exploring that agenda that
+included ensuring aviation safety, fostering innovation in the
+U.S. airspace, improving U.S. competitiveness in the global
+marketplace, and enhancing the air travel experience for
+passengers.
+ This agenda is still my agenda; the subcommittee will
+continue to pursue it. However, the recent shutdown shed new
+light on its impacts on the aviation industry and the
+workforce. But the roots of this hearing go back at least to
+2013 and that shutdown under a Democratic administration, when
+FAA employees were furloughed and air traffic controllers
+worked without pay.
+ Even then we were trying to find a way to shield this most
+critical part of the Government from future shutdowns. So the
+purpose of this hearing, then, is twofold. First, I want to
+ensure that this subcommittee creates the public record of
+shutdown impacts on the aviation and aerospace industry. The
+panel assembled here today is in the best position to explain
+these impacts.
+ I would note that the shutdown has also delayed the
+subcommittee's work. FAA furloughs have delayed implementation
+of last year's FAA reauthorization, which in turn delays the
+oversight mission of this subcommittee. The shutdown also
+delayed planning for the subcommittee's trip to the FAA Tech
+Center to observe their critical research to improve the safety
+of the national airspace.
+ The second purpose of this hearing is to build a case for
+H.R. 1108, the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019. I want
+to ensure that the FAA has resources and funding stability
+needed to preserve the safety of the Nation's aviation system.
+ Throughout this most recent shutdown, I met with the
+dedicated women and men of the aviation workforce and did hear
+about the harmful impacts the shutdown had on their lives. One
+constituent from Bellingham, Washington, shared with me that
+her brother, an air traffic controller, worked more than 60
+hours a week without pay during the shutdown. Her brother faced
+severe mental and physical stress wondering when his next
+paycheck would come.
+ Aerospace companies in northwest Washington State let me
+know that they feared that we needed to suspend production.
+Local aviation safety personnel showed me their pay stubs for
+zero dollars. Another air traffic controller with whom I had
+met had to dip into her children's college savings to get by.
+During the shutdown, thousands of air traffic controllers,
+engineers, technicians, and critical safety personnel were
+working without pay.
+ U.S. aviation is the gold standard of flight because of
+these skilled individuals. Their work ensures the safety of the
+traveling public and efficiency of the U.S. airspace. As I
+noted, the FAA was unable to begin implementation of
+congressional mandates in the FAA reauthorization such as
+requiring 10 hours of rest for flight attendants, further
+integrating new users in the airspace, and setting up rules to
+address sexual harassment of employees, passengers, and crew.
+ Furloughed FAA inspectors were unable to approve new
+aircraft, aviation products, and infrastructure, hindering U.S.
+global competitiveness. The FAA's work on streamlining the
+certification process for aviation and aerospace products came
+to a halt. No new airport improvement program grants could be
+issued, hurting projects to modernize and maintain airports.
+ And as the full committee heard last week, Federal aviation
+infrastructure investment falls short already of growing needs.
+Washington State alone needs over $190 billion in
+infrastructure investments, with aviation projects requiring
+$12.6 billion.
+ Congress must do what it can to ensure that the FAA, its
+employees, and the U.S. aviation economy are protected from
+another Government shutdown. So to this end, committee chair
+Mr. DeFazio and I introduced legislation that authorizes the
+FAA to continue to draw from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund,
+AATF, during a funding lapse and operate at current levels with
+no congressional action required.
+ The partial Government shutdown unnecessarily hurt American
+families and jeopardized the safety of the largest, busiest,
+and most complex airspace system in the world. To use the
+metaphor, the lights must stay on at the runways across the
+United States.
+ I appreciate the witnesses for taking the time to join
+today's discussion and for your work during the shutdown. I
+look forward to hearing more about the impacts on your members,
+and how Congress can support you in the future. It is my hope
+that with this hearing, the subcommittee will have made its
+case that the shutdown impacts are harmful to the economy and
+that the Aviation Funding Stability Act is the mechanism to
+shield the FAA and the aviation and aerospace economy from
+detrimental impacts of future shutdowns.
+ And I look forward to getting this subcommittee back to its
+forward-looking agenda of ensuring aviation safety, fostering
+innovation in U.S. airspace, improving U.S. competitiveness in
+the global marketplace, and enhancing the air travel experience
+for passengers. And with that, I yield back 17 seconds. Thank
+you.
+ [Mr. Larsen's prepared statement follows:]
+
+
+ Statement of Hon. Rick Larsen, a Representative in Congress from the
+ State of Washington, and Chair, Subcommittee on Aviation
+ Good morning and thank you to today's witnesses for joining the
+first Aviation Subcommittee hearing of the 116th Congress.
+ Nineteen days ago, the partial government shutdown ended, but left
+significant consequences to the U.S. aviation workforce, industry and
+economy in its wake.
+ We have a forward-looking aviation and aerospace agenda for this
+Congress.
+ In fact, it was my intention for the first hearing of this
+Subcommittee to begin exploring an agenda that included: ensuring
+aviation safety, fostering innovation in U.S. airspace, improving U.S.
+competitiveness in the global marketplace; and enhancing the air travel
+experience for passengers.
+ This agenda is still my agenda, and this Subcommittee will continue
+to pursue it.
+ However, the recent shutdown shed new light on its impacts on the
+aviation industry and workforce.
+ But the roots of this hearing go back to the 2013 shutdown under a
+Democratic Administration when FAA employees were furloughed, and air
+traffic controllers worked without pay.
+ Even then, we were trying to find a way to shield this most
+critical part of the government from future shutdowns.
+ The purpose of this hearing, then, is two-fold.
+ First, I want to ensure this Subcommittee creates the public record
+of shutdown impacts on the aviation and aerospace industry.
+ The panel assembled here today is in the best position to explain
+these impacts.
+ I would note that the shutdown has delayed this Subcommittee's work
+as well. FAA furloughs have delayed implementation of last year's FAA
+authorization, which in turn delays the oversight mission of this
+Subcommittee.
+ The shutdown has also delayed planning for this Subcommittee's trip
+to the FAA Technical Center to observe their critical research to
+improve the safety of the National Airspace.
+ The second purpose of this hearing is to build the case for H.R.
+1108, the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019.
+ I want to ensure the FAA has the resources and funding stability
+needed to preserve the safety of the Nation's aviation system.
+ Throughout the most recent shutdown, I met with the dedicated women
+and men of the aviation workforce and heard about the harmful impacts
+the shutdown had on their lives.
+ One constituent from Bellingham, Washington shared with me that her
+brother, an air traffic controller, worked more than 60 hours a week,
+without pay, during the shutdown. Her brother faced severe mental and
+physical stress wondering when his next paycheck would come.
+ Aerospace companies in Northwest Washington let me know they feared
+they would need to suspend production.
+ Local aviation safety personnel received pay stubs for $0.
+ And another air traffic controller with whom I met had to dip into
+her children's college savings to get by.
+ During the shutdown, thousands of air traffic controllers,
+engineers, technicians and critical safety personnel were working
+without pay.
+ U.S. aviation is the gold standard of flight because of these
+skilled individuals. Their work ensures the safety of the traveling
+public and efficiency of the U.S. airspace.
+ As I noted, the FAA was unable to begin implementation of
+Congressional mandates in the FAA Reauthorization, such as requiring
+ten hours of rest for flight attendants, further integrating new users
+into the airspace and addressing sexual harassment of employees,
+passengers and crew.
+ Furloughed FAA inspectors were unable to approve new aircraft,
+aviation products and infrastructure, hindering U.S. global
+competitiveness.
+ The FAA's work on streamlining the certification process for
+aviation and aerospace products, came to a halt.
+ No new Airport Improvement Program grants could be issued, hurting
+projects to modernize and maintain airports.
+ As the full Committee heard last week, federal aviation
+infrastructure investment falls far short of growing needs.
+ Washington state alone needs over $190 billion in infrastructure
+investments, with aviation projects requiring $12.6 billion.
+ Congress must do what it can to ensure the FAA, its employees and
+the U.S. aviation economy are protected from another government
+shutdown.
+ To this end, Committee Chair DeFazio and I introduced legislation
+that authorizes the FAA to continue to draw from the Airport and Airway
+Trust Fund (AATF) during a funding lapse and operate at current funding
+levels with no Congressional action required.
+ The partial government shutdown unnecessarily hurt American
+families and jeopardized the safety of the largest, busiest and most
+complex airspace system in the world.
+ To use a metaphor, the lights must stay on at runways across the
+United States.
+ I appreciate the witnesses for taking the time to join today's
+discussion and for your work during the shutdown.
+ I look forward to hearing more about the impacts on your members,
+and how Congress can support you in the future.
+ It is my hope that with this hearing, this Subcommittee will have
+made its case that the shutdown impacts are harmful to the economy and
+that the Aviation Funding Stability Act is the mechanism to shield the
+FAA and the aviation and aerospace economy from the detrimental impacts
+of future shutdowns.
+ And I look forward to getting this Subcommittee back to its
+forward-looking agenda of ensuring aviation safety, fostering
+innovation in U.S. airspace, improving U.S. competitiveness in the
+global marketplace, and enhancing the air travel experience for
+passengers.
+
+ Mr. Larsen. And I want to now call, though, on the ranking
+member of the full committee, Mr. Sam Graves, for the ranking
+member's statement.
+ Mr. Graves of Missouri. Thank you, Chairman Larsen, and
+congratulations on being appointed to chairman. It is always
+good.
+ I guess if you think about it, we have probably averted
+another shutdown. That is the good news. But with the Green New
+Deal or the Green Dream, I guess we are not going to have to
+worry about that in aviation anymore because we are going to
+shut down the whole aviation sector and all 11 million jobs
+that go along with that.
+ Mr. Larsen. A point I have made myself.
+ Mr. Graves of Missouri. My actual purpose today is I want
+to thank the NATCA employees, the PASS employees, and all the
+Federal employees who worked without pay during the shutdown to
+keep the economy moving and our skies safe. And I understand
+that during the entire duration of the shutdown, while the
+number of operations were up from the same time as last year,
+there was no increase in serious safety incidents. And we owe a
+tremendous debt of gratitude for the professionalism that was
+displayed under some very difficult circumstances.
+ As we learn more about the short- and long-term impacts of
+the shutdown, Congress has to hear, I believe, from the FAA and
+the Department of Transportation about how the shutdown played
+out and what efforts are underway to recover from those obvious
+impacts. This information, I think, is vital to us to truly
+understand the scope of the situation.
+ [Mr. Graves of Missouri's prepared statement follows:]
+
+
+ Statement of Hon. Sam Graves, a Representative in Congress from the
+State of Missouri, and Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and
+ Infrastructure
+ Thank you, Chairman Larsen for holding this hearing and
+congratulations on being named Subcommittee Chairman.
+ Fortunately, it looks like another shutdown will be averted.
+Although if some in Congress get their way, we may not have to worry
+about shutting down the aviation system in the future--because
+apparently, under the Green New Deal, there wouldn't even be an
+aviation system anymore. Imagining replacing our aviation system--a
+cornerstone of our economy that provides approximately 11 million
+Americans with jobs--is just ludicrous, but that's a topic for another
+day.
+ Today, I want to thank NATCA employees, PASS employees, and all
+Federal employees who worked without pay during the shutdown to keep
+our economy moving and our skies safe. I understand that during the
+duration of the shutdown, while the number of operations were up from
+the same time last year, there was no increase in serious safety
+incidents.
+ We owe you all a tremendous debt of gratitude for your
+professionalism under very difficult circumstances.
+ As we learn more about the short- and long-term impacts of the
+shutdown, Congress must hear from the FAA and the Department of
+Transportation about how the shutdown played out and what efforts are
+underway to recover from those impacts. This information is vital for
+us to truly understand the scope of the situation.
+
+ Mr. Graves of Missouri. So with that, I thank you again for
+having this important hearing, and appreciate the opportunity
+very much.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Graves.
+ I now recognize the chair of the full committee, Mr.
+DeFazio, for a statement.
+ Mr. DeFazio. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Your election--we do not
+appoint them on our side, Sam; we elect them--is a high point,
+and I think it is going to benefit aviation and the industry
+very well.
+ Like the two before me, I want to thank all of those who
+worked without pay during the 35 days. I also want to thank
+those who were furloughed and have come back to a mountain of
+work, and feel like maybe that they are not essential. They are
+essential, and I want to assure them that that, in part, is why
+we have this legislation before us today.
+ I met with local employees, including air traffic
+controllers, and one younger, newer controller was working
+overtime because my tower, like many across the country, is
+understaffed so they are already working overtime shifts. But
+he also, because of a lack of pay, had to take a job as an Uber
+driver.
+ So how rested is that young man if he works extra hours in
+a very stressful job and then undertakes something else that
+barely makes him minimum wage so that they can at least put on
+the table? That just cannot happen again. And that certainly
+happened to people, and I am sure TSA workers and many others
+were doing that in addition to the garage sales and all those
+other stupid things that were recommended they do or they had
+to do out of necessity.
+ I am concerned that the system was not as safe as it could
+and should be during the shutdown because of the reason I
+already mentioned: people stressed out, not getting paychecks,
+doing extra work to provide for their families. Aviation is too
+critical to allow this to happen again.
+ And we still have not gotten over the impacts of the 2013
+shutdown, where the school was closed and a bunch of the people
+who were in the school, some of them aged out, actually, and
+others just did not come back. And I imagine this time it might
+even be worse because it was a longer shutdown and they are
+going to question, boy, am I going to go through this rigorous
+training process to get a job where every once in a while I am
+working for free?
+ So we are discouraging the next generation, and we are
+already at a critical point with so many people eligible to
+retire. And by the way, if they say, ``Wow, retirees got paid
+and I did not; maybe it is time for me to pull the plug,'' they
+are not going to be there to train that next generation of air
+traffic controllers.
+ So we have got to provide some certainty to those who are
+working there now and those who want to work there in the
+future and those who work in other aspects. The critical things
+that the FAA is working on did not get done.
+ It took me 3 years to finally push back against the model
+aircraft people and require that we have remote drone
+identification, which is absolutely critical, or we are going
+to be shutting down airports all around the country because
+some idiot is illegally flying their drone and we cannot find
+them? And sooner or later they are going to fly one into a
+turbine engine, and maybe we are going to have a catastrophic
+failure.
+ So they have got to get that rule out. The flight attendant
+duty time rule was delayed. Many other critical rulemakings
+were delayed at the FAA. So that is why we have introduced this
+legislation. The FAA is unique. It pays for itself. Why should
+they be subject to a shutdown?
+ And it is so critical, and it is so safety critical, and it
+is internationally critical. So this is, I think, a commonsense
+piece of legislation. I am hopeful that once we get whatever
+deal is coming forth this week passed, if we get it passed, and
+if it gets signed by the President, and we do not have another
+shutdown, which I am cautiously optimistic, that people will
+look favorably upon our legislation as a way of preventing this
+sort of dysfunction in the future.
+ With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ So I would now like to move to the panel--oh, I am sorry.
+First I will move to Mr. Graves. The other Mr. Graves is
+recognized.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And first
+I want to congratulate you for assuming the chairmanship of the
+subcommittee. I look forward to working with you and continuing
+the longstanding bipartisan tradition that this committee and
+subcommittee has held. And I look forward also, Mr. DeFazio,
+for continuing to work with you in building on some of the
+success we have had in recent years on transportation highway
+bill, the water resources bill, the disaster bill, FAA bill,
+and others.
+ And Ranking Member Graves, I want to thank you for the
+confidence that you have instilled in appointing us to this
+position, and looking forward to working with you and the other
+leadership to implement the FAA authorization bill and many
+other priorities.
+ First, I want to thank the FAA employees and many other
+Federal employees who worked during the shutdown without being
+paid. Let's be clear on what a shutdown is. A shutdown is a
+failure of elected officials to do their job. I feel very much
+for the Federal employees that were working without pay
+because, one, you did not do anything to deserve it; two, you
+cannot do anything to solve it. And I think that is unfair.
+ In regard to us, I think that one of the real solutions is
+actually to force Members of Congress to not get paid during a
+shutdown, and make it automatic, to where we feel the pain as
+much or more so than any other Federal employee that is
+subjected to our inability to come up with solutions. We did
+donate. We tried to reject our pay from December. We did donate
+all of our pay from December during the shutdown to various
+organizations, including Coast Guard Foundation, Coast Guard
+Mutual Assistance, and others. We worked on a daily basis to
+bring food to Federal employees at TSA, FAA, Coast Guard,
+Federal law enforcement agencies, and others, in many cases
+working together with Congressman Cedric Richmond, in an effort
+to somewhat temper the blow and also show strong support to the
+Federal employees that were stuck in the predicament that they
+were.
+ While I know that the focus right now is on the last
+shutdown, and I get it--that is the one that is on everyone's
+minds--I think it is also important to keep in mind that during
+the Carter administration, I believe we had 56 days' worth of
+shutdowns. During the Obama administration, we had a 16-day
+shutdown. And the second longest shutdown in American history,
+or in recent history, at least, was during the Clinton
+administration.
+ And I say it again: It is a failure of our ability to do
+our jobs. And I think it is inappropriate. And I hate that the
+Federal employees ended up carrying the burden of this. But it
+is important also, as Ranking Member Graves noted, that it
+looks like we are going to be able to avert a shutdown and
+provide a full fiscal year budget through September 30th of
+this year and immediately begin working on the fiscal year 2020
+budget. And I am excited and looking forward to the opportunity
+to work with you all on the authorization components of those
+to make sure that we can continue to have a functional
+Government moving forward.
+ So I want to say again I want to thank you for being here.
+I am sorry that the Federal employees were impacted the way
+that they were. And I am looking forward to working with
+Chairman Larsen to continue implementation of the FAA
+Authorization Act and many other important priorities within
+the aviation industry. I yield back.
+ [Mr. Graves of Louisiana's prepared statement follows:]
+
+
+Statement of Hon. Garret Graves, a Representative in Congress from the
+ State of Louisiana, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Aviation
+ Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling this important hearing on the
+impacts of the shutdown to the aviation system.
+ I want to start by first congratulating you on your selection as
+chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation. This Subcommittee has a long
+history of bipartisan cooperation and of setting aside politics to
+ensure that our national air transportation system remains vibrant and
+safe. I look forward to working with you and with all members of the
+Subcommittee.
+ Nothing exemplifies this Subcommittee's bipartisanship better than
+the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which is the longest FAA
+reauthorization since the 1980's. As this Subcommittee oversees the
+many mandates included in the law, it is important that we understand
+the status of the FAA's implementation plans following the shutdown.
+ It is unfortunate that the FAA is not here today to share that
+information with us, but I know the Subcommittee will be focusing on
+the FAA's implementation efforts in the coming months.
+ It is also important that we understand both the short-and long-
+term impacts of shutdowns on our system and on aerospace stakeholders.
+Today's witnesses and the stakeholders they represent can take credit
+for maintaining the safe operation of the National Airspace System
+during the shutdown. The professionalism of the men and women who run
+the day-to-day operations of all aspects of the system is remarkable.
+Despite very trying circumstances, they continued their work ensuring
+the safety of the system and are to be commended.
+ I thank the witnesses for participating in today's hearing.
+
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Graves, for your comments.
+Appreciate that very much.
+ And now let's turn to the panel. I want to welcome our
+witnesses: Mr. Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air
+Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO; Mr. Mike Perrone,
+national president, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists;
+Mr. Nicholas E. Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for
+America; Ms. Sara Nelson, international president, Association
+of Flight Attendants-CWA; and Mr. Pete Bunce, president and CEO
+of General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
+ Thank you for being here today. We all look forward to your
+testimony. I am going to ask unanimous consent that our
+witnesses' full statements be included in the record. Without
+objection, so ordered. And since your written testimony has
+been made part of the record, the subcommittee requests that
+you limit your oral testimony to 5 minutes.
+ So we will proceed with testimony, starting with Mr.
+Rinaldi.
+
+ TESTIMONY OF PAUL RINALDI, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC
+ CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION, AFL-CIO; MICHAEL PERRONE, PRESIDENT,
+PROFESSIONAL AVIATION SAFETY SPECIALISTS, AFL-CIO; NICHOLAS E.
+ CALIO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AIRLINES FOR AMERICA; SARA NELSON,
+INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS--CWA,
+ AFL-CIO; AND PETER J. BUNCE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, GENERAL
+ AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
+
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Thank you, Chairman Larsen and Ranking Member
+Graves, Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves. Thank you for
+the opportunity to testify about the negative effects of the
+35-day shutdown on the members of the National Air Traffic
+Controllers Association.
+ Every day over 70,000 flights and 2 million passengers move
+through our National Airspace System. Although it is the safest
+system in the world, during the shutdown many of our programs
+that reduce the risk and enhance the safety of the system have
+come to a complete stop.
+ At the time that the shutdown finally ended, I believe the
+system was on the verge of unraveling. Even though the system
+is safer today than it was during the shutdown, it is still
+less safe than it was before the shutdown. The shutdown eroded
+critical layers that are necessary to support and maintain the
+safety of the National Airspace System.
+ For example, programs to prevent wrong surface landings
+were paused. Each year we have more than 200 events in which
+aircraft lands, or attempts to land, on wrong runways,
+taxiways, or even, believe it or not, the entirely wrong
+airport. Most recently last week at Philadelphia International
+Airport, a flight was cleared to land on runway 35, but it had
+lined itself up with the parallel taxiway of Taxiway Echo.
+ A runway safety enhancement called ATAP alerted the
+controller immediately, who instructed the pilot to execute a
+go-around. The pilot overflew two commercial airplanes on the
+taxiway by 600 feet. ATAP is deployed in six airports across
+this country. Prior to the shutdown, the FAA had scheduled to
+deploy ATAP at 13 major additional airports by the end of
+March. That implementation is now delayed to the end of June.
+ In addition, the FAA stopped addressing the risk identified
+through our voluntary safety reporting program ATSAP. ATAP and
+ATSAP are just two of a dozen programs that are now
+significantly delayed and were not functioning correctly during
+the shutdown. That is what makes the system less safe today.
+ Mr. Chairman, on January 25th, travelers experienced delays
+due to decreased capacity. Because the system is complex and
+interconnected, when delays occur at one facility, it ripples
+across the entire system. On that day, a small number of
+controllers in critically staffed areas at two facilities
+individually determined they were not fit for duty.
+ NATCA did not coordinate these absences. This was the
+result of illness and the stress of working over a month
+without getting paid and not knowing when you are going to get
+paid. NATCA does not condone or approve any Federal employee
+participating in a coordinating activity that negatively
+affects the capacity of the National Airspace System.
+ Mr. Chairman, the pressure and the extra stress that was
+inserted into our National Airspace System because of the
+shutdown was intense. We were getting text messages from
+controllers with 17 years' worth of experience making mistakes
+on routine clearances, climbing airplanes into paths of other
+airplanes at the same altitude because they were distracted
+because they were thinking about their mortgage. They were
+thinking about school payments, car payments, food. They were
+thinking about the shutdown. They were fatigued. They were not
+focused at the task at hand.
+ We had controllers going to work every day driving Ubers,
+waiting on tables, to take care of their family. We have worked
+really hard to mitigate distractions and reduce the fatigue in
+our work environment, but this shutdown increased fatigue and
+inserted all types of distractions in our control rooms.
+ Add insult to injury, our workforce still has not been made
+financially whole. This is completely unacceptable, inserting
+this type of risk into our system. As you know, we are at a 30-
+year low of fully certified controllers in the system, of which
+20 percent of them can retire at any moment. If 20 percent
+retire tomorrow because we look at another shutdown, we will
+not be able to run the volume of traffic we do today.
+ It takes 3 to 5 years to mentor an apprentice to become a
+fully certified controller. The FAA had to stop their hiring
+and shut down the training academy because of the shutdown. Our
+staffing crisis is exacerbated by the shutdown. We need to make
+sure this never happens again.
+ I want to thank the Secretary of Transportation Elaine
+Chao, along with Acting Administrator Dan Elwell and the ATO
+Chief Operating Officer Teri Bristol, for their leadership
+through this unacceptable challenge of the National Airspace
+System.
+ Chairman DeFazio, Chairman Larsen, I applaud you for
+introducing the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019, H.R.
+1108. NATCA strongly supports this bill because it meets our
+four core principles and it ensures the safety and efficiency
+of the National Airspace System. It protects the front line
+workforce. The bill provides stable, predictable funding for
+our National Airspace System, and it gives the ability to
+continue to provide service to all the users of the aviation
+community.
+ NATCA urges all Members of Congress to support this
+legislation. I thank you for your time, and I look forward to
+your questions.
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Rinaldi follows:]
+
+
+Prepared Statement of Paul M. Rinaldi, President, National Air Traffic
+ Controllers Association, AFL-CIO
+ Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the National
+Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO (NATCA) about ``Putting
+U.S. Aviation at Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown.'' NATCA is the
+exclusive representative for nearly 20,000 employees, including the
+Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic controllers,
+traffic management coordinators and specialists, flight service station
+air traffic controllers, staff support specialists, engineers and
+architects, and other aviation safety professionals, as well as
+Department of Defense (DoD) and Federal Contract Tower (FCT) air
+traffic controllers.
+ general overview
+
+ On Friday, January 25, the longest Federal Government shutdown in
+U.S. history ended after 35 days. However, no one should be under the
+illusion that it was business as usual for aviation during the
+shutdown. Every day, 71,500 flights and over 2 million passengers move
+through the National Airspace System (NAS). Although it is the safest
+and most efficient system in the world, during the shutdown, many
+activities and processes that proactively reduce risk and increase
+safety were suspended. Even though the NAS is safer now than it was
+during the shutdown, it is less safe today than it was before the
+shutdown began.
+ The NAS and the FAA did not revert to normalcy when the shutdown
+ended. It may take weeks, months, or even years for some aspects of the
+system to return to normal order. That also is assuming that the 3-week
+continuing resolution (CR) that ended the shutdown leads to a longer
+term appropriations bill that averts another shutdown on February 15.
+ Over 3,000 aviation safety professionals represented by NATCA were
+furloughed, along with hundreds of thousands of other Federal
+employees. Another 15,000 NATCA-represented controllers and aviation
+safety professionals continued to work for more than a month without
+pay, and without the necessary support staff who provide a critical
+layer of safety in operating and overseeing the safest, most complex,
+most efficient airspace system in the world. All of these air traffic
+controllers and aviation safety professionals were used as pawns in a
+political fight that had nothing to do with aviation. This is wrong and
+must not be allowed to happen again.
+ The safety of the NAS is vital and should never be used as a
+bargaining tool. Our work needs to be 100 percent right, 100 percent of
+the time. Air traffic control is an inherently stressful profession and
+it is wrong that the men and women who operate and oversee the system
+were forced to worry about how they would feed their families or pay
+their rent or mortgage while performing their work without pay.
+ Moreover, nearly 20 percent of all certified professional
+controllers (CPC) are currently eligible to retire. We know from
+anecdotal evidence that the shutdown led some controllers to decide to
+retire earlier than they had planned. We also know that other
+controllers who were not yet eligible to retire, as well as a few
+students at the FAA Academy, chose to resign in order to find another
+way to pay their rent and feed their families. The NAS cannot sustain
+greater-than-anticipated controller attrition without resulting in
+reduced capacity--meaning more flight delays for the flying public.
+ The reality that no one wants to hear is that the NAS was less safe
+during the shutdown than before it began. The system began to
+experience decreased efficiency and capacity as a result of the
+shutdown and was on the verge of unraveling. NATCA sounded the alarm.
+Our leadership was receiving messages from controllers with decades of
+experience who had aircraft under their control climbing directly into
+the path of another aircraft because they were stressed and distracted
+with the uncertainty on when the shutdown would end, thinking about
+their mortgage and car payments, medical bills, and feeding their
+families, rather than their jobs.
+ On the day the shutdown ended, January 25, travelers experienced a
+number of flight delays due to decreased capacity. Because the NAS is
+an extremely complex and interconnected system, when delays occur at
+one major facility there is a ripple effect across the adjoining
+airspace and sometimes throughout the entire system. NATCA did not
+coordinate these controller absences. NATCA does not condone or endorse
+any Federal employees participating in or advocating for a coordinated
+activity that negatively affects the capacity of the NAS or other
+activities that undermine the professional image and reputation of the
+men and women we represent.
+ On that day, a small number of controllers from critically staffed
+areas in two air traffic control facilities individually determined
+that they were not fit for duty. This was a result of illnesses, the
+stress of working for over a month without being paid, and not knowing
+when the shutdown would end and normalcy would return.
+ Given the unprecedented nature and length of the shutdown, there is
+no question that it has damaged and will continue to harm the system,
+which supports 12 million aviation-related jobs and contributes over
+$1.5 trillion annually to the U.S. economy. Every time the Government
+is shut down, or brought to the brink of a shutdown due to political
+disagreements that have nothing to do with aviation, it has real
+consequences for real people. Unfortunately, shutdowns and threats of
+shutdowns have become a common occurrence.
+ Since the start of Fiscal Year 2018, the FAA has experienced 3
+shutdowns and 11 additional threatened shutdowns either due to a lapse
+in appropriations or a lapse in FAA authorization. Below is a timeline
+of this stop-and-go funding cycle since the beginning of fiscal year
+2018:
+ Sept. 30, 2017--Threatened Lapse in both Appropriations
+and FAA Authorization (CR through 12/8; and FAA Extension through 3/31)
+ Dec. 8, 2017--Threatened Lapse in Appropriations (CR
+through 12/22)
+ Dec. 22, 2017--Threatened Lapse in Appropriations (CR
+through 1/19)
+ Jan. 20, 2018--THREE-DAY SHUTDOWN (CR through 2/9)
+ Feb. 9, 2018--MULTIHOUR SHUTDOWN (CR through 3/23)
+ March 23, 2018--Threatened Lapse in Appropriations (CR
+through 9/30)
+ March 31, 2018--Threatened Lapse in FAA Authorization;
+(Extension through 9/30)
+ Oct. 1, 2018--Threatened Lapse in both Appropriations and
+FAA Authorization (received CR through 12/7; and FAA Extension through
+10/7)
+ Oct. 7, 2018--Threatened Lapse in FAA Authorization (5-
+year FAA Reauthorization)
+ Dec. 7, 2018--Threatened Lapse in Appropriations (CR
+through 12/2)
+ Dec. 22, 2018--35-DAY SHUTDOWN (CR through 2/15)
+ Feb. 15, 2019--Threatened Lapse in Appropriations (TBD)
+ critical safety concerns
+ The shutdown was tremendously harmful because it eroded the layers
+of critical elements necessary to support and maintain the safety of
+the NAS. Many safety activities that proactively reduce risk and
+increase the safety of the NAS were suspended as a result of the
+shutdown. For instance, the FAA Air Traffic Organization's (ATO) Top 5
+Hazards in the NAS were not being addressed, which include risks
+associated with Pilot Weather Reports (PIREPS), Wrong Surface Landings,
+Safety Alerts, Altitude Compliance, and Operational Risk Management
+(ORM).
+ Specifically, safety enhancements that prevent wrong surface
+landings were suspended because of the shutdown. Each year, there are
+more than 200 events in which an aircraft lands, or attempts to land,
+on the wrong runway, on a taxiway, or at the wrong airport entirely.
+The aviation industry, NATCA, and the FAA are working on the
+implementation and additional development of new technologies that
+would provide air traffic controllers with an early warning system
+designed to mitigate the risk of aircraft landing on the incorrect
+surface (i.e. runway, a taxiway, or at the wrong airport). Development
+was significantly delayed because of the shutdown.
+ Just last week, at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), a
+flight was cleared to land on Runway 35, but aligned itself on Taxiway
+E, parallel to the intended runway. A runway safety enhancement in
+Airport Surface Detection System--Model X (ASDE-X) called ASDE-X
+Taxiway Arrival Prediction (ATAP) Alerting System alerted the local
+controller who immediately instructed the pilot to execute a go-around.
+The pilot overflew two commercial airplanes on the taxiway by 600 and
+700 feet respectively on the go-around.
+ The ATAP system is currently enabled at five airports in addition
+to PHL: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Bradley
+International Airport (BDL), Charlotte Douglas International Airport
+(CLT), Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), and Seattle-
+Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Prior to the shutdown, the FAA
+scheduled ATAP to be enabled on March 31, 2019, at 13 additional major
+airports. However, due to the shutdown, that implementation is now
+delayed until June 30, 2019, at eight airports: Baltimore/Washington
+International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Newark Liberty
+International Airport (EWR), Honolulu Control Facility (HCF), McCarran
+International Airport (LAS), Chicago Midway International Airport
+(MDW), Memphis International Airport (MEM), Chicago O'Hare
+International Airport (ORD), and Salt Lake City International Airport
+(SLC).
+ Voluntary safety reporting programs, such as the Air Traffic Safety
+Action Program (ATSAP), also were negatively affected. Critical
+communication between the ATSAP review teams and furloughed staff was
+deferred, resulting in an inability to properly identify and mitigate
+safety and training deficiencies. The voluntary safety reporting
+program for NATCA-represented engineers and service area support staff
+also was not operating, while all work on existing reported safety
+issues and associated mitigation activities was suspended.
+ In addition, some of the critical safety equipment and technology
+that controllers use every day is decades old and at risk of
+malfunctioning. Even before the shutdown, the FAA had moved to a ``fix-
+on-fail'' maintenance philosophy and had stopped stockpiling critical
+parts for essential operational equipment. However, because of the
+shutdown, critical maintenance and repair projects have been delayed
+even more. There now is a backlog of maintenance projects at facilities
+around the country. An additional Government shutdown would make this
+situation worse.
+ the negative effects on the workforce and the controller staffing
+ crisis
+ The partial Government shutdown was a disaster for the FAA
+workforce, including air traffic controllers, traffic management
+coordinators, and other aviation safety professionals who worked
+without pay for more than a month. Many of them still have not been
+made whole financially. It also was disastrous for over 3,000 NATCA-
+represented FAA employees who were furloughed without pay during the
+shutdown. Their critical safety work wasn't being performed at all and
+piled up awaiting their return to duty.
+Shutdown Exacerbated Controller Fatigue Problem
+ In a voluntary survey of NATCA members, we found that many of them
+started working second jobs because their chosen profession was not
+paying them. Air traffic controllers are subject to very strict fatigue
+rules that are intended to ensure that they receive appropriate rest
+and sleep between shifts. However, in order to make ends meet during
+the shutdown, many controllers were not resting or sleeping as much
+between shifts. Instead, they were working second jobs so that they
+could pay their rent and feed their families. This was a significant
+problem, because during their non-working time air traffic controllers
+need to be resting, relaxing, and sleeping in order to counteract the
+unique stress and fatigue that comes with the job.
+ FAA Order 7210.3AA prescribes the specific fatigue rules and shift
+limitations based upon fatigue science studies for controllers,
+including the 10-hour maximum per shift for all radar facilities and
+air traffic control towers. It also mandates the duration and frequency
+of rest periods between shifts. Specifically, that order provides:
+
+ Air traffic control specialists whose primary duties are those
+directly related to the control and separation of aircraft must meet
+the following criteria:
+ 1. Do not work more than 10 operational hours in a shift.
+ 2. Hours worked before a shift, whether operational or not, will
+count as operational hours.
+ 3. All work beyond 10 hours must be nonoperational.
+ 4. Have at least an 8-hour break from the time work ends to the
+start of any shift, except as follows:
+ (a) Employees are required to have a minimum of 9 consecutive
+hours off duty preceding the start of a day shift. For purposes of this
+paragraph only, a day shift is generally defined as a shift where the
+majority of hours fall between 7 o'clock a.m. and 4 o'clock p.m.
+ (b) This requirement applies to all shift changes, swaps, and
+overtime to include scheduled, call-in, and holdover assignments.
+ 5. Have an off-duty period of at least 12 hours following a
+midnight shift. (A midnight shift is defined as a shift in which the
+majority of hours are worked between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.)
+ 6. If an employee is assigned more than two (2) consecutive ten
+(10) hour midnight shifts, all of the consecutive ten (10) hour
+midnight shifts require a 2100L (Non flex) start time.
+ 7. Ten (10) hour midnight shifts are limited to no more than four
+(4) in any six (6) day period.
+ 8. No day shift may immediately precede a ten (10) hour midnight
+shift.
+ 9. Eight (8) hour midnight shifts may be extended by no more than
+one (1) hour per single shift.
+ 10. A 0530L start time or later is required when working an eight
+(8) hour day shift prior to an eight (8) hour midnight shift. Employees
+may not flex to an earlier start time than 0530L.
+ 11. Do not work more than six shifts without taking a regular day
+off.
+ 12. Authorized leave, compensatory time used, and credit hours
+used are considered hours of work.
+ 13. These criteria apply to shift adjustments, including the
+exchange of shifts and/or days off and the change of shifts and/or days
+off.
+ Even under normal circumstances, extended workdays and workweeks
+can lead to significant fatigue concerns for the workforce. Just last
+week, the National Transportation Safety Board once again identified
+fatigue on its list of 10 most wanted transportation safety
+improvements. Although NATCA and FAA, along with other stakeholders,
+have worked collaboratively to develop a fatigue awareness and
+education campaign called ``Fully Charged,'' which is part of the
+collaborative Foundations of Professionalism program, the only long-
+term solution is sufficient staffing.
+ NATCA has worked very closely with the FAA in recent years to
+develop and implement new fatigue risk management tools and to educate
+the workforce on the need for rest and sleep during non-work time. This
+shutdown undermined all this essential work. A tired workforce will
+make more mistakes. A tired and distracted workforce will make even
+more. The shutdown injected significant risk into a system that is
+designed to eliminate risk.
+Hiring Freeze and FAA Academy Closure
+ The FAA Training Academy in Oklahoma City was closed during the
+shutdown and just began classes again last week. The FAA also suspended
+hiring and training for all new hires and controller advanced skills
+classes were canceled throughout the shutdown.
+ In late December 2018, the FAA gave notices to approximately 440
+students at the FAA Academy placing them on furlough or returning them
+to their facilities where they are partially certified. FAA also gave a
+stop work order to Science Applications International Corporation
+(SAIC), the contractor that performs training functions at the Academy.
+The FAA canceled a month of Air Traffic Basics courses and advised over
+100 students not to show up for their scheduled class start dates. The
+FAA canceled additional classes through February 11. Now that classes
+have started again, all future students will have to be rescheduled
+into appropriate classes to begin training later than what would have
+otherwise occurred.
+ Prior to the shutdown, the FAA's hiring target for fiscal year 2019
+was 1,431 and now we are concerned that the goal will not be
+attainable. This is unacceptable. Further staffing reductions could
+have an immediate and detrimental effect on capacity, meaning fewer
+aircraft in the sky and greater potential for delays.
+No Staffing for Integrating New Users and Implementing NextGen
+ Technology
+ If this staffing crisis continues, the FAA will be hard-pressed to
+maintain current capacity, let alone modernize the system and expand it
+for new users, such as commercial space operations, Unmanned Aircraft
+Systems (UAS), and supersonic jets. Understaffing at air traffic
+facilities hinders the deployment and training of NextGen programs,
+procedures, and equipment. Moreover, integrating new users into the NAS
+was put on hold during the shutdown, and those delays will negatively
+affect private sector innovation--both big and small companies alike.
+Air Traffic Controller Staffing Crisis Background
+ Air traffic controller staffing has been a concern for many years.
+It reached a crisis level in 2015 and despite some recent progress
+within the FAA's hiring, training, and transfer processes, it remains a
+challenge, one that has been exacerbated by the shutdown.
+ Since 2015, NATCA has been raising concern and awareness about the
+staffing issue because of the disastrous effects that further staffing
+reductions could have on system capacity. On December 8, 2015, NATCA
+addressed the controller staffing crisis at a congressional Roundtable
+policy discussion held by this subcommittee. On June 15, 2016, NATCA
+testified about the controller staffing crisis before this subcommittee
+at a hearing titled ``A Review of the Federal Aviation's Air Traffic
+Controller Hiring, Staffing and Training Plans.'' Then, on May 17,
+2017, NATCA again testified about the controller staffing crisis, as
+part of the justification for needing ATC reform, before the full
+Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, at a hearing titled
+``The Need to Reform the Federal Aviation Administration and Air
+Traffic Control to Build a 21st-Century Aviation System for America.''
+ The FAA's CPC workforce has reached a 30-year low. Controller
+staffing has fallen 10 percent since 2011, and a significant percentage
+of the certified controller workforce remains eligible to retire (18
+percent). Stop-and-go funding for the FAA has made this problem worse.
+Sequestration forced the FAA to institute a hiring freeze and shutter
+the FAA Academy between March and December 2013. The hiring freeze
+compounded an already tenuous staffing situation in which the FAA had
+barely been able to replace retiring controllers. The FAA never made up
+for the sequester-related hiring freeze in 2013.
+ New hires who are admitted into the FAA Academy today will require
+2 to 5 years of training before they become fully trained and capable
+of separating air traffic on their own. Moreover, of those who are
+admitted, currently only 64 percent of students in either the Tower/
+Terminal or En Route options will successfully complete their Academy
+training and screening before moving on to train at their facility.
+There is additional attrition once Academy graduates begin on-the-job
+training at their facilities.
+ Even increased hiring by the FAA in 2015, 2016, and 2017 did not
+make up for the attrition experienced from 2013 through 2017. Although
+the FAA has exceeded its hiring targets each of the past 3 years, CPC
+staffing levels continued to go down by 3.2 percent over that period.
+One potential solution, as part of a comprehensive hiring and training
+program, is to utilize the Academy's maximum throughput capacity
+(approx. 2,000 students per year).
+ Facilities that are at critical staffing levels (defined as
+requiring mandatory overtime and a 6-day work week to fully staff all
+positions) are facing a dire situation, as retirement-eligible
+controllers continue to retire at a high rate, and those left on the
+job begin the time-intensive process of training controllers
+transferring from less complex/busy facilities and/or Academy
+graduates.
+ The shutdown caused a ripple effect further delaying Academy
+training courses throughout 2019. There is no question that this
+shutdown has and will continue to exacerbate the existing air traffic
+controller staffing crisis.
+
+[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+ Air Traffic Controller Staffing: 2011-2018 \\
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+On-Board 15,23 15,06 14,46 14,05 14,01 14,0 14,0 14,2
+ 6 3 1 9 0 50 09 85
+CPC \1\ 11,63 11,75 11,52 11,19 10,83 10,6 10,5 10,4
+ 9 3 2 2 3 19 44 83
+CPC-IT \2\ 965 1,143 1,187 1,200 1,218 1,25 1,20 1,32
+ 9 5 0
+DEV \3\ (Including 2,632 2,167 1,741 1,667 1,959 2,17 2,26 2,48
+ AG \4\) 2 0 2
+AG 676 671 440 665 936 878 883 980
+Retirement Eligible 3,064 3,224 3,077 2,982 3,355 2,91 2,41 1,84
+ 5 0 2
+FAA Planned to Hire 829 981 1,315 1,286 1,772 1,61 1,78 1,70
+ 9 1 1
+FAA Actually Hired 824 925 554 1,112 1,345 1,68 1,88 1,78
+ 0 0 7
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+\\Source: FAA Finance Staffing Data Snapshot, FAA Controller Workforce
+ Plan
+\1\ CPC: Certified Professional Controller
+\2\ CPC-IT: Certified Professional Controller in Training (fully
+ certified elsewhere, transferred to a new facility and began training
+ there)
+\3\ DEV: Developmental (trainee)
+\4\ AG: Graduate of the FAA Initial Classroom Training Academy in
+ Oklahoma City, newly hired, and started at their first facility as a
+ trainee
+
+ operational consequences
+ Air traffic control is a complex, high-consequence profession
+requiring multiple layers of safety processes and procedures (e.g.
+safety reporting, quality control, quality assurance, training) to
+ensure that we deliver the highest level of safety to the flying
+public. Just as you would not ask a surgeon to perform a surgery
+without their surgical team, you should not require controllers to
+perform their work without their support team of approximately 3,000
+NATCA-represented aviation safety professionals, many of whom remained
+furloughed throughout the shutdown.
+ For example, staff support specialists who work at air traffic
+control facilities to provide tactical, strategic, and administrative
+support of training; quality assurance/quality control of air traffic
+control and traffic management; manage and redesign airspace and air
+traffic control procedures; support operational automation, military
+operations, and air traffic safety management systems. They were
+furloughed during the shutdown. Aircraft certification engineers assist
+in design, production approvals, and airworthiness certification of
+aircraft and their components. They were furloughed during the
+shutdown. Other NATCA-represented engineers design and construct
+critical infrastructure necessary for safe flight operations including
+air traffic control towers, radar maintenance and installation,
+navigational aids, and communications systems. Many of them also were
+furloughed during the shutdown. FAA's flight test pilots were
+furloughed during the shutdown.
+ wasted taxpayer money and resources--delays to modernization and the
+ integration of new users
+ As a result of the shutdown, all FAA modernization work and new
+user integration was stopped. The shutdown has and will continue to
+cause significant delays to these projects, wasting critical resources
+and Federal taxpayer money. Even now, delays to the timelines for each
+project will have a cascading effect on each project as the FAA
+scrambles to restart work and deconflict waterfall timelines. For
+instance, we know that the shutdown cost taxpayers up to $8M in order
+to repeat training for controllers related to the implementation and
+deployment of Enroute Controller Pilot Data Link Communications
+(CPDLC), most often referred to as DataComm. This system is the next
+generation of communication between pilots and controllers.
+ In addition, work on integrating new users such as Unmanned
+Aircraft Systems (UAS), commercial space launches, and supersonic
+aircraft into the NAS was put on hold, which will negatively affect
+private sector innovation. Critical construction to the physical
+infrastructure also stopped at airports and radar facilities across the
+country.
+Delays to Programs that Benefit General Aviation
+ General aviation also felt the effects of the shutdown as many
+related programs continue to experience significant delays. Below are
+some examples of these delayed programs:
+ Northeast Corridor quick climb out procedures out of
+Teterboro and Westchester County.
+ Multiple Airport Route Separation (MARS) safety case--The
+MARS concept will procedurally deconflict departure and arrival flows
+between multiple adjacent airports, with air traffic control providing
+radar monitoring instead of radar separation and vectoring.
+ Decoupling of approach procedures in LaGuardia (LGA),
+Newark (EWR), and Teterboro (TEB) to reduce delays.
+ Noise reducing departure procedures out of Teterboro.
+ Atlantic Coast Routings that will eventually improve flow
+and throughput along the Atlantic seaboard.
+ Use of Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedures to
+leverage aircraft avionics and ground infrastructure to maximize safety
+and efficiency between airports and in congested airspace.
+ Las Vegas and south Florida metroplex projects, which are
+developing procedures for satellite airports like Henderson Executive
+Airport (HND), Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers
+(RSW), Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), and Orlando Executive
+Airport (ORL).
+Delays to VOR Network Modernization Program (VORMON)
+ The NAS is in the process of transitioning away from a standalone
+VOR network (i.e. Very High Frequency (VHF) Omni-Directional Range
+radio ground-based navigational aide) to the more-efficient Performance
+Based Navigation (PBN) system. Very High Frequency Omni-directional
+Range Minimum Operational Network (VORMON) will eliminate redundant
+coverage and will provide more efficient routings in congested
+metropolitan areas. Conventional airways (SIDS, STARS, IAP, etc.) that
+were previously supported by VOR may be replaced with PBN procedures.
+ Typically, it takes between 24 to 36 months to design and implement
+a PBN procedure to replace a conventional VOR procedure. In 2018, 22
+VORs were removed. In 2019 and 2020, the FAA was scheduled to remove 27
+and 48 VORs, respectively. This schedule is now in serious jeopardy due
+to the shutdown.
+Delays to Performance Based Navigation (PBN) Procedures
+ The modernization of the U.S. satellite-based network of PBN flight
+paths will help air traffic conduct Trajectory Based Operations (TBO).
+PBN services are laying the foundation for the NAS of the future by
+enabling many NextGen operational improvements, capabilities, and
+initiatives. Through these programs, the FAA is beginning to monitor an
+aircraft's trajectory including its time at points along a 3-D path so
+that we can anticipate the timing of arrivals at major airports.
+Ultimately, PBN procedures and routes save time and fuel while reducing
+emissions.
+ The FAA has already published more than 9,300 PBN procedures and
+routes. Before the shutdown, there were over 1,000 procedures that were
+being developed in collaboration with pilots, air traffic controllers,
+and airports. This has been significantly delayed and, even now that
+the shutdown is over, it may take 24 to 36 months to continue the
+design and implementation process for many of these procedures. For
+instance, multiple large and small PBN projects will be delayed
+including projects in south Florida, Las Vegas, Detroit, Cleveland,
+Denver, the Northeast Corridor initiative, and airspace modernization
+efforts at Louisville International Airport (SDF).
+Time Based Flow Management (TBFM) and Traffic Flow Management System
+ (TFMS) Further Deployment Delayed
+ TBFM and TFMS will enhance NAS efficiency by using the capabilities
+of a decision-support tool, which is already deployed at numerous air
+traffic control facilities. TBFM and TFMS maximize aircraft throughput
+and capacity within the system in order to maintain a high level of
+efficiency and predictability by reducing delays, travel time, and fuel
+expenses. These programs also help reduce the effects on the
+environment including noise, emissions, and other environmental issues
+in the implementation and operation of the aviation system.
+ Improvements in TBFM/TFMS core Time Based Metering capability and
+its trajectory modeler--an expansion of its departure capabilities to
+additional locations--and enhancements to departure capabilities, will
+enhance efficiency and optimize demand and capacity. Moreover,
+capabilities in this portfolio will be leveraged to enable aircraft to
+maintain a spacing interval behind a preceding aircraft, further
+improving capacity and flight efficiency. Improvements also will enable
+controllers to more accurately deliver aircraft to the Terminal Radar
+Approach Control (TRACON) facilities while providing the opportunity
+for aircraft to fly optimized descents.
+ Approximately 93 FAA facilities currently have TBFM: 20 Air Route
+Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs), 28 TRACONs, and 45 Air Traffic
+Control Towers. However, enhancements and updates that will enable
+future capabilities will be significantly delayed due to the shutdown.
+Delays to Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) Deployment
+ TFDM is the surface management solution for NextGen. With growing
+congestion on the airport surface due to the increase in commercial air
+traffic nationwide, the need for efficient aircraft traffic planning on
+the airport ground is critical. This program has been delayed due to
+the shutdown.
+ Over the life of the system, TFDM is expected to provide 313
+million gallons in fuel savings, while reducing over 3 million metric
+tons of carbon emissions. The flying public also will experience fewer
+delays, more reliable flight schedules, improved passenger
+satisfaction, and improved predictability. Airlines and other flight
+operators will experience improved schedule predictability and crew
+utilization, less taxi time and fuel burn, increased reliability of
+connection, and reduced departure lines on the taxiway. Airport
+operators expect to reduce their CO2 footprint, reduce engine noise,
+and experience a more balanced use of airport resources.
+ Air traffic services expect to benefit through automatically
+updated flight plans and electronic flight strips, easier rescheduling
+canceled and delayed flights, fewer aircraft in the movement area and
+departure queue, and improved surface situational awareness at the
+TRACON, ARTCC, and Command Center. Most importantly, TFDM will improve
+safety, as controllers will experience less ``heads down'' time.
+Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) Deployment
+ TBO is an Air Traffic Management (ATM) method for strategically
+planning, managing, and optimizing flights throughout the NAS by using
+time-based management, information exchange between air and ground
+systems, and the aircraft's ability to fly precise paths (PBN) in time
+and space. TBO deployment at the first three sites--Northeast Corridor,
+Denver, and Atlanta--has been significantly delayed due to the
+shutdown.
+ Once fully deployed, TBO will leverage improvements in navigation
+accuracy, communications, surveillance, and automation to decrease the
+uncertainty of an aircrafts' path in four dimensions--lateral (latitude
+and longitude), vertical (altitude) and time--which will result in
+significant improvements in strategic planning. However, TBO requires
+every participant and system to be operating on the same plan. That
+plan is expressed and shared through the agreed trajectory, which is
+used as a reference for the flight and contains estimates for arrival
+times at key points along the flight.
+ The time-based parameter provides a common planning reference
+across all phases of flight, including pre-departure. This facilitates
+planning integration across ATC domains, enables the FAA to plan
+against the schedule objectives of users (i.e. departure and arrival
+times), and allows for more dynamic planning through a constrained area
+such as a major weather event, metering adjustments across merge points
+for the convergence of major flows, or for individual aircraft being
+integrated into congested flows.
+FAA Will Struggle to Meet 2020 Mandate for Automatic Dependent
+ Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)
+ ADS-B is a new type of surveillance dependent on a global
+navigation satellite system (GNSS), typically GPS, where the position
+of the aircraft is derived in its avionics and broadcast to a network
+of ground based radio stations. ADS-B positions are typically more
+accurate than traditional radar and broadcast much faster, about once
+per second. ADS-B reports also include more information than simply an
+aircraft's position.
+ The FAA has mandated that all aircraft must be equipped with ``ADS-
+B Out'' technology (equipment installed on the aircraft that transmits
+position information to the ADS-B system) by January 1, 2020. Prior to
+the shutdown, ADS-B was scheduled to be deployed at the last FAA
+facility by September 2019. The FAA now will be hard-pressed to meet
+that target date and full ADS-B deployment is likely to be delayed.
+Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS) Development and Testing
+ Delayed
+ Development and deployment of E-IDS will allow controllers to
+access vital information while working an operational position such as
+approach plates, letters of agreement, weather, airport configurations,
+standard operating procedures, and Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs). E-IDS is
+currently in the development phase and, once completed, will combine
+the five existing information display systems into one. Several of
+these existing systems are well-beyond their lifecycle and are
+constantly at risk of failing. This program could be significantly
+delayed due to the shutdown.
+Consolidated Wake Recategorization (CWT)
+ CWT enables controllers to use more efficient aircraft separation
+standards (flying planes closer together) without compromising safety,
+which means that more planes can take off and land throughout the
+system. Currently, CWT is deployed at seven terminal facilities, with
+18 more to come. Further deployment of this program has been delayed
+due to the shutdown.
+NextGen Weather Program (NWP)
+ NWP is a critical part of NextGen because it helps reduce the
+negative effects of weather on aviation, resulting in safer, more
+efficient, and more predictable day-to-day NAS operations. NWP will be
+able to provide tailored aviation weather products within the NAS,
+helping controllers and operators develop reliable flight plans, make
+better decisions, and improve on-time performance. This program has
+been delayed due to the shutdown.
+ conclusion
+ There can be no doubt that the status quo is broken and has been
+for some time. The 35-day shutdown was just the latest of many
+instances in which FAA funding, its workforce, and the aviation
+industry have been held hostage by a political disagreement that has
+nothing to do with aviation. A second shutdown would be much more
+disastrous for the system if the 3-week CR does not lead to a longer
+term appropriations bill on or before February 15.
+ This shutdown emphasized that a stop-and-go funding stream is
+unsustainable. Stop-and-go funding crises wreak havoc on the NAS, delay
+critical modernization and infrastructure projects, and exacerbate the
+current controller staffing crisis, which has resulted in a 30-year low
+of CPCs. Every time the NAS is forced to endure another shutdown or a
+threatened lapse in appropriations or FAA authorization, the United
+States is at risk of losing its status as the safest, most efficient
+airspace system in the world. We must not let this happen again and
+NATCA will continue to fight for a solution to this problem.
+ As a result, NATCA's position on air traffic control reform remains
+consistent. We do not support any one particular reform model and we
+will meticulously review the details of any proposal before deciding
+whether to support or oppose it. In order to receive NATCA's
+consideration for support, a reform proposal must improve upon the
+status quo, without adopting a for-profit air traffic control model,
+and--at minimum--meet NATCA's Four Core Principles for Reform:
+ 1. Any reform model must ensure that the frontline workforce is
+fully protected in its employment relationship. It is crucial to
+maintain NATCA members' pay and benefits, including retirement and
+health care, along with our negotiated agreements for their work rules,
+and indemnification for our members for acts within the scope of their
+employment.
+ 2. Safety and efficiency must remain the top priorities within the
+system. We cannot allow maintenance to lag or a reduction in staffing
+to save money. The NAS must be fully staffed to ensure both safety and
+efficiency, and to maintain capacity.
+ 3. A stable, predictable funding stream must adequately support
+air traffic control services, staffing, hiring and training, long-term
+modernization projects, preventative maintenance, and ongoing
+modernization to the physical infrastructure. Stop-and-go funding
+crises slow the hiring and training process, which exacerbate the
+current controller staffing crisis. The lack of a stable funding stream
+also prevents timely implementation of NextGen modernization projects.
+ 4. Any reform model must maintain a dynamic aviation system that
+continues to provide services to all segments of the aviation
+community, from commercial passenger carriers and cargo haulers to
+business jets and to general aviation, from the major airports to those
+in small communities and rural America. We cannot emphasize enough how
+important it is that our system continues to provide services to the
+diverse users of the NAS. The United States has a vibrant general
+aviation community that relies on us, while the economic success of
+rural America also is connected to access to the NAS through serving
+even the most remote areas.
+ NATCA thanks Chairman DeFazio and Chairman Larsen for introducing
+the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019 (H.R. 1108). We are urging
+everyone in Congress to support it. NATCA has thoroughly reviewed the
+Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019. It would provide a stable,
+predictable funding stream for the NAS by preventing Government
+shutdowns from affecting the FAA. NATCA strongly supports this
+legislation.
+ Thank you for the opportunity to offer testimony on this critical
+issue.
+
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Rinaldi.
+ Mr. Perrone, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
+ Mr. Perrone. Thank you. Chairman DeFazio, Chairman Larsen,
+Ranking Member Grave, and members of the subcommittee, thank
+you for inviting me to testify on behalf of the Professional
+Aviation Safety Specialists to discuss the impacts of the
+recent Government shutdown.
+ The impacts of the shutdown resonated throughout the
+industry as aviation safety inspectors and many others sat idly
+on the sidelines for weeks. Frustration grew, morale dropped,
+while modernization was brought to a standstill. In addition,
+the FAA's ability to recruit and retain highly skilled workers
+may have been severely damaged.
+ PASS represents approximately 11,000 FAA employees
+nationwide, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa.
+They install, maintain, support, and certify complex air
+traffic control equipment. They inspect and oversee the
+commercial and general aviation industries. They develop flight
+procedures and perform quality analysis of aviation systems
+using air traffic control. They aid in the building and
+restoring of air traffic control facilities as well.
+ These employees are the voice of aviation safety. They
+provide a unique insight into the system in the industry they
+oversee. Our members are tasked with ensuring that the U.S.
+aviation system remains the safest in the world 24 hours a day,
+7 days a week. Yet for 35 days, many of them were not
+performing their duties.
+ Those who were on the job were working under stressful
+conditions without pay, while some worked over 10-hour shifts.
+Dedicated Federal employees, many of them lifelong public
+servants and military veterans, became collateral damage in a
+dispute unrelated to aviation safety.
+ Employees within the FAA's Office of Aviation Safety
+represent the backbone of the system. They develop regulatory
+standards and ensure your aircraft and those responsible for
+keeping it in the sky are up to the task and in full regulatory
+compliance.
+ But when the shutdown began, thousands of aviation safety
+inspectors were furloughed and told not to report to work. They
+wanted to, but they couldn't. For 35 days the FAA's safety
+oversight was severely curtailed. With each passing day, a
+layer of safety was stripped away as the system became more
+exposed to risk. For example, the FAA was not overseeing
+foreign repair stations for 35 days, and the world knew it.
+This is not an acceptable standard.
+ The aviation industry depends on vital certification work
+that PASS-represented employees perform. But during the
+shutdown, important certification activities were on hold. The
+FAA and the aviation industry will likely feel the effects of
+this shutdown for years to come.
+ Thousands of other FAA employees, primarily in the Air
+Traffic Organization, or ATO, remained on the job without pay.
+This includes airway transportation system specialists as well
+as other safety professionals. Modernization of the system was
+brought to a halt. Implementation of NextGen programs,
+procedures, and equipment were not being deployed, and training
+was halted. This will inevitably lead to delays in the
+implementation of new technologies and procedures. Again, the
+long-term impacts of the shutdown will resonate throughout the
+industry.
+ As stated before, the agency's ability to attract and
+retain highly skilled employees after the shutdown may have
+been damaged. Employees trained and certified by the Government
+will look to the private sector for job security. Inspectors
+are fleeing to the private sector, and years of experience will
+be lost. The call to public service may be lost as well.
+ The human impact must be considered. The timing of the
+shutdown before and after the holidays could not have been
+worse. FAA employees needed to be focused on critical duties,
+not on whether they can pay their bills or if they need a
+second job to put food on the table.
+ During the shutdown, I heard from one of my members in
+Gonzales, Louisiana, who is in the administrative side of the
+house, and was furloughed during the shutdown. She is a single
+mother of three and putting two children through college. She
+is also a veteran, who dutifully served her country. Yet for 35
+days, her main concern was the shutdown and when she would be
+able to pay her bills. She told me of the psychological effects
+and the stress it put on her and her family. She deserves
+better than this. All Federal employees deserve better than
+this.
+ In closing, PASS emphasizes that every day the Government
+is shut down, our country is gambling with aviation safety. We
+cannot subject the flying public to unnecessary risk due to
+political disagreements. Aviation safety is like a team sport:
+Without support staff, facilities would not operate at an
+optimum level. Without technicians, the air traffic controllers
+would not be able to perform their job. And without inspectors,
+the aviation system becomes less safe and efficient. The full
+team needs to be on the job, free of unnecessary burdens
+unrelated to the mission.
+ Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify on this
+important issue, and I look forward to answering any questions.
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Perrone follows:]
+
+
+Prepared Statement of Michael Perrone, President, Professional Aviation
+ Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO
+ Chairman Larsen, Ranking Member Graves, and members of the
+subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify on behalf of the
+Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS) to discuss the
+impacts of the most recent Government shutdown and the risk Government
+shutdowns pose to the safety of the aviation system. The impacts of the
+shutdown resonated throughout the industry and across the country as
+aviation safety inspectors sat idly on the sidelines for weeks, morale
+suffered and frustration grew, and modernization was brought to a
+standstill.
+ PASS represents approximately 11,000 Federal Aviation
+Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense employees throughout the
+United States. PASS-represented employees in the FAA install, maintain,
+support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment,
+inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries,
+develop flight procedures, and perform quality analyses of complex
+aviation systems used in air traffic control and national defense in
+the United States and abroad. PASS members work behind the scenes to
+ensure the safety and efficiency of the aviation system that transports
+over 800 million passengers to their destination each year. The
+diversity of the PASS-represented workforce provides insight into the
+safety of the system they maintain and the industry they oversee. PASS
+members are tasked with ensuring that the U.S. aviation system remains
+the safest in the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
+ Yet, for 35 days, many of these employees were furloughed and not
+performing their duties while others were working under stressful
+conditions. None of them were getting paid. Thousands of FAA employees
+went for weeks without a paycheck and worked with the uncertainty of
+not knowing when that paycheck would come. These FAA employees--from
+aviation safety inspectors to technicians to administrative staff--are
+the true victims despite the fact that funding of the aviation system
+was not at stake. To put it simply, dedicated Federal employees, many
+of them lifelong public servants and military veterans, were treated as
+collateral damage. As a result, a critical layer of safety was removed,
+and this is unacceptable.
+ The following is a detailed discussion of the critical work PASS
+members do and the far-reaching impacts a Government shutdown has on
+their ability to fulfill their responsibilities. I am confident that
+you will agree that these committed, dedicated aviation professionals
+deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and recognized for the
+important work they perform every day: ensuring the continued safety of
+the U.S. aviation system.
+ office of aviation safety
+ Within the FAA's Office of Aviation Safety (AVS), PASS represents
+employees in the Flight Standards Service and Manufacturing Inspection
+District Offices (MIDOs) within Aircraft Certification. Our Flight
+Standards bargaining unit is comprised of several thousand aviation
+safety inspectors who perform a range of duties in the field to ensure
+safety standards are being followed. There are also inspectors and
+other highly trained staff that develop regulatory standards and
+policy. Within the Flight Standards Office of Foundational Business are
+examiners in the FAA's Civil Aviation Registry as well as analysts to
+oversee budgeting, staffing, training and other support functions.
+Collectively, these employees represent the safety net of the aviation
+system; in other words, these employees ensure your aircraft and those
+responsible for keeping it in the air are up to the task and in full
+regulatory compliance.
+ At the onset of the shutdown, Flight Standards and MIDO employees
+were furloughed and told not to report to work. Essentially, an entire
+layer of safety was stripped away as the system became exposed to more
+risk with each passing day. According to FAA policy and directives,
+this meant that, among other things, the following tasks were not being
+performed or being performed at a reduced level:
+ Approval of exemptions for unmanned aerial systems
+operations
+ Issuance of airmen certificates
+ Development of Next Generation Air Transportation System
+(NextGen) safety standards, as well as development, testing and
+evaluation of NextGen technologies
+ Aviation rulemaking
+ Evaluations, audits and inspections
+ Full range of air traffic safety oversight \1\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \1\ Department of Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary
+for Budget and Programs, and CFO, ``Operations During a Lapse in Annual
+Appropriations Plans by Operating Administration,'' December 2018
+(revised as of January 11, 2019).
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Reduction in Safety Oversight
+ Aviation safety inspectors are responsible for developing,
+administering and enforcing regulations and standards concerning civil
+aviation safety. According to the FAA, these employees set the
+``standards for certification and oversight of airmen, air operators,
+air agencies, and designees as well as safety of the flight of civil
+aircraft in air commerce.'' \2\ This is a workforce vital to
+monitoring the risk of the system--they should be on the job every day
+performing this work without fear of when the next paycheck will
+arrive. Without every inspector and safety employee on the job focused
+solely on their duties, the potential risks to aviation safety
+increased.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \2\ Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration,
+Aviation Safety Workforce Plan 2017-2026, p. 25, 2017.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Furthermore, the FAA utilizes a risk-based approach to aviation
+safety. This is intended to allow the agency to identify, address and
+mitigate risk in the National Airspace System (NAS) and allocate
+resources to the areas of greatest concern. While PASS has voiced
+concerns with this philosophy in the past due to reliability of
+information and methods for assessing risk, the system was
+dysfunctional during the shutdown. With aviation safety inspectors off
+the job, risk was not being identified, addressed or mitigated.
+Critical safety information received from the airlines was not being
+entered in the agency's systems. While a catastrophe did not occur
+during this most recent shutdown, this should not be an acceptable
+standard for the safest system in the world.
+ Aviation safety inspectors are also responsible for inspecting
+aircraft and work performed at foreign repair stations. The airline
+industry has significantly increased its reliance on outsourced
+maintenance to foreign repair stations, and PASS has consistently
+expressed concern that oversight of this work is lacking. PASS
+appreciates that lawmakers have worked with the union to increase the
+number of inspections of FAA-certificated foreign repair stations.
+However, during a shutdown, this work is seriously curtailed. Simply
+put, the FAA was not overseeing foreign repair stations for 35 days and
+the world knew it.
+Impacts on Certification and Other Inspector Activities
+ Commercial and general aviation depend on the work of PASS-
+represented employees and the vital certification work they perform.
+During the shutdown, oversight of important certification activities
+was put on hold. This undoubtedly resulted in a backlog of aircraft and
+design approvals. Aircraft manufacturers depend on FAA inspectors and
+engineers being on the job to review and certify new equipment on a
+timely basis. Yet, no new safety designs could be approved, quality
+system audits and supplier control audits were delayed, and
+investigations were postponed. Inspectors had to limit their focus and
+were not able to certify airplanes, repair stations, airline operators
+and aviation personnel. A lapse in Government operations seriously
+affects the FAA's ability to continue to issue its thousands of design
+approvals and type certificates on an annual basis, along with the
+ability to conduct safety-required surveillance and oversight necessary
+in such a technologically complex system.
+ There was also a decrease in FAA airworthiness directives during
+the shutdown, which are legally enforceable regulations to correct
+unsafe conditions in aircraft, engines and propellers. According to a
+Consumer Reports investigation, since January 1, the FAA has published
+only two directives compared to 19 during the same period last year.\3\
+Normally, these directives stem from the daily work of FAA inspectors.
+However, with the majority of inspectors furloughed, the flying public
+could only trust the airlines inspecting themselves, an inherently
+unwise approach to safety.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \3\ McGee, William J. ``In Shutdown's Wake, FAA Inspectors Face
+Backlog of Safety and Maintenance Issues.'' Consumer Reports, January
+25, 2019. Accessed February 10, 2019: https://www.consumerreports.org/
+airline-safety/faa-inspectors-safety-maintenance-backlog-government-
+shutdown/.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Although a portion of the principle inspectors were eventually
+recalled during the shutdown, a majority of the FAA personnel who
+certify the safety of aircraft remained furloughed. Certification
+timelines are tightly configured, and the impact of the shutdown will
+not be limited to the 35 days of lapsed Government funding. The FAA
+workforce and the industry will likely feel the lasting effects of the
+shutdown for years to come.
+Impacts to Recruiting and Retaining Employees
+ The shutdown exacerbated the existing challenges related to
+recruiting and retaining employees as well as heightening the ongoing
+concerns over the FAA's lack of clarity over staffing. For years, PASS
+has been working with lawmakers on this committee and the agency to
+encourage the development of a staffing model for aviation safety
+inspectors in order to properly determine the number of inspectors
+needed to protect the system. During a shutdown, staffing needs become
+even more apparent since the agency is unclear on its reasoning for
+calling back a certain number of inspectors and the timing of the call
+backs is also uncertain. For instance, as the shutdown continued, in
+mid-January, Flight Standards altered its staffing plan and recalled
+approximately 1,700 principle inspectors. However, this only reflected
+about one-third of the inspector workforce within Flight Standards. The
+most recent FAA reauthorization legislation instructs the FAA to work
+with PASS to develop a more reliable staffing model. However, due to
+the shutdown and the threat of yet another closure, and as the FAA
+plays catch up with the backlog of oversight activities halted during
+the shutdown, it is unclear if and when a staffing model will be
+developed.
+ The shutdown may very well have long-term impacts within Flight
+Standards, which is already struggling to attract and retain aviation
+safety inspectors. The FAA is continuously competing with the airline
+industry that is oftentimes a more viable financial option for
+inspectors, particularly when airlines are economically sound. To this
+end, PASS is engaged in discussions with the FAA to identify ways to
+maintain these indispensable positions. For example, the FAA recently
+approached PASS with the idea of hiring certain employees at a higher
+salary level than typically offered due to hiring challenges. There is
+no guarantee that this modest increase will be enough to lure qualified
+employees into Government service. Of certainty, the shutdown does not
+help and will have done nothing to encourage employees to leave
+industry or select public service. Additionally, Flight Standards
+continues to lose journeymen level inspectors at a higher rate than it
+is able to backfill. This is incredibly disconcerting, especially
+considering that it can take years to fully train an inspector.
+Inspector staffing is not just about attracting employees; it is about
+attracting employees with the right skills, training and expertise to
+perform the work.
+UAS Oversight
+ Finally, it goes without saying that the aviation industry is
+rapidly evolving. This could not be more clearly displayed than through
+the growing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS or drones) industry. As of
+July 2017, there were 879,696 registered UAS and over 21,000 UAS remote
+pilots.\4\ That number has no doubt risen over the past 19 months.
+According to the FAA, ``Enabling rapid growth in UAS operations while
+maintaining safety of the NAS for all users has become a significant
+portion of the AVS mission . . . The success of all these initiatives
+is embedded in AVS's diverse, highly skilled workforce.'' \5\ In a 2016
+memo to supervisors acquired by PASS, the former AVS director indicated
+that aviation safety technicians (ASTs) should handle virtually all UAS
+functions. However, ASTs were furloughed during the entire shutdown,
+essentially putting UAS oversight, approval and inspection at a
+standstill for 35 days. This no doubt will have far-reaching economic
+impacts on both the agency and the UAS industry.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \4\ Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration,
+Aviation Safety Workforce Plan 2017-2026, pp. 46-47, 2017.
+ \5\ Id., p. 6.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ It is indisputable that aviation safety inspectors and other
+employees in AVS should be on the job every day, secure in the
+knowledge that they will receive a paycheck, and able to perform their
+duties to the highest of standards.
+ air traffic organization
+ PASS also represents employees in the FAA's Air Traffic
+Organization (ATO) including air transportation systems specialists
+(ATSS), electronics technicians, engineering technicians (colloquially
+referred to as the technician workforce) as well as other safety
+professionals and administrative staff. These employees install, test,
+troubleshoot, repair and certify radar, communications equipment,
+navigational aids, airport lighting and backup power systems, as well
+as maintain other systems, equipment and software associated with the
+NAS. They are the only people authorized to certify the operation of
+FAA systems and equipment, a task considered inherently
+governmental.\6\ In short, and according to the FAA's description of
+the position, they are responsible for ``everything air traffic
+controllers and pilots use for safe flight.''
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \6\ Manager, General Law Branch, AGC-110, memorandum to Manager,
+Maintenance Engineering Division, ASM-100, ``Contractor Certification
+of Navigational Systems in National Airspace System (NAS),'' June 18,
+1991.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ The majority of these employees were not furloughed--they reported
+to work every day without pay in order to fulfill their responsibility.
+Through rain, snow and ice, these dedicated professionals were on the
+job climbing towers and at the airports repairing and maintaining radio
+towers, RADAR, navigational aids and other equipment to ensure the NAS
+was functioning. Contrary to some reports, at no point during the
+shutdown did these employees engage in fix-on-fail maintenance;
+however, these employees worked under extreme stress to complete their
+work. Thanks to their dedication, the system was maintained at the
+highest standards under the conditions. These employees--many of them
+military veterans--take their commitment to the United States very
+seriously and only want to perform their jobs and be recognized for
+their dedication. When they go to work, they should only have to focus
+on the job of making sure equipment is properly maintained and
+certified, not whether their families are financially secure.
+Modernization and Restoration
+ Proper staffing at critical airports throughout the country remains
+a challenge while hiring and training new technicians is not a quick or
+easy process. Inadequate technician staffing will no doubt result in
+increased restoration times during an outage and more air traffic
+delays. It can also make it difficult to ensure 24-hour safety
+coverage, a potentially dangerous situation that increases the risk of
+major air traffic issues. Understaffing of the FAA's technical
+workforce combined with the daily stress of the Government shutdown
+only undermines safety. The United States must strive to retain the
+very best men and women to ensure the safety of the world's most
+complex aviation system.
+ Modernization of this complex aviation system is also directly
+impacted during a Government shutdown. For 35 days, implementation of
+Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Modernization
+throughout the country was halted while NextGen programs, procedures
+and equipment were not being deployed. These intricate programs and the
+dedicated professionals carrying them out, all instrumental to NextGen,
+are sidelined during a shutdown. This halts modernization midstride,
+producing impacts that will continue to resonate throughout the system
+and lead to inevitable delays to the implementation of new technologies
+and procedures.
+ human impact
+ The timing of the shutdown--before and after the Christmas
+holiday--could not have been worse for those not receiving a paycheck.
+Even though they were not getting paid, many FAA employees still had to
+report to work and endure the associated costs, such as transportation
+and child care. PASS surveyed members on the job during the shutdown to
+determine morale among coworkers. Phrases and words that appeared most
+often included ``terrible,'' ``stressed,'' ``upset,'' ``frustrated''
+and ``fatigued.'' That is no type of work environment for the men and
+women responsible for ensuring the safety of the flying public.
+ It is also worth noting that a Government shutdown impacts morale
+among the workforce. Not only are employees being deprived of
+compensation but forcing some employees to work while others are told
+to stay at home creates resentment and intensifies the frustration.
+While there is an attempt to lessen the burden on the public by
+requiring employees to continue work deemed to be essential, it cannot
+be lost that this disproportionally burdens employees. It is axiomatic
+that if the public and aviation industry felt the full brunt of a
+deprivation of Government services, the pressure to end a Government
+shutdown would be overwhelming.
+ PASS also represents support staff in both AVS and ATO, often
+unsung employees who make sure facilities run in a safe and efficient
+manner. Not only are these employees typically lowest paid, they are
+also deemed to be ineligible to work during a shutdown. According to
+FAA guidance, ``Employees whose sole responsibility is performing
+policy and operational support work would remain on furlough.'' \7\
+This is unacceptable. FAA employees--all FAA employees--should be able
+to focus on the critical duties of the job and not on whether they will
+be able to pay bills for the month or if they need to pick up a second
+job. These are real people struggling with real problems--house
+payments, sick children or parents, health issues, debt--and they
+should not be pawns in congressional negotiations.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \7\ Department of Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary
+for Budget and Programs, and CFO, ``Operations During a Lapse in Annual
+Appropriations Plans by Operating Administration,'' December 2018
+(revised as of January 11, 2019).
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ economic impact
+ The impacts of the shutdown were not just felt in the pocketbooks
+of Federal employees. According to an estimate from the nonpartisan
+Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Government shutdown cost the
+economy $11 billion. The CBO also projects a slowdown in economic
+growth as the damage of the shutdown is becoming clearer by the day.
+When the Government shutdown in 2013 for over 2 weeks, it took the FAA
+years to recover fully. How long it takes to recover from this
+shutdown, the longest in history, remains uncertain, especially with
+the threat of another Government shutdown looming on the horizon. If
+another shutdown should occur, it will only multiply the effects and
+impacts on the country.
+ closing
+ In closing, PASS emphasizes that every day the Government is shut
+down and FAA employees are impacted, the aviation system is gambling
+with aviation safety.
+ The U.S. aviation system is a well organized, cohesive unit, with
+all parts working together. As with any functioning system, removing
+one section or placing unwarranted stress on a particular area will
+result in weaknesses with the potential to derail the entire system.
+Without support staff in place, facilities would not operate at an
+optimum level; without technicians in place, controllers would not be
+able to perform their job; and without inspectors in place, the
+aviation system could potentially be less safe and would certainly be
+less efficient. The full team needs to be on the job, free of
+unnecessary burdens unrelated to the mission.
+ Aviation plays a critical role in today's economy and delivers
+invaluable services to the flying public and the military. The FAA is
+simply not operating at full potential during a shutdown. The flying
+public should not be subjected to unnecessary risk due to political
+disagreements. The situation must not be repeated. While appropriators
+have assured that the FAA receives full funding in recent years,
+congressional disagreements have resulted in uncertainty. PASS calls on
+those in power to reach a funding deal that will prevent another
+government shutdown and fully fund the Department of Transportation and
+the FAA.
+
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Perrone.
+ I now recognize Mr. Calio for 5 minutes.
+ Mr. Calio. Thank you to Chairman Larsen, Ranking Member
+Graves, Chairman DeFazio, and Ranking Member Graves, for the
+opportunity to testify today. On behalf of Airlines for America
+and its members, the country's leading passenger and cargo
+carriers, we appreciate the committee's leadership and focus on
+this timely issue of shutdown impacts and potential solutions.
+ We also want to sincerely thank those Federal employees who
+went to work every day during the partial shutdown even though
+they were not being compensated. This includes our partners at
+the FAA, TSA, and CBP. Despite significant and prolonged
+hardship, they kept the U.S. aviation system operating and they
+ensured the safety and security of the traveling and shipping
+public.
+ We all are extremely grateful, and our association and
+carriers were pleased to be able to make significant
+contributions to the nonprofit groups that were assisting
+Federal employees as they suffered through this hardship.
+Chairman Larsen, as you noted, and Ranking Member Graves, as
+you noted, this is at least the fourth shutdown that these
+workers have suffered since 2011, through two different
+administrations.
+ I know we are here to memorialize the impacts of the
+shutdown, and we should. But our hope is that we come out of
+this united in an effort to make sure that this never happens
+again. That should be our goal for today and going forward.
+ So Chairman DeFazio and Chairman Larsen, we want to thank
+you specifically for your leadership in putting forward a
+solution that would keep the FAA fully funded and operational
+with paid employees, thereby alleviating the serious impacts
+repeatedly experienced by the entire aviation industry.
+ H.R. 1108, and Chairman DeFazio, your past efforts to
+redirect diverted TSA revenues, are greatly appreciated. And
+frankly, there is a silver lining here. Everyone at this table
+supports the legislation, and the entire industry is galvanized
+and united as never before.
+ I would be remiss not to mention and thank Secretary Chao
+at the Department of Transportation and Acting Administrator
+Elwell for all they did to guarantee that the FAA continued to
+operate safely--and I stress safely--and as efficiently as
+possible for the traveling and shipping public.
+ For air travel, the impact of the shutdown was particularly
+acute. While my written testimony contains a broader list of
+impacts that the shutdown had on our industry, and both Mr.
+Rinaldi and Mr. Perrone have laid forth many of those impacts,
+I want to mention just a few.
+ Alaska Airlines had a delay in the start of commercial
+service from Paine Field in Washington, forcing already booked
+travelers to go back through Seattle. Southwest Airlines had
+new service to Hawaii; it has been delayed. That means less
+competition and fewer options until the airline can gain FAA
+approval, which is now delayed.
+ Federal inspectors were not being paid, reducing the amount
+of oversight of the industry. Hiring new pilots into the
+workforce and promoting existing pilots was also frozen since
+the FAA was not able to process the required checks nor issue
+new pilot certificates. This is particularly harmful to the
+regional airlines, who are having workforce issues.
+ I endorse everything Mr. Rinaldi said. I cannot say it any
+better about the impact on the air traffic controllers.
+ Just a couple more overt impacts that are not that visible
+to the public. New planes were not able to be put into service.
+Collaborative planning for the summer season, which takes place
+every year and is critically important to how we handle
+convective issues in the summer, just like snow in the winter,
+has not taken place and is behind schedule. We will feel the
+impact of that come this summer. We won't realize it has
+happened because of the shutdown.
+ So with that, I am going to move on and just say, in
+closing, we have talked about NextGen. The start and stop on
+NextGen is considerable. Every time the Government shuts down,
+we have to turn off these projects. It has a real impact, and
+it is cumulative over the years, and you cannot make up. You
+cannot just flick the switch back on. This most recent
+shutdown? It is over one-twelfth of the entire year.
+ So again, Mr. Chairman, members of this committee, we
+cannot allow this to happen again. We have got a $6 billion
+trust fund. The money gets paid into that trust fund whether
+the Government is operating or not. We ought to move forward
+and find a solution to this. Your legislation is a start. A4A
+will support any solution that works so that we do not have to
+worry about another shutdown.
+ Thank you for your time.
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Calio follows:]
+
+
+Prepared Statement of Nicholas E. Calio, President and Chief Executive
+ Officer, Airlines for America (A4A)
+ Airlines for America appreciates the opportunity to testify today
+on the impacts of the most recent partial Federal shutdown. On behalf
+of our member companies, I first would like to acknowledge and
+sincerely thank the dedicated employees at the Department of
+Transportation (DOT), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the
+Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security
+Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
+Despite significant and prolonged hardship, they kept our aviation
+system operating safely and minimized disruption. We are extremely
+thankful for their efforts and desperately hopeful that neither their
+professionalism nor their livelihoods will be unnecessarily put to the
+test again just 2 short days from now.
+ Chairman DeFazio and subcommittee Chairman Larsen, I also would
+like to specifically thank you for your leadership in trying to find
+solutions that would alleviate many of the impacts felt by the aviation
+community and the traveling and shipping public. Your most recent
+legislation (H.R. 1108) and your past efforts to redirect diverted TSA
+revenues are greatly appreciated. Moving ahead, we look forward to
+working with you to find collaborative and practical solutions that
+effectively address shutdown related impacts.
+ Additionally, I would like to recognize Secretary Elaine L. Chao of
+the DOT and Acting Administrator Dan Elwell of the FAA for their
+leadership. Their decision to call back safety professionals who would
+have otherwise remained furloughed, was critical to the operational
+needs of the U.S. aviation industry and, more importantly, the needs of
+the traveling and shipping public who sustain it.
+ shutdown background and impacts
+ This committee knows that shutdowns are not new, and they are not a
+rare phenomenon. In just the past decade, the FAA has been subjected to
+several partial or Governmentwide budget reductions and shutdowns.
+ In July 2011, the lapse in FAA's authorization caused the
+FAA to stop work on numerous projects including NextGen modernization
+projects.
+ In April 2013, the Governmentwide sequester caused the
+FAA to furlough air traffic controllers resulting in massive delays
+throughout the ATC system and the cancellation of hundreds of flights,
+impacting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
+ In October 2013, the Government shutdown resulted in
+additional FAA employee furloughs.
+ The airline industry relies upon the FAA to provide critical safety
+and operational oversight through approvals of appropriate operational
+and maintenance specifications. The recent shutdown impacted A4A member
+airlines in several operational areas from complying with new safety
+requirements, bringing new aircraft into operation, approvals for new
+service, flight crewmember certification and checks, training, and the
+longer term planning for operations and Air Traffic Management
+modernization. While not exhaustive, below is a compilation of some of
+the impacts of the most recent shutdown. These examples primarily focus
+on the short-term immediate impact of the shutdown, but the
+ramifications of the shutdown, compounded by previous shutdowns, will
+have dramatic and unforeseen repercussions in the long term.
+ New Operations--The shutdown resulted in the delay of new
+authorizations necessary for expanded service. As an example, the lack
+of FAA approvals has adversely impacted the ability of one carrier to
+initiate a new extended overwater (ETOPS) route.
+ Aircraft Deliveries/Adding New Aircraft to Operations
+Specifications (OpSpecs)--The inability to obtain FAA approval for
+bringing new aircraft on-line delayed member airlines' ability to serve
+customers with new aircraft offerings, and the associated improvements
+in operational efficiencies, reduced environmental impacts and
+introduction of advanced technology.
+ Severe Weather Planning/Operational Collaboration--Based
+on the commitment by the FAA staff, the shutdown did not, for the most
+part, adversely affect the Agency and aviation community daily efforts
+to coordinate the effective allocation of National Airspace System
+resources. However, operational reviews of what could be done
+differently did not occur.
+ Looking ahead, we are concerned that the planning
+process essential for responses to the summer season did not begin.
+This delays the foundational planning needed to address convective
+weather that impairs spring/summer operations based on analysis of
+strategies from last year. It also delays much needed reports and
+planning associated with the status of staffing, evaluating impacts and
+timing of new routes as well as new training requirements. Rollout to
+the stakeholders and the training process are significantly delayed.
+ The longer term effects of the shutdown may compound
+significant concerns about staffing and experience levels in key
+facilities, especially the Northeast Corridor. Our member carriers are
+warning that this could be a really bad summer for delays.
+ Training Programs Enhancing Safety--Airlines were unable
+to receive FAA approvals for revisions to training programs, including
+complying with new FAA requirements such as Pilot Extended Envelope
+Training. This training is designed to improve the ability of pilots to
+address aircraft stall recognition and recovery.
+ Airworthiness Directives (ADs)--Members of A4A were
+unable to complete certain ADs due to the inability to obtain FAA
+approvals for associated revisions to maintenance programs.
+ Voluntary Safety Reporting--The disposition of voluntary
+safety reports under the Airline Safety Action Program (ASAP) was
+curtailed in cases where FAA participation was prohibited. ASAP
+enhances aviation safety through the prevention of accidents and
+incidents by encouraging voluntary reporting of safety issues and
+events that come to the attention of airline employees. ASAP is based
+on a safety partnership that includes the FAA and the airline
+certificate holder as well as the employee's labor organization.
+Without the participation of the FAA's representative, this program was
+limited in its ability to fully function and address safety concerns
+within the NAS.
+ Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)
+Equipage--The FAA was unable to approve Supplemental Type Certificates
+necessary to complete the updating of aircraft to meet the pending
+requirement for ADS-B equipage. The industry is on a robust initiative
+to install equipage to meet the FAA January 2020 mandate. Likewise,
+airlines were unable to gain FAA approval for associated OpSpecs.
+ NextGen--Air Traffic Control modernization efforts--
+Because this is both a planning and implementation initiative, the
+shutdown has impacted near-term improvements and longer term
+implementations being supported by the industry essentially halting the
+development and operational testing of technologies for NextGen.
+ The shutdown is jeopardizing the improvements in the
+aviation system--capacity increases, predictability for passengers,
+reduction in flight times, decreases in emissions from the FAA
+investments of $20B and the industry's comparable investments. It is
+directly impacting new technologies for traditional aviation and new
+users like commercial space and drones, U.S. global aviation
+leadership, and the path for leveraging new satellite systems that will
+improve safety.
+ The improvements in the Northeast Corridor, central to
+recent efforts by the NextGen Advisory Committee, are in jeopardy as a
+result of the shutdown. We face the potential of the FAA not being able
+to deliver on commitments of more effective and efficient metering of
+aircraft at Newark and LaGuardia Airports. There is doubt about the
+promised anticipated improvements in procedures along with pending
+improvement to high-altitude routes in question because of delays in
+EnRoute DataComm that are driven by operational band width of FAA
+facilities.
+ conclusions and solutions
+ We are here as an industry and stakeholder community representing
+more than 7 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, $1.5 trillion
+of economic impact, and more than 11.5 million jobs. We are here today
+to help develop, discuss and expeditiously implement or enact practical
+and agreeable solutions that will alleviate future shutdown scenarios.
+ Having many years of experience in Washington, I have witnessed a
+number of shutdowns in various forms and circumstances. They all have
+some common threads. They quickly expose the critical role our
+Government professionals play in many aspects of our lives that we
+simply take for granted as standard operating procedure. They are
+unnecessary. And they are avoidable. This is especially relevant and
+applicable when it comes to our Federal aviation assets and workforces,
+which are all supported in one form or another by directs taxes or fees
+collected from the industries they regulate or oversee.
+ We are in no manner downplaying the critical role of other
+Government agencies or employees impacted by the shutdown; what we do
+believe is that unique nature and funding structure of our aviation
+system should allow for efficient and effective budgetary contingency
+plans that would allow the FAA, TSA, and CBP to temporarily operate
+normally during a shutdown caused by lack of funding.
+ The most recent shutdown was quickly approaching an unsustainable
+and detrimental level, as was evidenced by the flight delays on the
+east coast and reports that a growing number of TSA officers resigned
+because of financial hardships due to the shutdown and a lack of pay on
+the day that shutdown ended.
+ As the pressures and strains on the system documented above are
+exacerbated by yet another oncoming shutdown this weekend, I predict we
+will quickly reach an unsustainable point in our system. We will, if we
+have not already, cause decades of both human and economic consequences
+that will hamper not only the potential of our system but also the
+capacity to operate in it--all to the detriment of the traveling and
+shipping public.
+ We implore all involved, please heed not only our warnings but the
+entire stakeholder community's warnings. This vicious budgetary cycle
+of stops and starts with little to no stability or predictably has
+simply got to stop. The traveling and shipping public and the dedicated
+Federal employees who protect and maintain our Nation's aviation system
+deserve continuity.
+
+ We appreciate the opportunity to testify and look forward
+to any questions. Thank you.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Calio.
+ I now recognize for 5 minutes Sara Nelson.
+ Ms. Nelson?
+ Ms. Nelson. Thank you, Chairman Larsen, Chairman DeFazio,
+Ranking Member Graves, and Ranking Member Graves, for the
+opportunity to testify on the impact of the longest Government
+shutdown in our history. My name is Sara Nelson, international
+president of the Association of Flight Attendants, representing
+nearly 50,000 of aviation's first responders at 20 airlines.
+ Just last week I attended my annual safety and security
+training required for my qualifications as a certified flight
+attendant. And rule number one when performing safety-sensitive
+work is to remove all distractions and focus. Flight attendants
+artfully complete safety tasks, shifting on a moment's notice
+from the emotional intelligence our job requires to the total
+focus it takes to perform safety and security duties.
+ And we should talk about addressing the inadequate FAA
+minimum staffing regulations currently in place once we know
+our industry is on safe ground. Today, though, we must focus on
+the distractions created by the shutdown and the impact it had
+on running a safe and secure system.
+ For decades, those who want to privatize every Government
+program have vilified Government workers as nameless, faceless
+bureaucrats. But the truth is these are the people who keep us
+safe. They are the people who live and work in our communities.
+If they cannot do their job, flight attendants cannot do our
+job. And no one gets out of this unscathed because aviation is
+what connects and moves our entire economy. This is about our
+safety, our security, and our jobs.
+ Shutdowns are never good. Our current experience is
+unprecedented. We can never allow it to happen again. Picture
+this: Airline pilots typically maintain what they call a
+``sterile cockpit'' during takeoff and landing, when no
+communication is permitted between the cabin and the flight
+deck. This is to allow pilots to focus on the most difficult
+and task-intensive parts of the flight.
+ But during the shutdown, some pilots briefed flight
+attendants that there would be no sterile cockpit on their
+flight. They were so concerned that the shutdown had
+compromised security screening that they felt they needed to
+alter safety procedures so they could be informed immediately
+if there was a security issue in the cabin.
+ Air travel is a fully integrated operation that relies on
+Government and private industry working together. When any link
+in this chain breaks down, the whole system suffers. We still
+feel the shock and horror of losing our flying partners because
+of gaps in security. We never shake that grief, nor the loss we
+have experienced for years with furloughs and bankruptcies.
+ Safety and security is nonnegotiable. It is critical that
+Washington stop the threat of day 36 and take steps to ensure
+this never happens again. We hope that does happen this week.
+ AFA fully supports the proposed Aviation Funding Stability
+Act of 2019. This legislation makes sense because there is
+absolutely no argument to close the Government when funding
+exists, specifically related to the functions of the FAA. And
+we urge immediate action on this along with all of our
+colleagues.
+ Still, we have seen that aviation relies on many areas of
+Government to keep us safe. We call on lawmakers to ensure
+Government workers are never locked out again. We also worked
+with this committee to lock in the FAA Reauthorization Act of
+2018, including critical issues that matter for safety of
+flight attendants, pilots, and our passengers.
+ The shutdown stopped implementation of this bill. Flight
+attendant fatigue exists today. The bill includes improved
+rest, along with implementation of a fatigue risk management
+plan, to close this safety loophole.
+ Evacuation standards for certification of aircraft do not
+take into consideration the current cabin environment for safe
+evacuations. Secondary cockpit barriers are required to be
+installed on all new aircraft to help thwart an attempt to
+breach the flight deck and end the absurd policy of expecting
+flight attendants to serve as that physical barrier.
+ The bill addresses these issues, too, along with sexual
+assault prevention, reporting, and response, among hundreds of
+other safety initiatives. Again, none of this has been
+implemented, and the shutdown made it impossible to move
+forward with accountability.
+ Flight attendants started to experience the economic impact
+of the shutdown, as did our communities. For example, delaying
+the Paine Field opening to commercial traffic caused flight
+attendants to lose flying, lose pay, and the same is true for
+pilots and other workers.
+ In addition, the economic impact to Everett includes
+cancellation of over 600 crew room overnights in hotels. This
+also means other travelers are not staying in those hotels,
+eating at nearby restaurants, using transportation, or
+otherwise spending in the community. Many airlines' flights
+were canceled because the FAA could not sign off on delivery of
+aircraft, more work lost.
+ This was the tip of the iceberg, though. Eleven million
+Americans who do work related to our industry were in jeopardy.
+This hampered our ability to compete with the world, and it
+created damage that may last for years.
+ There is bipartisan support to keep the Government open
+with stable, long-term funding. Americans overwhelmingly
+support this. If Washington will not put an end to this crisis,
+we will take action to save lives and protect U.S. aviation.
+ I would be happy to answer any questions. Thank you again.
+ [The prepared statement of Ms. Nelson follows:]
+
+
+Prepared Statement of Sara Nelson, International President, Association
+ of Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO
+ Thank you Chairman DeFazio, Chairman Larsen, Ranking Member Sam
+Graves, and Ranking Member Garret Graves for the opportunity to testify
+on the impact of the longest Government shutdown in our history. My
+name is Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of
+Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), representing nearly 50,000 of
+aviation's first responders at 20 airlines.
+ Last week I attended my annual safety and security training
+required for my qualifications as a certified Flight Attendant. Rule
+No. 1 when performing safety-sensitive work: remove all distractions
+and focus. Shutdowns are never good. Our current experience is
+unprecedented. Almost 2 million workers were locked out or forced to
+work without pay for more than a month. Others have been going to work
+when our workspace is increasingly unsafe. The entire airline industry
+is in jeopardy. No one will get out of this unscathed because aviation
+is what connects and moves our entire economy. Lawmakers and people in
+Government know that. Yet somehow, we are here discussing the 35-day
+nightmare for Federal workers and those of us who count on them to keep
+us safe.
+ Picture this. Airline pilots typically maintain what they call a
+``sterile cockpit'' during takeoff and landing, when no communication
+is permitted between the cabin and flightdeck. This is to allow pilots
+to focus on the most difficult, and task-intensive, parts of the
+flight. But during the recent Government shutdown--the longest in our
+Nation's history--some pilots briefed flight attendants that there
+would be no sterile cockpit on their flight. They were so concerned
+that the shutdown had compromised security screening, that they felt
+the need to alter safety procedures so that they could be informed
+immediately if there was a security issue in the cabin.
+ This is just one of the many chilling stories I heard in recent
+weeks from flight attendants and the pilots we fly with. The shutdown
+put our lives and livelihoods in danger, risked the safety of everyone
+who flies, and threatened our entire economy.
+ Many Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the shutdown ended,
+assuming that the crisis had passed. But things will only get worse if
+the shutdown continues into day 36 on February 16.
+ Flight attendants are not Federal workers, and people have asked
+why we are so outspoken on this shutdown. It's simple: aviation doesn't
+work without Federal workers. Air travel is a fully integrated
+operation that relies on Government and private industry working
+together. When any link in this chain breaks down, the whole system
+suffers. We still feel the shock and horror of losing our flying
+partners because of gaps in security. We never shake that grief, nor
+the pain we experienced with furloughs and bankruptcies that erased
+retirement security, required us to work harder for less, and spurred
+many stories of personal loss.
+ We need air traffic controllers to be fully rested and able to
+focus on their jobs, not worried about losing their homes. We need
+transportation security officers tuned in to their morning briefing,
+not wondering if the food pantry will still be stocked when he gets off
+his shift. We need the intelligence community on the job to identify
+threats and stop them, not worrying about the means to care for their
+own kids. We need the Coast Guard flying out over our waters with full
+view of what's ahead, not just over our borders to serve as the last
+line of defense.
+ Safety and security is nonnegotiable. It is critical that
+Washington stop the threat of a day 36 and take steps to ensure this
+never happens again. AFA fully supports the proposed Aviation Funding
+Stability Act of 2019 which would allow the FAA to keep all of its
+programs running and all of its employees working by drawing from the
+Airports and Airways Trust Fund during any lapse in typical Government
+appropriations. This legislation makes sense because there's absolutely
+no argument to close Government when funding exists specifically
+related to the functions of the FAA. Still, we've all seen that
+aviation relies on many areas of Government to keeping flying safe:
+DHS, DOT, CBP, State, Justice, FEMA, FDA, EPA. We call on all lawmakers
+to ensure Government workers are never locked out again.
+ If the shutdown continues, we won't know when or where problems may
+happen. That's why my union, along with other aviation unions, warned
+that the risk to aviation posed by the shutdown could not even be
+measured. Because of the disruption of key Federal systems that support
+the operation of the airline industry, air travel could be disrupted at
+any time, anywhere--and that's not even counting the damage if there's
+a serious incident.
+ Flight attendants are aviation's first responders and the last line
+of defense for aviation safety and security. We take our responsibility
+seriously. That's why, through our unions, we've fought to ban smoking
+on planes, to keep knives out of the cabin, and so much more. Now, we
+are once again standing up for safety and security.
+ We also worked with this committee to achieve long-term
+authorization for aviation to improve further upon, outside of this
+current environment, the safest transportation system in the world. The
+FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 included critical issues that matter
+for the safety of flight attendants, pilot, and passengers. Flight
+attendant fatigue exists today. The bill includes improves rest along
+with implementation of a Fatigue Risk Management Plan to close this
+safety loophole. Evacuation standards for certification of aircraft do
+not take into consideration the current cabin environment for safe
+evacuation. Secondary cockpit barriers are required to be installed on
+all new aircraft to help thwart an attempt to breach the flight deck
+and end the absurd policy of expecting flight attendants to serve as
+that physical barrier. The bill addresses these issues too, along with
+sexual assault prevention, reporting and response--among hundreds of
+other safety initiatives. None of these things have been implemented
+though and the shutdown made it impossible to move forward with
+accountability.
+ Flight attendants started to experience the economic impact of the
+shutdown, as did our communities. Airlines had scheduled flight to a
+new commercial destination, Paine Field (PAE), as of February 4, 2019.
+Horizon flight attendants had schedules reflecting this flying in
+February, but this work is now canceled. Flight Attendants who had PAE
+flying were given the options to sit reserve or take time off without
+pay. Monthly guarantees were reduced. The company stated in a memo to
+AFA that there would be a negative financial impact on affected Flight
+Attendants when there isn't any open time to replace the removed
+flying. While AFA is disputing the lack of pay protection, the
+immediate impact is felt by these flight attendants.
+ In addition to the lost wages and per diem to the Horizon Flight
+Attendants, the economic impact to Everett includes cancellation of
+over 600 crew overnight hotel rooms. The total lost revenue to the
+Everett community is unknown as other travelers also aren't staying in
+these hotels, eating at nearby restaurants, using transportation, or
+otherwise spending in the community.
+ At other airlines halted approval aircraft caused canceled flights
+and less work for flight attendants. This was the tip of the iceberg.
+If air traffic controllers who are eligible to retire decide that is
+the only option they have to provide for their families, a significant
+portion of airline capacity will be grounded. This will result in
+massive layoffs for flight attendants and directly harm the 11 million
+Americans who do work related to our industry. It will hamper our
+ability to compete with the world and it may create damage that lasts
+years. The consequences for all of our communities is enormous.
+ closing
+ There are serious issues we need to debate as a country, but our
+democracy and economy only work when the basic functions of our
+Government are in place. It is immoral to put American lives in danger
+with reckless political games. We cannot allow our airline industry to
+be decimated by continue the shutdown for day 36 and beyond.
+ There is bipartisan support to keep the Government open with
+stable, long-term funding. Americans overwhelmingly support this
+solution.
+ As I close, I must leave you with this: if Congress ignores the
+will of the American people and takes us to day 36 of the shutdown,
+flight attendants will not risk the lives of our colleagues and our
+passengers.
+ We have a duty to protect ourselves and the American people from
+danger. Working people have power when we come together. If Congress
+chooses the chaos of a continued lockout, we will use that power. If
+Congress will not put an end to this crisis, we will take action to
+save lives and protect U.S. aviation.
+ I would be happy to answer any questions.
+
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Ms. Nelson.
+ I now turn to Mr. Peter Bunce, and recognize you for 5
+minutes.
+ Mr. Bunce. Chairman Larsen, Ranking Member Graves, Chairman
+DeFazio, and Ranking Member Graves, thanks for having me here
+today. For those Members that are new to the subcommittee, GAMA
+represents those that make the actual aircraft itself--the
+engines, the avionics, large maintenance, repair, overhaul
+facilities, and training providers. And we are a global
+association.
+ If you look at what we have done over the last 10 years,
+working very hand-in-hand with our colleagues, Mr. Perrone's
+organization, along with this committee, we have implemented
+certification reform that, without, would have absolutely
+devastated our industry during this shutdown.
+ So we are very thankful for the cooperative way we have
+worked with this. And I want to just echo what my colleagues
+here have said at the table. The legislation that has been put
+forward with the Aviation Funding Stability Act is something
+that has united the industry that I have not seen in the time
+that I have been at the association. And the only reason that
+we only had forty logos on the letter that you saw yesterday
+was just we did not have time--we wanted to get it out before
+this hearing, because there would have been many more. So you
+have universal support for this legislation going forward.
+ Now, because we had the certification reform, we were able
+to still function during the shutdown. But that does not mean
+that it did not have significant impact to the manufacturers
+and maintenance providers. And I want to give you just two
+quick examples, and I will use one from Louisiana.
+ So you have a rotorcraft company that provides emergency
+medical support throughout the Nation. And in fact, here in
+Washington, DC, those that we hear in the Life Flight
+helicopters were provided by this company. They do
+supplemental-type certificate modifications to these aircraft
+so that they can go ahead and do it.
+ They were stalled. They were not able to get these aircraft
+to market. You have to make bets, as a manufacturer or a
+supplier, that you are going to be able to deliver product to
+your customer on time; if you do not, you default on those
+contracts. So that has significant impact, and it ripples
+through the system.
+ Another example in Washington State: In the central part or
+western part of the State, we have a manufacturer making small
+aircraft. In fact, it is still fabric-covered. And the impact
+on them was cascading all during the shutdown. So they could
+not move airplanes that were already produced off the ramp to
+foreign buyers that bought the aircraft because validations all
+have to go through the FAA, and they were all stalled.
+ When they go and they make an aircraft and they drill a
+hole, if the hole is mis-drilled and it is a little bit larger,
+then you have a deviation from the type design and you have to
+get permission from the FAA to put a bigger rivet in it. That
+is how highly regulated our industry is, like no other. And so
+you have ripple effects all throughout the system.
+ So during the shutdown, we had very open lines of
+communication to the FAA leadership. And I just want to echo
+what my colleagues have said. Acting Administrator Elwell, Ali
+Bahrami, who runs the safety division, Teri Bristol on the air
+traffic control side, and up to Secretary Chao, they did
+everything within the limits of the law to be able to listen to
+us, and tried to mitigate as best they could.
+ But all of these effects were compounding. So when you go
+into a shutdown or start planning for it, and that happened
+this week, all of a sudden the activity starts to slow down
+because they have got to get ready for the shutdown. And then
+once the shutdown is over with, our calculation, which is borne
+out with the previous shutdown that Ranking Member Graves
+mentioned, is usually about 3 to 4 weeks for every 1 week of
+shutdown because you are not just having to clean out your
+inbox. You have got to keep pace of this increasing amount of
+activity that is coming at Mr. Perrone's people.
+ So the safety part of the FAA--we as manufacturers, a lot
+of us fly in the system and we touch Mr. Rinaldi's people all
+the time. And the selfless performance they did during the
+shutdown is so much appreciated. But Mr. Perrone's folks are,
+for us as manufacturers and maintenance providers and training
+providers, they are the unsung heroes because they sit there
+and they allow us, with the safety oversight that permeates
+every single thing that we do. And without them to be able to
+approve each and every part of the process, the system starts
+to break down and the recovery becomes very long.
+ So now moving forward, it is very important for us as
+manufacturers to implement what you all did last year in the
+2018 FAA Reauthorization Act. There continues to be significant
+reforms out there in certification, and we had a lot of lessons
+learned during this shutdown.
+ We learned that delegated authorities, or ODAs, that are
+managed in one part of the country are not managed the same in
+others. So there are a lot of things that we will be able to
+capture. But I would ask this committee, as we move forward,
+these reforms are important and we need to keep them online
+because we have tremendous new equipment coming into the
+system. A lot of attention is paid to commercial drones, but we
+have got on-demand air mobility coming very quickly. In
+commercial space, we are going to see launches this year on
+significant commercial space operations.
+ So we need to make sure that the pressure remains and the
+oversight maintains on the FAA to be able to go and drive last
+year's reforms across the goal line. Thank you.
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Bunce follows:]
+
+
+ Prepared Statement of Peter J. Bunce, President and Chief Executive
+ Officer, General Aviation Manufacturers Association
+ Thank you, Chairman Larsen and Ranking Member Graves. My name is
+Pete Bunce and I am president and CEO of the General Aviation
+Manufacturers Association (GAMA). On behalf of GAMA and over 100 of our
+member companies, we look forward to working with you and the members
+of the House Aviation Subcommittee in the 116th Congress on key
+aviation items. We also look forward to working with House
+Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio and
+Ranking Member Sam Graves and the membership of the committee at large.
+Thank you for convening this hearing today which will be vital to
+understanding the short- and long-term impact of the recent partial
+Government shutdown on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and
+the aviation industry, and how best to recover from it.
+ GAMA exists to foster and advance the general welfare, safety,
+interests, and activities of the global general and business aviation
+industry. This includes promoting a better understanding of general
+aviation manufacturing, maintenance, repair, and overhaul and training
+and the important role these industry segments play in economic growth
+and opportunity, and in facilitating the critical transportation needs
+of communities, businesses, and individuals. The general aviation
+industry provides $219 billion in economic output overall to the U.S.
+economy and employs over 1.1 million people.\1\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \1\ Contributions of General Aviation to the US Economy in 2013,
+PricewaterhouseCoopers, February 11, 2015.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ I appreciate the opportunity to speak about the impact of the
+shutdown on aviation manufacturing. However, I also want to make it
+clear that GAMA recognizes that these impacts go far beyond our
+critical part of the aviation industry. We appreciate and respect the
+work of all Federal employees, especially those working to promote the
+safety, security and economic health of the aviation system, and
+realize how difficult this recent period has been for the Federal
+workforce and those who contract and partner with the Federal
+Government. Our industry is one which relies on the professionalism,
+focus, and success of all aviation employees, both public and private
+sector. The U.S. aviation system is an extremely complex and
+interconnected one which provides the highest levels of safety and the
+largest and most robust air services network in the world--when
+significant stress is imposed on one part of this interdependent
+system, there is negative impact on all.
+ I also want to recognize the great work of the House Transportation
+and Infrastructure Committee in enacting a 5-year FAA Reauthorization
+bill into law last year (P.L. 115-254). The law was rightly hailed at
+the time as providing needed stability and direction for the FAA and
+the aviation system and community. This recent shutdown was a challenge
+to that premise and we hope the subcommittee will work with us, FAA,
+and DOT to recover and move forward on critical initiatives which seek
+to strengthen and improve the efficiency of our national aviation
+safety system and enable continued growth and development of new
+aircraft and technologies. From GAMA's member companies' perspective,
+the certification reforms pushed by Congress and being implemented by
+FAA and industry have had a positive impact on safety oversight and
+industry health during normal operations, but also mitigated some of
+the debilitating impacts in this shutdown. Congressional leadership and
+oversight have been critical to the progress we have collectively made
+since 2012 and those efforts need to continue and be strengthened.
+ We also ask the administration and Congress to act in a bipartisan
+way to make certain that we do not have another shutdown--either a
+partial one in the next few days or in the future. Either scenario will
+have extremely harmful effects to the aviation industry. Recovering
+from the recent Government closure will be both lengthy and
+complicated, and any subsequent shutdown of the FAA will multiply these
+negative impacts on small businesses, the economy, and safety. The
+strength of aviation manufacturing's economic contribution is dependent
+on a fully operating and functioning FAA being able to undertake
+certification, maintenance, pilot training, and other regulatory
+actions and approvals in order to bring aircraft, engines, avionics,
+and other new technologies and products to the U.S. and global
+marketplace and to properly maintain the existing fleet.
+ For this reason, we applaud the leadership of Chairman DeFazio and
+Ranking Member Larsen and vigorously support the Aviation Funding and
+Stability Act of 2019 (H.R. 1108). GAMA is joined by numerous other
+aviation stakeholders in support of this legislation, including many in
+the general aviation community. The purpose of this legislation is
+simple--to enable the FAA to leverage and temporarily draw from the
+Airport and Airway Trust fund in the event of a future Government
+shutdown. If enacted, H.R. 1108 would provide targeted stability for
+the aviation system to function, including air traffic and critical
+elements of aviation safety--which includes certification, maintenance,
+and training--while ensuring congressional oversight. We look forward
+to working with members of this committee, and other stakeholders who
+share jurisdiction, in a bipartisan way to advance the Aviation Funding
+and Stability Act of 2019 in the near term and mitigate the
+consequences of any future Government shutdown on the FAA.
+ the shutdown's impact on aviation manufacturing, maintenance, and
+ training
+Aircraft Certification
+ By way of background, the FAA Certification process is structured
+to establish, demonstrate, and verify compliance with safety standards
+for design, manufacturing and performance of aircraft as well as to
+monitor and sustain the safety of aircraft once in service. During the
+shutdown, many GAMA member companies could not deliver products or were
+forced to stop development of new products or technologies because FAA
+personnel were unable to perform key certification activities. This
+halted the FAA review of design approvals, flight tests, development of
+new or revised policy/guidance, and approval of issue papers that are
+critical to establishing requirements for aircraft and other product
+certification.
+ Manufacturers could not start any new certification projects other
+than routine minor FAA pre-approved activities. This was particularly
+difficult and harmful for small businesses, who rely on an ongoing
+stream of new business activities and their ability to innovate and
+attract new customers. Before any new certification project can start,
+including development of a new and improved component or part, upgraded
+software, or cabin modification, FAA must first establish the
+applicable airworthiness requirements and approve the certification
+plan on how the manufacturer will show compliance.
+ Whenever there is a technical issue such as a new design feature or
+means of compliance, it requires FAA to approve an `issue paper' that
+needs to be processed across many different engineering, standards and
+policy offices. Several GAMA member small businesses were hit
+particularly hard by the shutdown because they simply could not
+continue their business without FAA coordination and were forced to
+make very difficult and significant business choices, because they
+could not predict when FAA might be available to resume their
+activities or if FAA would accept any of the work activity they
+completed. Manufacturers and their FAA Aircraft Certification offices
+were able to manage these effects somewhat through advance planning of
+ongoing and upcoming projects prior to the shutdown and by utilizing,
+when available, delegation systems and authorities.
+Validation and Global Leadership
+ Aviation is a global industry. Once an aviation product is approved
+by the FAA, this product must also be validated or accepted by foreign
+aviation authorities to enable export of U.S. manufactured aircraft and
+equipment. Likewise, for import of aircraft, many of which contain
+significant U.S. content, and components approved by non-U.S.
+authorities, FAA must validate their certification design approvals.
+During the shutdown, all validation programs between the FAA and other
+international aviation authorities were halted. As a result, the export
+and import of aviation products was negatively impacted. This not only
+affected some current deliveries, but there are potentially months of
+delay to many validation programs with significant impact on aircraft
+deliveries that could ripple throughout the aviation system of
+suppliers, operators, training and maintenance providers.
+ Additionally, key international meetings critical to establishing
+global standards and enabling industry growth and exports were canceled
+or took place without FAA participation, diminishing FAA and U.S.
+leadership in the international arena.
+Operating Authorizations
+ Following the delivery of an aircraft, an operator must also obtain
+the FAA's authorization to operate that aircraft. During the shutdown,
+these authorizations for general aviation aircraft were halted. The FAA
+also authorizes specific functions for an operator to use such as
+allowing data link communication, Performance-based Navigation (PBN),
+and Electronic Flight Bags. These authorizations were stopped as well,
+limiting the efficiency and use of improved technology and procedures
+by operators and their aircraft.
+Repair Stations and Recurrent Certification
+ FAA also regulates and oversees the work done on aircraft and other
+products at maintenance and repair organizations. This includes the
+need for periodic, mandatory certification which were threatened given
+the agency could not perform needed safety inspections. At the same
+time, FAA could not inspect or certify repair station certificates for
+initial issuance, transfer, or approval for changes to grow their
+businesses.
+ By example, one company planned to open a new facility after the
+holiday break. They had moved all their personnel and equipment and
+completely vacated their old facility. The new facility could not open
+because FAA was not able to perform an inspection which hampered the
+facility's operations and planned new hiring.
+Training
+ Another important part of the broader aviation safety system is
+those who provide training. During the recent shutdown, the GAMA member
+flight training providers found that the FAA was unable to approve
+training manual revisions, authorize training center evaluators, and
+qualify flight simulators.
+ Without these approvals, training centers could not provide
+required training for pilots and this delay will likely be felt through
+the spring as operators and training centers work to make up a backlog
+of rescheduled training events that had to be canceled.
+ For most businesses, it is not just one issue they faced during the
+shutdown but multiple ones. For instance, a small company in Washington
+State was unable to get FAA concurrence for any production changes that
+fall outside limited parameters. These kind of changes occur on a
+regular basis for this and other businesses. Additionally, this
+particular company has made significant investment in new product
+development and is seeking a new Type Certificate and several Type
+Certificate Amendments, each viewed as vital to maintaining their
+competitiveness, which were each impacted. Moreover, they also have
+applications for type certificate validations in several countries and
+the shutdown significantly affected the company's ability to move into
+new markets. As a result, this small company is left with new
+challenges in an already competitive and difficult global marketplace
+coupled with the threat of more uncertainty.
+ Another example can be found in family owned Emergency Medical
+Service (EMS) aircraft operator and helicopter completion center that
+employs nearly 1,000 aviation professionals, 250 of whom reside in the
+State of Louisiana where they are headquartered. This privately held
+company also serves as a training provider for 140 EMS aircraft in 25
+States, plus the District of Columbia, that provide a critical link for
+rural healthcare delivery and a vital lifeline in times of emergency.
+ Due to the Government shutdown, this company was unable to complete
+delivery of at least four helicopters contracted to be placed in
+service as EMS Medevac helicopters. These deliveries are dependent upon
+the issuance of a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the FAA for
+a Single Pilot Instrument Flight Rule (SPIFR) equipment installation.
+FAA was scheduled to begin ground and flight testing in December, but
+these were postponed due to a 1-day observance honoring the passing of
+former President George H.W. Bush and, unfortunately, rescheduled to
+early January. That testing did not take place due to the shutdown and
+still has not been completed.
+ The resulting impact of not receiving this STC in a timely manner
+forced the company to default on contracts and not provide their new
+technology for lifesaving activities. A version of this story was
+repeated many times during the shutdown for other life-saving vehicles
+given the lack of FAA Flight Standards field personnel to provide pilot
+check airmen certifications, route checks, and, approvals for
+modifications.
+ In detailing these impacts, it is obvious there is a compounding
+and cascading effect of the shutdown on the overall aviation sector. At
+every point, whether it was certifying or modifying products,
+maintaining and repairing aircraft and systems, keeping the training
+and approval system for new and existing pilots on schedule, or the
+ability of operators to put into service and maintain new aircraft, the
+health and vitality of U.S. aviation manufacturing and the overall
+aviation system was weakened.
+ aviation and manufacturing industry recovery
+ During the shutdown, GAMA continually surveyed our member companies
+to inquire about impacts and timelines for recovery. We received weekly
+assessments of shutdown impacts and ascertained that for each week the
+shutdown continued, there would be a 3- to 4-week impact on aircraft
+and product certification programs. This calculation is consistent with
+what GAMA member companies reported during previous closures of the
+FAA, though specific impacts depend on how far a company program is
+into the certification process and the extent of their delegated
+authorities. The extended length of residual shutdown impact is due to
+the backlog of tasks that only FAA can perform. While FAA certification
+offices are working to address this backlog, the day to day pace of
+manufacturing and maintenance activities accompanied by the start of
+new projects that FAA must also support compounds and complicates the
+recovery effort.
+ The Government shutdown will have a lingering negative impact upon
+certification activities for the foreseeable future. As noted
+previously, key activities, such as flight testing of new aircraft,
+which require specific expertise and involvement by the FAA are tightly
+scheduled. These activities are in continuous demand and losing over a
+month of activity means that FAA personnel who were unable to do the
+required flight test because of the Government closure need to be
+integrated back into the flight test schedule. As a result, development
+program timelines will be pushed significantly to the right. This is an
+incredibly complex allocation of limited FAA resources and imposes a
+burden for FAA management and its workforce to bear. Even under the
+best circumstances, we anticipate disruptions will continue for months.
+In order to work through the backlog of activities, it will be
+important that FAA prioritize its system safety oversight activities
+and focus its limited resources on safety critical activities and tasks
+that only they can perform.
+ As with the other associations here today, we also worry about the
+morale of Federal employees and the impact the Government closure has
+had on the workforce. The inspectors, engineers, and leaders we work
+with are skilled and talented and can look to alternative private
+sector opportunities that are currently abundant. Retaining these
+employees is critical to moving forward from a scenario they did not
+create.
+ During both the shutdown and the reconstitution, we have worked
+with Acting Administrator Dan Elwell and his leadership team to assess
+the impact of Government closure limiting FAA activities for the
+manufacturing and maintenance sector and identify opportunity for
+mitigation. We greatly appreciate the fact that FAA leadership did what
+they could within the limits of the law to identify available
+flexibilities and correctly posture the safety directorate to maximize
+productivity during the recovery phase. Unfortunately, the ability to
+diminish impacts was limited but it did allow us to keep our membership
+informed, address issues where possible, and help companies with their
+post shutdown planning. This communication was also vital to ensuring
+that FAA remained in its critical system safety oversight role.
+ Since the shutdown ended, we have worked to ensure FAA understands
+the most prominent and immediate issues that have emerged from a GAMA
+member company perspective and provided recommendations to help the
+agency prioritize activities to move forward efficiently and
+expeditiously.
+ We understand FAA's initial focus is on internal coordination
+simply to restore operations, review ongoing activities, and develop
+revised work plans and prioritize recovery initiatives. We have
+suggested actions that will relieve administrative burdens and focus on
+key efforts that will help FAA and industry return to normal activities
+as soon as possible. One suggested mitigation that the agency
+immediately acted upon was to extend designee and certification
+authorizations that have expired or will soon expire, facilitating full
+use of available delegation and bilateral agreements, and issuing the
+required operational authorizations so that new aircraft can enter
+service. These steps, and numerous others, will help both the FAA and
+industry focus their resources on those tasks that only FAA can perform
+such as: establishing certification basis, approving certification
+plans and issue papers, reviewing flight manuals, and conducting safety
+activities that cannot be delegated--rather than more routine tasks or
+activities that others have authority to undertake.
+ impact on the faa reauthorization act of 2018
+ The passage of this law was a significant victory for the industry,
+the economy, aviation safety, as well as the traveling public. When
+talking about the bill last fall, we highlighted key provisions that we
+believe need to be implemented fully, effectively, and in a timely
+manner. The shutdown significantly set the timelines back while causing
+economic damage to the aviation manufacturing industry. There will be
+some in the bureaucracy that will want to use the shutdown as an excuse
+not to aggressively implement the reforms contained in last year's FAA
+reauthorization and we believe this underscores the important role
+Congress will play in oversight of FAA's prioritization of activities.
+Collectively, we have lost critical time because of this shutdown and
+it impacts both existing efforts and those on the horizon.
+ Last week the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a
+hearing focused on physical infrastructure which is critical to
+advancing transportation and economic development in this country. The
+success of aviation is also highly dependent on advancing and
+modernizing the regulatory structure and air traffic control system.
+Manufacturers large and small are developing incredible new
+technologies to more efficiently handle current traffic and safely
+integrate rapidly emerging entrants such as unmanned systems, electric
+vertical take-off and landing vehicles, civil supersonic aircraft, and
+commercial space vehicles.
+ The work this committee has accomplished, spurred on by its
+leadership to advance certification and regulatory reform, will greatly
+benefit these new markets and technological developments. These
+reforms, coupled with substantial FAA progress on key initiatives in
+the certification area, kept us functioning during the shutdown, but
+also makes clear the vital need for implementation of the 2018 law as
+we look toward the future of flight. I look forward to working with
+this subcommittee and the broader membership of this committee and
+Congress to prevent future shutdowns but also find ways to realize the
+promise of these important reforms to benefit aviation in the present
+and in the existing years ahead. Thank you, Chairman Larsen and Ranking
+Member Graves for convening this important hearing and we look forward
+to collectively working together to advance the safety and economic
+potential of the manufacturing and maintenance sector, and the broader
+aviation sector.
+
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Bunce.
+ We will now move to questions. I will recognize myself for
+5 minutes. I just want to make a point about Mr. Bunce's last
+point. I hope one of our next hearings will be on U.S.
+innovation in the airspace, and will include discussion of
+these issues like air taxis and commercial space.
+ This committee needs to get more on top of those issues
+because aviation in aerospace includes flying by an airplane
+and flying in an airplane, but it is also beginning to include
+much more--these issues of drones, of commercial space, of air
+taxis. And we need to get on top of that. So appreciate you
+bringing that up.
+ Mr. Rinaldi, according to your testimony, classes resumed
+last week at the training academy in Oklahoma City. I say
+``resumed'' because they were stopped during the recent
+shutdown. Can you describe how the closure of the academy
+affects the pipeline of new controllers and the ability to meet
+hiring targets this year, or any year we have a shutdown, for
+that matter?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Thank you for the question, sir. Yes. There
+are 22 classes up and running right now. Obviously, if we shut
+down on Friday, they will all go home again. That is horribly
+disruptive to the pipeline of getting controllers out to the
+facilities and start that 3- to 5-year process of
+apprenticeship.
+ There are limited spaces at the academy, and we are
+concerned that the agency is not going to be able to meet their
+hiring goal because it has been closed for 35--actually, it was
+longer than 35 days. And another shutdown would just close that
+pipeline for a long time.
+ Mr. Larsen. So can you then--let's move to another question
+about retraining the controller workforce on DataComm, one of
+the technologies. Why would there be a need to retrain that
+workforce on DataComm when the FAA has already spent $8 million
+on training? Why does that training need to be repeated?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. DataComm is new technology which is pretty
+evasive, and they change the way that the controllers issue
+clearances back and forth from the pilots. It is something that
+needs to be fresh, and it is something you need to do every
+day. It almost needs to become second nature.
+ So as we went through 35 days of not training, as we
+approached the 45-day period, you have to do a full training
+process because the implementation just will not be smooth.
+ Mr. Larsen. OK. Mr. Perrone, you mentioned with inspectors
+and technicians and the delay for them, from your perspective,
+is there any way for us to catch up or are we just going to
+have to trundle our way through months before we get caught up
+again?
+ Mr. Perrone. Thank you. Yes. The problem is, during that 35
+days, as was said, the industry continued moving forward. They
+continued to put aircraft in the pipeline. They continued to
+make sure they did their part. Our inspectors were not working,
+so they just had paperwork sitting on their desk, sitting in
+the inbox.
+ After they came back to work, and I know they came back a
+little earlier than the full 35 days, but they had to make up
+for that time, plus every day there is new information out
+there that they have to review. So it is going to take a long
+time.
+ And this 3-week period of uncertainty--is the Government
+going to shut down again? Is it not? The FAA had to move
+priorities around. They were not sure what they needed to do,
+and the industry had to let them know and work with them to
+figure out what is next.
+ So that is the problem, is now, like somebody said, turning
+on a switch back to work. Here we go. You continue to have the
+day-to-day operation plus the 35-plus days that we were sitting
+idle.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you.
+ Mr. Calio, can you provide the committee with additional
+impacts to the airline industry during the shutdown? You
+mentioned some airplane deliveries as an example. Are there
+additional impacts?
+ Mr. Calio. Sure. There were airworthiness directives that
+we could not get approved because the employees were not on the
+job to do it. Again, there was NextGen. There were all--if you
+look at how we fly, in trying to get online, we had planes that
+needed to be recertified. Those couldn't get back online.
+ Again, there are so many hidden impacts that are detailed
+in our written testimony. And those are the things we ought to
+be focusing on to stop from happening again because if we all
+agree, and I am the one who said it, you cannot just flip the
+switch back on and make these things happen.
+ So what we were doing, Mr. Chairman, was monitoring our
+airlines' short-term impacts, mid-term impacts, and long-term
+impacts. We were piecing and patching, as was the FAA and DOT,
+to try to ameliorate the short-term impacts. But as you look at
+it, it grows down the line. The mid-term becomes longer, and
+there's a buildup there, as Mr. Perrone said. And then the
+long-term keeps up.
+ We are still suffering from 2013. And every time we add to
+it, it is wrong, which is why the legislation that you have
+introduced is so important.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thanks.
+ Ms. Nelson, other impacts of the shutdown, or any shutdown,
+on flight attendants?
+ Ms. Nelson. Flight attendants know that we were on the edge
+of facing a real disaster for our jobs. But more so, flight
+attendants were expressing extraordinary concern about safety
+and security. We have seen critical incidents, and we have seen
+those who wish to do ill will. And in each of those cases, we
+did not have any warning for it.
+ And what flight attendants were very aware of was that in
+those instances, if we had known, we would have pulled our
+friends off those flights. We would have told people not to go.
+We would have done anything that we could to avoid those
+situations. And they were saying to us, we have to act now
+because now we see that there are these gaps. And we cannot
+stand by and let something catastrophic happen when we know
+that we are setting ourselves up for that.
+ Mr. Larsen. So you are kind of the first responder in the
+aircraft, and you are the last to know in these circumstances?
+ Ms. Nelson. We count on all of these people to keep us
+safe, to do their jobs. And when people come to the aircraft
+door, we are that last line of defense, and we are the first
+responder when something happens that goes wrong. But when we
+have a break in the chain of all of the safety layers that have
+to be in place to keep us safe, we are set up to fail. And we
+were saying that that is unacceptable.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you.
+ Mr. Bunce, I will come back to you. I am sure others have
+questions for you. But I appreciate your comments on ODA and
+certification reform, so I would like to explore that a little
+bit later.
+ But I will now turn to Mr. Graves for 5 minutes.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Mr. Calio, I will ask you a question. A lot of discussion
+in regard to the testimony has been focused on safety, which
+obviously is an appropriate topic. Would your members fly
+planes with passengers on board if they have viewed a threat to
+safety?
+ Mr. Calio. Never. And the way our system operates, it is a
+risk-based system. I think everybody on the panel would agree
+that the shutdown did introduce more risk into the system
+because some of the layers were missing in terms of oversight.
+That said, what the FAA does is they--and Mr. Elwell said this,
+Acting Administrator Elwell said this--what we will do is
+compromise efficiency for safety. And you saw that at LaGuardia
+finally, when it really--when the rubber really hit the road.
+ What they did was a ground stop because we will stretch the
+flights out, stretch out the flight times, and provide less
+flights. So less people fly. It's more inconvenient for
+passengers and shippers. And it affects business. It affects
+the economy. But never, never would we put a plane in the air
+if we considered it to be unsafe.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Mr. Calio, thank you. And I really
+wanted to emphasize that point because there were a lot of
+comments on safety that were made. And I want to make sure that
+we are being clear to the public, the flying public, that--
+well, I made my comments opening up about the shutdown, and I
+am not going to reiterate those. I think it is inexcusable,
+what happened.
+ But I also think it is important that we do convey the
+safety factors or I guess the lack of risk that existed during
+the shutdown as a result of some of the efforts by the airlines
+and others.
+ Mr. Rinaldi, you made mention, too, of an incident in
+Philadelphia. I am disappointed the FAA is not here today, and
+I am looking forward to having much more robust conversations
+with them. Are you aware how much of that incident was a result
+of a pilot versus the controllers?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Well, that incident was the pilot lining up
+for a taxiway that is parallel to the runway. Sometimes from
+the cockpit it is very confusing. The equipment that I
+mentioned gave the controllers a heads up that they were
+outside the cone of the threshold of the runway, therefore
+giving us an alert.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. I just wanted to distinguish that
+pilots certainly were not--their pay was not affected by the
+shutdown. And if this was a pilot issue, then tying that back
+to the shutdown perhaps is a tenuous connection. But I just
+wanted to be clear.
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Well, the point of that in my testimony was
+that equipment was deployed only at 6 airports, going to be at
+13 additional airports if it was not for the shutdown, now
+delayed to the end of June. That was the point of my testimony.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. And Mr. Rinaldi, I think I share
+with you, and probably everyone on the panel, strong concern
+about the delayed implementation, the continued missed
+milestones of NextGen, the cost overruns, and other things. I
+know the full committee chairman has repeatedly made reference
+to this; I think my favorite line is when you called it
+``NeverGen.''
+ But this is a grave concern that we have, and something
+that Chairman Larsen and I have briefly discussed and looked
+forward to focusing on to help get that back on track and make
+sure that the full scope of NextGen is implemented in an
+appropriate timeframe and within an appropriate budget.
+ Another question: I mentioned earlier, and my math was
+wrong; I just looked at it again. I said that there were a
+number of shutdowns during the Carter administration. There
+were actually five shutdowns totaling 66 days.
+ Does anyone--and I am not asking anybody to show their ID.
+But anybody recall any impacts during those shutdowns, and
+perhaps impacts on the aviation industry?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. For the Carter administration? I was in high
+school.
+ [Laughter.]
+ Mr. Calio. I might be old enough, but at that time I was in
+law school and focused on other things.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Great. Thank you.
+ I guess next question: Mr. Bunce, thanks for being here and
+it is good to see you again. Can you talk about how the
+shutdown impacted the integration of new technology such as
+unmanned aircraft, urban air mobility, and commercial space
+transportation into the NAS?
+ Mr. Bunce. Absolutely. And especially with--we are calling
+it on-demand air mobility because my hope is someday that every
+rural community out there has a machine that is programmed to
+go to a hospital, and that we can put an occupant in and it is
+going to fly to the hospital. And we are on the cusp of this
+being able to happen.
+ Back in 2015, we passed the Small Aircraft Revitalization
+Act unanimously by the U.S. Congress. And right now we are in
+that stage of trying to use those implementing rules to
+facilitate this new type of vehicle to be able to get into the
+airspace to certify it.
+ So when we can have Mr. Perrone's people available to work
+on being able to set the certification standards for those
+types of vehicles. It is delaying this. And make no mistake
+that there is tremendous international competition in this
+area. The work that is being done in Europe and in China is
+absolutely dramatic.
+ And my hope is that the U.S. stays, as Chairman Larsen
+mentioned, the gold standard. We are an aviation nation, and we
+have got to keep progressing forward to be able to certify
+these aircraft. So it does have a big impact.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you. I appreciate it. I
+yield back.
+ Mr. Larsen. The Chair recognizes Chair DeFazio for 5
+minutes.
+ Mr. DeFazio. Thanks. Mr. Rinaldi, there are very strict
+rules about your folks, just like pilots, not reporting to work
+when they are fatigued or ill and feel they cannot do the job
+properly. But wouldn't you say--you had a--A, it is a stressful
+job; B, we are understaffed, so people are putting in a lot of
+mandatory overtime; and then C, when you get like the example I
+had, with a younger controller doing mandatory overtime,
+feeling compelled to drive Uber to put food on the table, do
+you think--I mean, he may not have been fatigued at a level
+that he should have stayed home. But they are not at the top of
+their game. Right?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Certainly fatigue entered into the system.
+Sometimes individuals have a tough time identifying that they
+are too fatigued to come to work. And that might have been
+happening. We did see, as I said, some routine clearances where
+mistakes were being made because they were distracted.
+ But we were deeply concerned about what was going on in the
+control towers and the control rooms throughout the country
+about fatigue.
+ Mr. DeFazio. All right. Thank you. In addition, the extra
+stress. And then----
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Oh, the stress was intense.
+ Mr. DeFazio. And Mr. Perrone, what about your people that
+are told they are not essential and told to stay home? How do
+they feel about coming back to work, and what is the new burden
+on them?
+ Mr. Perrone. So the problem is not being essential
+personnel. I mean, everybody in the FAA does their job and
+keeps the system up and running. Again, the safest in the
+world, most complex. And to say you are not important for these
+35 days, the morale was just tremendous that they just said,
+``Why should we stay? Why should we bother continuing to work
+if the''----
+ Mr. DeFazio. A lot of your people have technical expertise.
+Couldn't they find private sector jobs if they want?
+ Mr. Perrone. Absolutely, especially the inspectors. They
+can go back to industry. And our technicians and workforce,
+they can go find other jobs because they have that unique
+ability to do that.
+ Mr. DeFazio. So if this uncertainty continues, is the
+future about whether these are stable, long-term jobs? You may
+have trouble getting qualified people to fill your openings.
+ Mr. Perrone. Absolutely.
+ Mr. DeFazio. Yes. OK.
+ And Ms. Nelson, we have been discussing the safety issue.
+And just--I mean, TSA would limit lines. But again, a lot of
+them were driving Uber. They are having garage sales. They are
+checking their phone to see if they sold their table or TV yet.
+ I mean, did flight attendants have an overwhelming sense
+that things were not as safe as they could be?
+ Ms. Nelson. Flight attendants were seeing it every day when
+we would come to work and go through those security lines and
+talk with those security agents, who some of them did not have
+gas to get back and forth to their homes and so they were
+sleeping in their cars between shifts to make sure that they
+could keep the country moving.
+ And we have to really thank them because they stayed true
+to their oath to serve and protect all of us. Think if that,
+thousands of people who came to work to make sure that that
+could keep going when that same oath was not held by people in
+power.
+ And so yes, we saw every single day that there were
+distractions in safety-sensitive and security-sensitive work
+that don't need to be there, and created risk that we didn't
+need to have.
+ Mr. DeFazio. Thanks.
+ Mr. Calio, you talked about a whole lot of things that
+disrupted the industry. Can you quantify a number, how much,
+what the losses were? Damages?
+ Mr. Calio. We can't. We have looked at it, Mr. Chairman. We
+defer to our members to quantify their losses. You have heard
+two mentioned, I think, $25 million by one airline, $15 million
+by another. I actually think the number is much greater. Those
+quantify losses in terms of flights, lost opportunities in
+terms of certifications not being made.
+ But the cumulative impact of all the things that everybody
+up here has mentioned add up to much, much more in terms of
+disruption to the system and what has to happen down the line.
+Also, we were taking our own employees off the line to help TSA
+employees and CBP employees. And so that all has an impact that
+I think is not readily quantifiable. Someone, of course, could
+come up with a number. I can't.
+ Mr. DeFazio. OK. Thank you.
+ Just in reference to statements that have been made, I was
+not here when Carter was President, either. I cannot quantify
+what happened then. But shutdowns are stupid no matter who is
+in the White House or who is in Congress, and they have got to
+end. I am not only introducing this legislation. I am on a bill
+that has been introduced in the House to say that all agencies
+would continue under continuing resolutions, in case we do not
+agree on appropriations and a budget in the future, at their
+current levels.
+ Obviously, some more powerful committee might oppose that
+because they think they are losing something in that case. I do
+not know. But it is a stupid way to get leverage in this town.
+This is not a partisan issue. And I invite all Members of the
+House on both sides of the aisle to support this bill, move it
+through, and at least we can take care of one very important
+sector of the Government and our economy by passing this
+legislation. It is a self-funding agency. Why can't we expend
+funds during a shutdown?
+ With that, I thank the panel. I have got to go over to the
+other side where they don't do anything to have a conversation.
+Thank you.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
+ Now we will move to other Members' questions. Just a
+reminder about the process: We go by seniority, seniority based
+on if you were here at the gavel. Then after that, if you come
+in after the gavel, you get in line based on when you got here.
+ So that makes Mr. Stauber from the great State of Minnesota
+next.
+ Mr. Stauber. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the
+witnesses who are testifying. Mr. Rinaldi, I was in grade
+school, too, when President Carter was our President.
+ A couple of things I just wanted to reiterate. To Mr.
+Bunce, Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth, Minnesota, is the largest
+manufacturer of piston-driven aircraft. I spoke with them, and
+they had--the certificates were delayed in sending the aircraft
+out. They have now been backed up about 4 months because of
+this.
+ Can you talk to us about other general aviation
+manufacturers, some of their concerns, like Cirrus had? And by
+the way, Cirrus Aircraft employs 1,100 people in Duluth,
+Minnesota, in and around Duluth, Minnesota.
+ Mr. Bunce. Well, thank you, sir. And Cirrus also delivered
+the most jets last year of any manufacturer out there with the
+new Vision Jet, so it is pretty exciting.
+ So take another company in Florida that provides other
+types of aircraft out there. They were within a week of
+furloughing because they couldn't get flight test people to be
+able to keep their programs going.
+ Another very large jet manufacturer, if you look at a major
+development program--I have testified in front of this
+committee before--the burn rate for a major program is about
+$10 million a month. And so if you can't get the program to
+progress, like get flight test, what happens is those flight
+test people are now booked the next month with another company.
+So you don't just push everybody to the right. You go and you
+get the folks that were scheduled, and then you have to go
+several months later.
+ So it really is a burn rate where it's like lighting a
+match to the money. And that money could have been used to go
+ahead and hire more people as you ramp up production once you
+get your certification.
+ So it all has ripple effects for each one of the
+manufacturers when we have delays like that.
+ Mr. Stauber. Thank you. Then the second comment I would
+like to make. Ranking Member Graves made it, and this is about
+the inability of elected officials in Washington to come to a
+compromise. And it is extremely disappointing. I hope it does
+not happen again.
+ And you talk about safety. I have to ask this one more
+time. Was there any flight in this country that took off, flew,
+that we knowingly felt was unsafe? Anybody?
+ Mr. Calio. I will take it again. I would say no.
+ Mr. Stauber. To Ms. Nelson, you talked about safety is
+first, the flight attendants and the assistants. You guys and
+gals do a magnificent job. You make the flights peaceful, and
+through some stressful situations. And I have only been a
+Member for a month and a half, but I have flown enough to
+really see the spectacular job that you and your folks do, so I
+appreciate that.
+ My last comment will be this. I will support 100 percent
+the aviation industry beyond 10 years.
+ Thank you, Mr. Chair.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Stauber.
+ Next is Mrs. Napolitano, recognized for 5 minutes.
+ Mrs. Napolitano. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And this question is
+aimed at all witnesses because there is a piece of legislation
+that is coming up, H.R. 1108, which I have cosponsored, and
+introduced by Chairman DeFazio and the subcommittee chair, Mr.
+Larsen, that will protect the aviation industry from future
+shutdowns.
+ How would this bill specifically provide the stability and
+predictability of your members, that they require, and ensure
+the safety of the system for all of us? Don't forget, I am one
+of those that travels twice a week, up and back to California.
+So it is very important. Yes, flight attendants are
+magnificent. I just wonder, when we get on the plane, are we
+going to get there safely? The attendants at either end focused
+on their job, are they all right? Or are they worried about
+having to pay bills because they have not been paid? So to each
+of you, I have the question.
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Thank you for the question, Congresswoman. We
+believe it will be--this bill, if passed and enacted, will give
+us a seamless transition that if Congress failed to appropriate
+and failed to pass the CR, that we would just reach into the
+uncommitted balance of the Aviation Trust Fund and not worry
+about, 10 days before, preparing for a shutdown, and stop
+implementing equipment, shutting down our academies, stopping
+training air traffic controllers, stop implementing and
+training new technology to enhance the safety of the system.
+ So I believe by passing this, it will make it more safe,
+and it will eliminate the risk of what happens during a
+shutdown.
+ Mrs. Napolitano. Thank you.
+ Mr. Perrone. Yes, PASS supports this as well. We believe
+again--we have two sides, the technicians who maintain the air
+traffic control equipment, certify it, make sure that the air
+traffic controllers can use it properly, that the pilots are in
+communications with them; and also the regulatory side. We have
+the regulatory side that Flight Standards has to maintain with
+the industry to make sure they are following all the
+procedures, as we said, new equipment, existing equipment.
+ That is ultimately where we have to be, having those folks
+working day in and day out so there is no gap of, should we or
+shouldn't we fly? Should we or shouldn't we have a plane in the
+air, or that consideration? And everybody is focused on their
+job.
+ Like I said, knock on wood, we got the safest system in the
+world because our men and women are out there day in and day
+out. And we need to have that continue. Thank you.
+ Mr. Calio. Thank you, Congresswoman. First, I would like to
+say one more word about safety. When you come into the
+industry, the first thing that everybody in the industry says,
+in answer to any question, is, ``Safety always comes first.''
+And it does. We all operate as a team, and a plane will not get
+in the air if we consider it to be unsafe, sometimes to great
+irritation to passengers.
+ In terms of this legislation, it would, as Mr. Rinaldi
+said, cut the uncertainty out because right now there is always
+a chance of a Government shutdown. The effects happen. So if we
+know that there is stable funding, and even if the Congress
+cannot come to an agreement on the appropriations, we will not
+be affected.
+ The money will come out of the trust fund because the money
+keeps going into the trust fund on a daily basis, gets repaid
+automatically. And it has been referenced here, and I don't
+know if the letter has been entered into the record, but it
+should. There are 40 signatories to this letter supporting H.R.
+1108.
+ As I said earlier, this latest shutdown has totally
+galvanized the industry. We are together. We want this
+legislation. Thank you.
+ Ms. Nelson. Yes. This should be nonpartisan. Everyone
+agrees with this. And I have never seen the industry come
+together like we have around this. It feels--well, that part
+feels great, yes. So what we said was that we were less safe
+during this shutdown because we introduced risk that we didn't
+need to and that we couldn't even calculate was having an
+impact on our safety and security.
+ And so we should never do that again. Our union has opposed
+every single shutdown for this reason. And this was the longest
+one, it just so happens, so that many of us saw the effects
+much more because they grow every single day that the shutdown
+continues.
+ But we absolutely have to stop this, and we have got to get
+this bill passed immediately. And we have to have a more
+fulsome response as well. But we should take care of the FAA.
+ Mr. Bunce. Congresswoman, I would just add that this
+shutdown really demonstrated how important aviation is to our
+entire society. We are an aviation nation. And so just like the
+markets react to certainty, our industry has to react to
+certainty. And this legislation will provide us the certainty
+that if something again happens like this that is politically
+driven, that we can go and keep this country running by keeping
+our industry running.
+ Mrs. Napolitano. Thank you. It makes no sense, does it?
+ Thank you, Mr. Chair.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Napolitano.
+ Before recognizing Representative Fitzpatrick, I ask
+unanimous consent the following items be entered into the
+record of today's hearing: A letter signed by more than 35
+aviation industry and labor organizations endorsing H.R. 1108,
+and a letter from the commercial drone sector endorsing H.R.
+1108. Hearing no objection, so ordered.
+ [The two letters described follow:]
+
+
+ Letter of February 12, 2019, from the Aeronautical Repair Station
+ Association et al., Submitted for the Record by Hon. Larsen
+ February 12, 2019.
+Hon. Peter A. DeFazio
+Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
+Hon. Sam Graves
+Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
+ Washington, DC.
+Hon. Rick Larsen
+Chairman, Subcommittee on Aviation
+Hon. Garret Graves
+Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Aviation, Washington, DC.
+ Dear Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, Chairman Larsen, and
+Ranking Member Graves:
+ We write today to convey our strong support for the Aviation
+Funding Stability Act of 2019 (H.R. 1108) which would authorize the
+Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to draw from the Airport and
+Airway Trust Fund (AATF) in the event of a Government shutdown.
+ During the recent shutdown, air traffic controllers and other
+aviation safety professionals were forced to work without pay and
+thousands of others were furloughed. Jobs and economic growth in the
+industry were threatened as manufacturers, airlines and other
+operators, and small businesses faced disruption. The effect on the
+Nation's air transportation system and the workers charged with keeping
+the system safe was dramatic. We find this situation to be unacceptable
+and we want to work with Congress and the administration to prevent
+this from ever happening again.
+ The legislation is designed to provide a limited, targeted way of
+ensuring stability for the aviation system and it does not change
+congressional direction or oversight in any way.
+ H.R. 1108 allows FAA to carry out its mission by using the AATF,
+which presently has an uncommitted balance of over $6 billion.
+Additionally, users of the system continued to pay taxes and fees
+during the shutdown to fund the aviation system, but the dollars could
+not be accessed to support controllers, safety specialists, and other
+critical FAA personnel absent a legislative fix. Passengers, shippers,
+FAA employees, operators, businesses, pilots, airline employees and
+others rely on our aviation system and support its operation through
+payments to the Trust Fund.
+ We look forward to working with the committee, other Members of
+Congress, and the administration to pass H.R. 1108 and ensure that the
+FAA operates safely and efficiently for the flying public.
+ Sincerely,
+ Aeronautical Repair Station Association
+ Aerospace Maintenance Council
+ Air Line Pilots Association
+ Air Medical Operators Association
+ Air Traffic Control Association
+ Aircraft Electronics Association
+ Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association
+ Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
+ Airlines for America
+ Airports Consultants Council
+ Airports Council International--North America
+ American Association of Airport Executives
+ Association of Flight Attendants--CWA
+ Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems
+ International
+ Aviation Accreditation Board International
+ Aviation Technician Education Council
+ Cargo Airline Association
+ Commercial Drone Alliance
+ Experimental Aircraft Association
+ General Aviation Manufacturers Association
+ Helicopter Association International
+ International Air Transport Association
+ International Association of Machinists and
+ Aerospace Workers
+ International Brotherhood of Teamsters--Airline
+ Division
+ International Council of Air Shows
+ National Air Carrier Association
+ National Air Traffic Controllers Association
+ National Air Transportation Association
+ National Association of State Aviation Officials
+ National Business Aviation Association
+ Professional Aviation Board of Certification
+ Professional Aviation Maintenance Association
+ Professional Aviation Safety Specialists
+ Recreational Aviation Foundation
+ Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association
+ Regional Airline Association
+ Transportation Trades Department--AFL-CIO
+ Transport Workers Union
+ Travelers United
+ U.S. Travel Association
+
+
+Letter of February 12, 2019, from the Commercial Drone Alliance et al.,
+ Submitted for the Record by Hon. Larsen
+ February 12, 2019.
+Hon. Peter A. DeFazio
+Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of
+ Representatives, Washington, DC.
+Hon. Rick Larsen
+Chairman, Subcommittee on Aviation, Committee on Transportation and
+ Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
+ Dear Chairman DeFazio and Chairman Larsen:
+ As organizations representing the commercial drone and related
+aviation and vertical industries, we express our support for H.R. 1108,
+the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019, a bill designed to protect
+the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from the effects of future
+Federal Government shutdowns. We support this effort to alleviate the
+negative impact of shutdowns on the commercial drone industry and the
+wide range of vertical market sectors it supports in the United States,
+and appreciate your leadership on this important issue.
+ We are at a critical and exciting time for the commercial drone
+industry. Once properly enabled, the safe integration of drones into
+our National Airspace System (NAS) will save countless lives and have a
+significant economic impact in the United States. While great strides
+have been made in recent years to support growth in the commercial
+drone industry, it is an industry that relies heavily upon its
+partnership and collaboration with the FAA to function properly.
+ Specifically, the recent closure of many FAA and Department of
+Transportation offices that work closely with the commercial drone
+industry during the December 22, 2018-January 25, 2019 partial
+Government shutdown caused significant industry disruptions. Moreover,
+the shutdown delayed policymaking that is essential to the continued
+economic growth in the United States.
+ Below are some specific examples of how the recent shutdown
+adversely impacted the commercial drone industry:
+ FAA Waivers and Other Approvals Delayed: The FAA's Unmanned
+Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office is responsible for processing
+thousands of waivers and other applications that are necessary to
+conduct expanded drone operations beyond the basic operations allowed
+under the current regulatory framework (14 C.F.R. Part 107), such as
+flights at night, over people or beyond visual line of sight of the
+pilot. Thousands of companies (as well as public sector stakeholders)
+rely on these types of FAA waivers to conduct advanced drone operations
+that are essential to their workers' safety and business operations, as
+well as for emergency response activities. The FAA already has a
+massive backlog of waiver applications and the processing of almost all
+existing and new applications was suspended during the shutdown. The
+processing of petitions for exemption from various Federal Aviation
+Regulations was also suspended.
+ Policy and Rulemakings Delayed: All aviation rulemaking, including
+several critical drone-related regulatory actions, was suspended as a
+result of the shutdown. In August 2016, Part 107 of the Federal
+Aviation Regulations went into effect, which for the first time broadly
+authorized commercial drone use in the United States. However, the
+current rules still contain overly burdensome regulatory hurdles that
+make it impossible for companies in the United States to realize the
+full potential of drone technology and the resulting public benefits.
+Over the last several years, industry and the FAA have worked
+diligently to craft new rules that will allow for further integration
+of drones into the NAS and unlock the full potential of commercial
+drone technology. As a result of the recent shutdown, key rulemaking
+efforts necessary to enable expanded drone operations ground to a
+standstill.
+ Issuance of Airman Certificates Suspended: As a result of the
+recent shutdown, the FAA suspended issuing airmen certifications.
+Thousands of would-be UAS pilots were unable to obtain the Remote Pilot
+Certificate that is necessary to conduct commercial drone operations.
+ Industry Partnerships Suspended: While the public benefits of
+commercial UAS are substantial, policymaking has lagged behind the
+technology in the United States. Recognizing this, and in an effort to
+help move policy forward, the Trump administration launched an
+innovative UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) to accelerate the safe
+integration of drones into the NAS and to foster the development of new
+drone technologies for use in a wide range of commercial industries.
+The IPP generated a lot of industry excitement, but while significant
+progress has been made under the IPP, all work under the program was
+suspended during the shutdown. Innovative work that was being conducted
+through other FAA-drone industry collaborative efforts, such as
+Partnership for Safety Programs (PSPs), was also suspended.
+ Key Industry Events Postponed: The FAA's annual UAS Symposium,
+which serves as a focal point for FAA officials, Government agencies,
+and industry stakeholders to collaborate on key issues for the
+commercial drone industry, was postponed as a result of the shutdown.
+Other industry events that are critical to fostering Government-
+industry working relationships, including the Unmanned Aircraft Safety
+Team (UAST) meeting and the Commercial Drone Alliance Domestic Drone
+Safety and Security Series event, were also postponed as a result of
+the shutdown.
+ The recent Government shutdown caused significant harm to America's
+commercial drone industry. We appreciate your efforts to protect the
+FAA from the effects of future shutdowns in order to enable the
+commercial drone industry to thrive.
+ Sincerely,
+ Lisa Ellman and Gretchen West
+ Co-Executive Directors
+ Commercial Drone Alliance
+ Peter F. Dumont
+ President & CEO
+ Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA)
+ Brian Wynne
+ President & CEO
+ Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
+ Todd Schlekeway
+ Executive Director
+ National Association of Tower Erectors
+
+ Mr. Larsen. Representative Fitzpatrick for 5 minutes.
+ Mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ First, thanks to each and every one of you for the role
+that you play, which oftentimes is taken for granted. Each and
+every one of you play a separate, distinct role that is equally
+important. You all did your job when this Government did not,
+and we want to thank you for that. And as I have said many
+times, having lived through a Government shutdown as an FBI
+agent in 2013, there are significant, long-lasting impacts that
+most people do not understand.
+ And to have a Government shutdown for 35 days, I can tell
+you, does irreparable harm to investigations inside the Bureau.
+And I know it does irreparable harm to each one of your
+agencies.
+ Two questions I would like to ask you, Ms. Nelson, based on
+your opening testimony. The first question is with regard to
+rest periods.
+ So there was an aviation tragedy about 10 years ago that
+resulted in rest requirements for pilots. Flight attendants
+were not included in those policy procedures and regulations.
+As part of the FAA reauthorization, those provisions were
+included.
+ How did the Government shutdown specifically impact that
+program and implementation of it?
+ Ms. Nelson. Thank you for that question.
+ In fact, this has been a 30-year effort to try to get
+fatigue addressed for flight attendants. We have had seven
+congressional fatigue studies that were done that determined
+that fatigue exists today, and the best way to fight that
+fatigue is to get more rest.
+ What was included in the FAA reauthorization bill was an
+increase of 2 hours' rest to make sure that flight attendants
+have a chance to get closer to 8 hours' rest in between
+flights. That has not been updated in the regulations as it was
+required by law, and there was no way to get at why it was not
+updated and how quickly it needs to be updated and implemented.
+ So there was no way to get at these issues, just like the
+issues of addressing sexual harassment, of improving our
+training around human trafficking, and the other issues that I
+raised.
+ Mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you, Ms. Nelson.
+ The second issue raised was that of secondary barriers. I
+think your words were that flight attendants were being asked
+to be serving as physical barriers, and you lauded the
+provision that included secondary barriers for new aircraft.
+ If it makes sense for new aircraft, does it follow that it
+makes sense for current existing aircraft as well?
+ Ms. Nelson. We completely support secondary barriers in all
+of our aircraft. It is an absurd practice to have flight
+attendants use their own bodies as the barrier between the
+cabin and the cockpit. And secondary barriers are a necessary
+plank of security.
+ Mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you.
+ I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Fitzpatrick.
+ I now recognize the Representative from the Sunflower
+State, Representative Davids.
+ Ms. Davids. Thank you, Chairman.
+ Well, first I want to say thank you to the witnesses today.
+I really appreciate the opportunity to serve on the Aviation
+Subcommittee. Kansas is sometimes referred to as the ``Flyover
+State,'' but we have an awful lot going on there.
+ One of the things that is going on there is that we have
+regional air traffic control center in Olathe, Kansas, which is
+in the district that I represent, and I had the opportunity to
+go by and actually visit the facility and walk onto the floor
+where the folks who are navigating the planes were at, and the
+stress that I felt just walking through there was pretty
+intense because you know that there are thousands of lives in
+the hands of the folks that are doing that.
+ My mom was in the Army, and now she works for the post
+office. So many people in my family have been Federal employees
+and are career civil servants, and I want to thank Ms. Nelson
+and Mr. Bunce for, one, recognizing our Federal civil service
+workers as both unsung heroes and also calling out the
+sometimes demonization and that sort of thing because our
+Federal civil service really keeps this country going in a lot
+of ways.
+ So one of the things I want to ask about is I have heard a
+lot of questioning about safety, and I would like to hear
+actually from anyone who wants to respond to this. The kind of
+mental health of the folks who are under the stress of keeping
+so many of us safe while we are in the air, but also the impact
+that the shutdown had on their--sometimes it is morale, but it
+extends much further than that.
+ I do not know if you have been hearing from--really I feel
+like every single one of you, whether it is safety, the flight
+attendants, the air traffic controllers, but could you speak to
+that a bit?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Sure. I would love to. Thank you for the
+question.
+ During the shutdown and to an extent currently right now
+because they are not made whole financially, it was
+demoralizing. They did their job. They did nothing wrong. They
+came to work. They were used as political pawns for an issue
+that, quite frankly, was not germane to aviation at all, and
+this has happened time and time again.
+ We have seen, you know, over a dozen opportunities for
+possible shutdowns in the last 18 months. We have experienced
+three shutdowns, and it is demoralizing to start working on
+programs that are going to get shut down and spend time away
+from your family to be subject matter experts for the next
+generation of air traffic control equipment, and then not being
+able to implement this.
+ Now we are going to start back up, but it is going to take
+6, 8 months to get back to normal. I think between the fatigue,
+the risk in the system, and the devalue that they felt coming
+to work day in and day out will have lasting, lasting effects
+throughout their career.
+ Mr. Perrone. Thank you.
+ You know, visiting the facility, you saw the air traffic
+controllers and where they work behind the scenes, below, back
+in the equipment room. Our folks have to maintain that
+equipment. They have to keep that up and running, and the
+pressure, the stress to make sure that it is running properly.
+ Meanwhile, they have to think about their personal lives,
+their families, and all the other work, the distractions.
+ And they are professionals. It takes anywhere from 3 to 5
+years for technicians at certain locations, sometimes longer,
+and they consider themselves, as the inspectors do, as our
+administrative support, we are all in this together in keeping
+the system safe.
+ And to have a slap in the face, again, to say, ``You are
+not important,'' you know, some of them do not go to work. You
+get paid maybe eventually. Pulling savings out, pulling college
+out, there were just some examples I have that one of the
+technicians said, ``I can't get my insulin.''
+ ``I am not going to go to the doctor and get the surgery I
+need because I don't know how to pay for it.''
+ Meanwhile, he is certifying air traffic control equipment.
+His head is not in the game 100 percent, but yet they showed up
+every day to do the job they needed to do. Our inspectors,
+unfortunately, did not.
+ So I know the question has been asked: is the system safe?
+Yes, it is safe, but now the inspectors have to go back and
+that pile of information that the industry sends over to the
+FAA for review, is there something that was missed? Did a plane
+take off that maybe should or shouldn't have? Did a pilot or
+someone have an issue?
+ We don't know until they go through and comb through that.
+I believe, as Mr. Calio said and others, nobody is going to
+take off on an unsafe condition, but we don't know what we
+don't know.
+ And these folks say, ``We want to do the job. Pay us. Let
+us do our job,'' and that is going to, as Paul said,
+reverberate in new people. We just had a meeting yesterday in
+Oklahoma City, with trainees, and we were out there talking to
+those folks. They are questioning whether they want to stay in
+the FAA now because of that. They are questioning will there be
+another shutdown, will there be another impact, or should they
+go and find another job.
+ So, yes, it really is a demoralizing activity.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Davids.
+ I now want to recognize the pride of Dryden Township, Mr.
+Mitchell, Representative Mitchell of Michigan.
+ Mr. Mitchell. You should come visit Dryden sometime, check
+out the horses.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thanks for the invite.
+ Mr. Mitchell. Any time you would like.
+ I would like to say, you know, I grew up in a family. Dad
+built trucks on the line. Mom worked for the Salvation Army. We
+saw a lot of layoffs in the 1960s and 1970s in the auto
+industries.
+ I was alive, by the way, when President Carter was here. I
+don't remember. I claim I don't remember what happened. What we
+saw in the shutdowns is that politics overwhelmed policy and
+people.
+ This institution has already amazed me in my little over 2
+years with its inability to have a level of maturity that gets
+things done, and it is dismaying some days.
+ Mr. Larsen, I would support your bill if we, in fact, had
+clear penalties on Members of Congress and the staff for not
+getting their job done. Don't pay them, none of them. It is
+irresponsible. They shouldn't be.
+ I put my letter in to have my salary held the night before
+the shutdown when it was clear where it was going because
+people profiled about their issues rather than actually deal
+with the problem.
+ But let me ask a couple of questions because I think adding
+drama to the situation--first, let me thank everyone here that
+did their jobs. Some of your folks came and visited me, and we
+talked at some length. Air traffic controllers came in to chat
+with me as well as TSA.
+ Mr. Rinaldi, are you aware of any security, safety concerns
+that arose in the 35 days?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. I am not. What we are aware of is that the
+system is built on layers and redundancy of safety. It is the
+ultimate safety net, and you know, if you shut down for 3 or 4
+days, you are not wearing that net out.
+ But as you go 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, and our processes
+are not in place to mitigate risk and reduce the hazards that
+are identified, then you are increasing the risk.
+ Mr. Mitchell. Oh, I heartily agree. People not paid for a
+month is unconscionable.
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Well, I was not even talking about not being
+paid, but not having people at work that actually do the safety
+functions.
+ Mr. Mitchell. Sure. I agree.
+ I will note that, for Mr. Larsen and others on the
+committee, that, in fact, when we authorized FAA last term, we
+could have proceeded with privatizing air traffic control. It
+wouldn't have been in place by now, I readily admit, but in my
+opinion, we need to take some of these functions. Air traffic
+control; we need to take certification of aircraft as much as
+we can. It is self-funded and actually put it off in a private,
+nonprofit, not unlike the Tennessee Valley Authority.
+ Now, there is a challenge I would like to talk to you about
+because we can get it outside of this alleged Government
+process that fails to function on many days around here.
+ Would you like to talk about that, sir? We should do that
+sometime.
+ A quick question for you, Ms. Nelson. You reference in your
+testimony some specific instances where there were concerns
+regarding failures of security and concerns about security in
+the air. I am concerned about that.
+ But I think rather than generic or general descriptions, I
+think we need more specifics about what transpired that led to
+these concerns because, as I said to Mr. Rinaldi, on top of all
+the other stupidity around here, we didn't need more drama.
+ So I am curious what the examples are.
+ Ms. Nelson. People were stretched to the nth degree. What
+we saw at the security lines actually was really the best of
+America during this shutdown.
+ Nobody likes to go through TSA security lines, and usually
+they are pretty grumpy about it, but what we saw was people
+coming with very good spirits, thanking the TSOs for being
+there, and being very grateful for them to continue to do their
+work even though they were not getting paid.
+ People were also not just thanking. They were trying to
+bring money, food, other gifts to try to sustain these people,
+and what we saw during this time, and obviously, they are not
+supposed to accept any of that. We don't need people in a
+security sensitive position accepting bribes.
+ So this is one example of a security concern that we had,
+was that as the shutdown wore on, management was looking the
+other way when people were bringing these issues sometimes
+because of the human need, because there was such a strain on
+people, because they were having to go to food lines, because
+people were so stressed out.
+ We also don't know what causes anyone to be in personal
+distress, but we know that there were people who were thrust
+into a hopelessness that had them saying things like, ``I am
+not getting paid. It doesn't matter,'' or my member tried to
+revive someone who took his life and was pushed really to the
+limit.
+ Introducing that into a security sensitive place and not
+having the backing of the fully functioning FBI and the other
+agencies behind the scenes doing the risk analysis so that
+those TSOs can get those briefings every day were all part of
+the security concerns that we had and what we were seeing and
+where the system was breaking down.
+ Mr. Mitchell. I yield back. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Mitchell.
+ Representative Lynch of Massachusetts.
+ Mr. Lynch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ I want to thank all of the witnesses for your willingness
+to come to the committee and help us with your work.
+ First of all, I want to just say how strongly I support
+H.R. 1108, Mr. DeFazio's bill. I just read it. It is three
+pages, a model of efficiency and a commonsense piece of
+legislation, and I think we should get it done.
+ I do want to point out, however, a number of my colleagues
+on the other side of the aisle have commented about the sadness
+of the shutdown and how we shouldn't let that happen again. I
+want to remind my colleagues who started this shutdown. The
+President took full credit for this. We had general agreement
+on a lot of bills across Congress.
+ As a matter of fact, this week we are going to have seven
+appropriations bills that are basically agreed upon,
+bipartisan, House and Senate, that will proceed. It was the
+President's decision to take hostages, flight attendants, air
+traffic controllers, TSA workers.
+ That's what we objected to, and to suggest that a Member of
+Congress should give up their pay because the President decided
+to take hostages? Give me a break.
+ Before coming to Congress I was an ironworker for 20 years.
+I represented people for a living. I negotiated contracts on
+behalf of my workers, the men and women of the ironworkers
+union and the carpenters union, stagehands, wardrobe workers. I
+negotiated contracts with them, for them, on their behalf.
+ Coming to Congress I still do that for Federal employees
+and other workers. Even when I took my members out on strike,
+when I asked my members, the men and women of my unions, to go
+on strike, I got paid because they wanted me in there fighting
+for them, that I would have no distractions and no backsliding,
+no backstepping.
+ So I advise my colleagues on the Democratic side, take your
+pay. Keep fighting. That's the attitude that the Democrats
+should have.
+ It was the President's decision, reckless, reckless
+decision, irresponsible decision to shut this Government down.
+Don't forget that. And any Democrat who is willing to negotiate
+with somebody who takes workers hostage should be disgraced,
+and I am glad my colleagues did not do that.
+ The starting pay for a TSO is about $28,000 a year. Are you
+kidding me? There are fast food places that pay more than that.
+So we shouldn't be surprised when TSOs making $28,000 a year
+with a 35-day shutdown are not coming back.
+ And if the President shuts them down again and we have
+basic agreement, again, between House and Senate on the bill to
+go forward and end the shutdown, if the President says no and
+shuts the Government down again, again, we will face that same
+dilemma. And these TSOs after that 35 days, and some of them
+have not been paid yet, if they get put on furlough or laid off
+again, you can expect that they will just walk. The job is
+tough enough as it is.
+ So I agree. It is shameful that anyone would shut this
+Government down. I mean, it just hurts the image of this
+Government in the eyes of the American people, who we all do
+work for.
+ But taking hostages is not acceptable either.
+ I yield back.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you.
+ The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Zanesville,
+home of the Fighting Blue Devils and the Y Bridge, Mr.
+Balderson.
+ Mr. Balderson. The Y Bridge. Thank you for recognizing
+that, Chairman.
+ Chairman Larsen and Ranking Member Graves, thank you both
+for holding this hearing today.
+ I know from my constituents that the partial shutdown did
+cause significant hardship to pilots, air traffic controllers
+and others in the aviation sector. I visited and communicated
+with them, making phone calls. That is one of the reasons, and
+I would ask my fellow colleague from Massachusetts to join on
+and cosponsor a bill that Senator Portman and I did, the End
+Government Shutdowns Act, to prevent this instability and
+future risk.
+ And I appreciate all of you giving your input today and
+letting us know what the impacts are from your area of concern
+on the effects.
+ My first question that I would like to ask is for Mr.
+Calio. Good morning, sir. Thank you for participating today.
+ I want you to discuss the financial impact of the shutdown
+on the airline industry. For example, the shutdown delayed
+Southwest Airlines' plan to operate services to Hawaii. Can you
+share with the committee specific examples of how the shutdown
+financially impacted members of your organization?
+ Mr. Calio. As a proud Ohioan, I am happy to try to answer
+your question.
+ Mr. Balderson. O-H.
+ Mr. Calio. I-O.
+ [Laughter.]
+ Mr. Larsen. Order, order.
+ Mr. Calio. Just give us a moment.
+ Mr. Balderson, as I mentioned earlier, we generally defer
+to our members to do that. That figure is well known. Southwest
+has roughly estimated about $15 million.
+ There was another estimate for another airline of $25
+million. I think the greater point here is in looking back, to
+look forward. Looking back there are all sorts of cumulative
+impacts of the shutdowns that have been laid out here in terms
+of delays. The delays built up over time, create further delays
+down the line so products don't come online. New planes don't
+come into service. New routes don't get written. New procedures
+don't get written, all of which has a huge financial impact on
+an industry that is the economic engine of this country.
+ So while I cannot quantify for you with any amount of
+certainty, I can say there are financial impacts that were
+immediate. There are financial impacts that will accumulate to
+the midterm and to the long term, and we can't let that happen
+again, which is why we support legislation that adds certainty
+to FAA funding so Mr. Rinaldi and I and our friends can quit
+talking about the need for stable funding all the time.
+ We have been at it. It is kind of like Groundhog Day.
+ Mr. Balderson. Thank you for answering the question, and it
+is good to see a fellow Ohioan.
+ Back to Mr. Rinaldi since you brought that up. Good
+morning, Mr. Rinaldi.
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Good morning.
+ Mr. Balderson. As I said earlier, I did have the pleasure
+of touring the tower at Columbus airport, now named the John
+Glenn International Airport and have developed a relationship
+with Mike Weekley there, and it is always good to work with
+Mike.
+ And someone talked about the facility in Oklahoma and the
+training facility, and that is something that I am going to
+discuss in the near future pertaining to workforce development
+and the backlog that is there and, you know, getting folks
+encouraged to go into this industry.
+ But have you had any confrontations about backup plans in
+case there is a future shutdown? But hopefully we pass my bill
+and that does not happen.
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Well, as far as backup plans for future
+shutdowns, you know, working with the agency as we approach a
+shutdown, the interesting thing is about 10 days out we start
+exchanging lists of who would be what we would say exempt/
+nonexempt. These say essential/nonessential. Now, that is not
+politically correct, so it is exempt/nonexempt.
+ We think the FAA, all employees of the FAA, are essential
+and need to come to work to continue to run the safe, most
+efficient system in the world, and we would like to see stable,
+predictable funding and make sure that we never have to see
+these shutdowns again.
+ Because even if we don't shut down tomorrow night I think
+that is, we have already been planning for a shutdown for 10
+days. That is detrimental to aviation because we are not
+modernizing the system. We are not moving forward. We are
+taking two steps backwards every time we come up to a date that
+looks like a shutdown.
+ Mr. Balderson. Thank you.
+ One followup for you and back to that workforce development
+piece and attracting outside of the shutdown concern. Can you
+discuss any ongoing plans to recruit folks to get into this
+line of work?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. We have a number of people that want to become
+air traffic controllers. The agencies, we have different tracks
+of hiring, whether it is from the military or prior experience,
+certainly off the street, or in our college programs.
+ So there is a good pool of people who want this job. The
+problem is getting them through, you know, the testing, then
+security, the medical, and getting them through the Oklahoma
+academy, which has limited seats.
+ And we have lost 30, basically 2 months of limited seats.
+ Mr. Balderson. OK. I look forward to working with you on
+that.
+ I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Thank you, sir.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you.
+ And the Representative from the State whose State beverage
+is milk, Angie Craig, Representative Craig from Minnesota.
+ Mrs. Craig. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
+ So I was sworn into the United States Congress 12 days into
+this shutdown, and since 1996, we have had 22 continuing
+resolutions and 10 Government shutdowns. So as I come into this
+Congress, I take a fresh look if what we have been doing is
+working.
+ And I want to say to you that that is why I have supported
+a freshman bill called The Shutdown to End All Shutdowns. Not
+only does it send us into a continuing resolution, but it also
+makes sure that our elected leaders are here every single day
+for daily quorum calls.
+ It also takes away pay because I believe if your hard-
+working Federal Government employees are not being paid,
+neither should we, and we should come to work every day and
+fight like hell for you, even though we are not being paid.
+ So I have come in, I believe, with a number of the freshmen
+with fresh eyes looking at the way this Congress is working.
+ I will support the chairmen's, both Chairman Larsen and
+Chairman DeFazio's legislation, H.R. 1108, because I believe in
+the interim of figuring out how we stop all shutdowns, we
+certainly should stop our national airspace having the risk
+that we currently have.
+ Mr. Rinaldi, thank you so much for being here this morning
+and representing air traffic controllers. As you may know, I
+have a regional air traffic control center in my congressional
+district in Farmington, Minnesota, otherwise known as the
+Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center. I will try not to
+be offended by it being called Minneapolis and it is in
+Farmington.
+ But it is the 13th busiest center in the United States, and
+I want to share a few of the stories of the air traffic
+controllers in my center. I want to talk about Joe, Jeremy and
+Kelly.
+ Joe was a new father of a baby born 10 weeks prematurely.
+He had his leave canceled, and he had to decide whether he
+would come to work every day or go to the NICU and see his
+newborn.
+ Jeremy was a father of three who was on the verge of having
+to take out significant credit card debt just to pay his bills.
+ And Kelly is a trainee with student loan debt, and she had
+to wonder how she was going to continue to meet those
+requirements.
+ So each of them on behalf of their communities came to work
+every single day not just on behalf of their communities, but
+on behalf of communities that they will never ever know. They
+came to work every day, and they did their job.
+ So I want to ask you, Mr. Rinaldi, and every single one of
+you. We are staring down another Government shutdown, and
+although I am optimistic because that tends to be my nature, I
+want you to tell us what message you would have for Congress
+and for the administration on Saturday morning if you wake up
+and this Government is shut down again.
+ In one or two sentences, what is your message to us?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. It has been the message during the shutdown.
+It's: open the Government. There is no reason for Federal
+employees to be held hostage for a political dispute that has
+nothing to do with them. Congress, Senate, White House need to
+do their job. They are elected to do their job. Do their job
+and keep the Government open.
+ I thank you for your legislation. We will support any
+legislation that meets our four core principles, that, you
+know, supports our front-line workforce; that certainly gives a
+stable, predictable funding; and gets us out of this shutdown
+mode.
+ I thank you.
+ Mrs. Craig. Thank you.
+ Mr. Perrone. I thank you, Congresswoman.
+ Yes, the same thing: keep the Government open. Do your job.
+Pay the folks because it is a critical, critical disservice to
+them that they do not come to work or if they show up, some
+have to show up Saturday morning, midnight Friday night because
+they work rotating shifts, and have to think again, ``Here we
+go. How long are we going to go?'' But yet they are going to do
+everything they can.
+ So do you job, Congress. Do your job, administration. Sign
+whatever it takes to keep the Government and the FAA open, and
+really for all Federal employees.
+ Thank you.
+ Mr. Calio. Thank you.
+ Airlines for America would say that, number one, operating
+crisis to crisis is a terrible way to do business whether it be
+in Congress or anywhere else.
+ Secondly, compromise is not a dirty word.
+ And, thirdly, A4A also will support any legislation that
+prevents a future Government shutdown.
+ I would say this because I am one of the old-timers here.
+Don't try to bite off too much. Seize the moment right now. Get
+H.R. 1108 done and move on from there.
+ Ms. Nelson. We take our role seriously of keeping the
+American public out of danger, and if Congress chooses chaos on
+Saturday morning, working people have power, and we will come
+together and use it and we will stop the chaos.
+ Mrs. Craig. Thank you.
+ Mr. Bunce. I would just say: do your jobs and do not leave
+town until it is done.
+ Mrs. Craig. Thank you. Thank you so much.
+ I yield back my time.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Craig.
+ Representative Spano from Florida.
+ Mr. Spano. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the
+opportunity to serve with you.
+ And thank you for being here. I am really grateful for your
+testimony and your expertise and the work that you all do to
+keep us safe. It means a great deal to me as one who has never
+flown too much until very recently. So thank you very much.
+ I have a couple of questions for you. I, too, would
+reiterate and just echo what the other members of the committee
+said in terms of there really being absolutely no excuse for
+the Government to shut down.
+ We have a job to do, and we need to do it, and I think the
+Nation has a right to expect us to do it. And so we will look
+forward to working with those out there who do have bills that
+would continue the Government and would prevent this type of
+scenario from happening in the future. So I look forward to
+working with the Members to that effect.
+ I do have a few questions. The first question I would
+direct, if I may, to Ms. Nelson. You had mentioned and you just
+reiterated, I think, or alluded to it a moment ago just in your
+response to the previous question, but you said in your
+testimony, ``If Congress will not put an end to the crisis, we
+will take action to save lives and protect U.S. aviation.''
+ My assumption by that is that that means you would go on
+strike. Is that an accurate assumption?
+ Ms. Nelson. No. That is not an accurate assumption. It may
+be every single day in aviation today if we see an unsafe
+condition, we are charged to raise our hand and say it is
+unsafe.
+ Now, we run the safest transportation system in the world,
+really proud of that, and all of us participate in that. But
+when we see something that is unsafe, we will raise our hands
+and we will not work that flight until that is corrected.
+ So that is a possibility. That is not what I am saying is
+definitely going to happen. What I am saying is that we are
+calling all American people to come to the airports and demand
+that Washington do its job and keep the Government open.
+ Mr. Spano. Thank you so much.
+ My next question is for Mr. Perrone. How long, in your
+opinion, do you think it will take for FAA operations until
+they are back to normal?
+ Mr. Perrone. Thank you, Congressman.
+ That is tough to say. Like I said, the shutdown, even the
+2013 shutdown, it took a long time to catch up, and now on top
+of that we have 35 days of shutdown. Our inspectors are trying
+to do what they need to do.
+ I mean, there was an aircraft crash that they just put tape
+around, and nobody could inspect it, the NTSB, the FAA
+inspectors, and it just sat there.
+ There were violations that occurred that timed out. Some
+timed out; some did not get put into the system in a timely
+manner. But, again, every day there is new work that they need
+to do. So it is hard to say, but it is going to take a long
+time.
+ As Mr. Bunce said, there is aircraft certification that
+didn't happen. There are pilot certificates that didn't happen,
+and that continues to add to the frustration, and we have had a
+few of our inspectors already say, ``We are leaving. We are
+going back to industry.'' There is going to be a shortfall of
+staffing.
+ And then with the academy being shut down, you cannot train
+new inspectors. So it is a compounding problem.
+ Mr. Spano. Can you give me an understanding or an idea of
+what the functions were that your members continued to perform
+during the shutdown and what they did not perform?
+ Mr. Perrone. So from the aviation inspector side, none of
+that work was done or completed. So there is a safety program
+volunteered by the industry that says, ``Hey, we have an issue
+or concern.'' It goes over to the FAA inspector to analyze.
+That just sat in their inbox until the inspectors came back.
+ There were pilots that needed to either be recertified or
+given licenses that was not completed. Now, the registry was
+open this time around versus 2013 because the industry said
+last time that the registry not having aircraft certified or
+registered to sell, they stayed open.
+ Procedures were limited. So new procedures that normally
+take a certain amount of time were delayed.
+ Our technicians worked. They worked without pay the whole
+time. What they couldn't do is some of the modifications, as
+Paul has said, some of the new equipment, or I should say
+modifications to existing equipment couldn't be completed. They
+were only allowed to do safety related equipment, certify the
+existing equipment for air traffic control. They couldn't do
+other type of work.
+ And we had a lot of administrative folks that were
+nonessential or nonexcepted, that that paperwork sat around.
+ Mr. Spano. Thank you. Thank you.
+ My next question is for Mr. Calio, and that is you
+testified about the shutdown's impact on NextGen programs. So
+my question to you is: are your member airlines still in line
+to meet the NextGen ADS-B equipage deadline for January 2020?
+ Mr. Calio. Well, we are working on that with the FAA, but
+all of these shutdowns create a slowdown because nobody could
+work on it for 35 days, and if there is another shutdown, that
+will further delay it. And we have had those kinds of delays a
+number of times over the last 7 years. So every shutdown, like
+I keep saying, has a cumulative impact.
+ So we are working towards it. Our expectation is to try to
+meet it. We'll see.
+ Mr. Spano. Thank you.
+ I yield back.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you.
+ I recognize Mr. Carson, Representative Carson, from Indiana
+for 5 minutes.
+ Mr. Carson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Thank you, Mr. Bunce. This question is for Mr. Bunce and
+anyone else who would like to answer.
+ You know, during the shutdown, our office received an
+urgent request for help with the Indiana Organ Donation Network
+to get their flights off the ground. They needed to get new
+aircraft to help surgeons who collect organ donations and then
+fly them to perform surgeries to even deliver the organs.
+ This lifesaving network was interrupted during the shutdown
+when certification personnel were essentially furloughed. I am
+sure you have seen more than we have the examples of this kind
+of thing in general aviation.
+ I am hoping you or any of the panelists can give us a
+better picture of how the shutdown impacts with this particular
+sector.
+ Mr. Bunce. Well, sir, in this particular case, they were
+taking delivery of two business jets, and the operating company
+that worked these aircraft have quite a few flights that they
+do over a Midwest region that includes the State of Indiana.
+ And it is just an example of what happens all throughout
+the system because pilots have retraining requirements that
+they have to do to be able to fly a business jet. So when you
+go back to training in a training center, the training center
+has to have the most current equipment that you have on that
+aircraft in the simulator. So those manuals have to be approved
+each and every time that the manufacturer or, in this case,
+someone who is moving organs and does a modification to the
+aircraft.
+ That ripples into the system, and so the FAA has to approve
+each one of those manual changes. So you impact the pilot
+training. You impact the delivery of the aircraft when you have
+got to make modifications to it, and so that happened
+throughout the country.
+ Take, for instance, firefighting. Up in Mr. DeFazio's
+State, they had to do modifications to get these aircraft ready
+to be able to bid on contracts for the upcoming fire season. If
+they didn't have the modifications in place, they couldn't
+submit the proper bid because they can't say they have
+equipment on the aircraft certified that they don't have.
+ So all of a sudden, they miss a year of bidding on
+contracts for important elements like firefighting that we have
+to do. So it happened across the country in many different
+sectors that do these public service types of flying.
+ Mr. Carson. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman.
+ And I yield back.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Carson.
+ I go with Representative Katko of New York.
+ Mr. Katko. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ And thank you all for begin here today.
+ Mr. Calio, I think you summed it up perfectly when you said
+that compromise is not a dirty word, and at the heart of what
+causes shutdowns in my mind is an inability to compromise,
+political posturing and gamesmanship that catches a lot of
+people in the crosshairs, and the lack of consideration for
+those people is stunning to me.
+ Mr. Perrone, what you touched on and what others touched on
+are some of the intangibles that happen in the security arena.
+Yes, thank God, you didn't have a security event during this
+time, but when you have someone like a TSA employee, and I have
+oversight over TSA for the last 4 years and I continue to, and
+I am glad to be on this committee as well because it is an
+aviation sector, which I am very, very interested in from a
+safety and security standpoint; you are paying someone peanuts
+at TSA. They don't have all the protections other agency
+employees have, and then you are asking them to work for free,
+and then you are asking them to try and find the proverbial
+needle in the haystack, knowing that something as small as this
+could take down an airline, my cell phone.
+ We are flirting with fire. We are absolutely, positively
+flirting with fire. And I look at the aircraft inspection
+security. It is the same thing. You could apply that to
+anything, not just TSA.
+ So the more that we use shutdowns as a political tool, the
+more we are really flirting with disaster, and I have never
+voted for a shutdown. I have never voted to keep the Government
+closed, and I never will, and the consequence be damned to me
+politically because it is more important that we do our jobs,
+and we abdicate our responsibility when we don't do that.
+ So with that in mind, I think it is sometimes helpful to
+identify with some particularity the impacts, and we have
+talked generally about them. So I want to ask. I will maybe ask
+Mr. Bunce first. Maybe, Nick, you can think about something
+from the airline side.
+ But from the manufacturer's side, I used some examples
+during the shutdown of unintended consequences from a financial
+standpoint because people are thinking, oh, you just shut down
+the Government. You are saving money. We do not need these
+employees.
+ Well, it is much worse than that. Airline inspectors, you
+can't get your newly manufactured planes out of your plant
+because they can't be certified because the FAA inspectors
+weren't around; is that right?
+ Mr. Bunce. That is correct, sir.
+ Mr. Katko. All right. So can you give me an idea from a
+dollar amount what that costs from the manufacturing side to
+have those planes stacked up and not being delivered for 35
+days?
+ Mr. Bunce. So for each company, as Mr. Calio said for the
+airlines, each company has an individual case, but let me give
+you one----
+ Mr. Katko. I'm talking about the manufacturer's standpoint.
+ Mr. Bunce. Yes. So each company is different. So for a big
+company that I mentioned a burn rate of $10 million in a major
+development program, that is one economic impact.
+ For another company, a small company that has maybe got
+just one product line, and you are upgrading to, let's say, a
+new processor that does more work, if you go and you look at
+the supply chain, all of a sudden you have got to make a
+decision, a bet that the FAA is going to certify your product
+by a certain date, and you have got to turn off delivery of the
+old processor and start ordering the new ones because you have
+to have lead time in the supply chain.
+ All of a sudden now you can't get that new product out the
+door. You run out of the old processor, and now you are stuck.
+And if your product line is very small, this can put you in a
+situation where now you have to try to go out to the markets
+and find bridge funding, and who wants to invest in an industry
+that is so reliant on the Government that they have these stops
+and starts?
+ So it does have a significant ripple effect.
+ Mr. Katko. Mr. Calio, I know you mentioned some dollar
+figures. Do you have any hard figures for the industry as a
+whole as to how much they were impacted by this?
+ I mean, I looked at some of the new routes that you said in
+your testimony were being affected that weren't going to be
+able to go into operation. You aren't taking delivery of new
+airplanes, which are more efficient from a fuel standpoint, and
+you were waiting for those new routes, maybe you had to cancel
+routes.
+ All those things come into consideration that people don't
+take account of. So is there anything else you want to add to
+that?
+ Mr. Calio. Not to that because I have said we can't
+quantify the figure, but there is a figure there.
+ I would like to mention TSA because of your work on TSA,
+and thank you, along with Chairman DeFazio for your work in
+trying to stop the diversion of TSA fees for nonsecurity
+purposes.
+ Mr. Katko. Yes.
+ Mr. Calio. That was an area of the system that was
+stressed, and passengers are paying every day into that system.
+The same with CBP where----
+ Mr. Katko. That is why I introduced a bill to pay them out
+of that fund.
+ Mr. Calio. Yes. So why stop it?
+ So there are things to do here, and I think doing it on a
+bipartisan basis is exactly the approach that has to happen,
+and again, I would encourage all the committee, without being
+presumptuous, I hope, strike while the iron is hot. People are
+thinking about this now.
+ Mr. Katko. Mr. Perrone, real quickly, were the aviation
+safety inspectors at the foreign repair stations impacted by
+this at all?
+ Mr. Perrone. Yes, there was none done during that 35-day
+period.
+ Mr. Katko. We are over my time.
+ Mr. Perrone. So we had security issues.
+ Mr. Katko. We are, are we not? We are flirting with fire.
+ Mr. Perrone. Absolutely.
+ Mr. Katko. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Thank you all.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you.
+ I recognize Representative Garcia from Illinois for 5
+minutes.
+ Mr. Garcia. Thank you, subcommittee Chair Larsen and
+Ranking Member Graves.
+ So once again, we are possibly on the cusp of yet another
+potential Government shutdown. It is for this reason that I am
+very happy to join Chairman DeFazio and subcommittee Chairman
+Larsen in cosponsoring the Aviation Funding Stability Act of
+2019.
+ This bill would ensure that all FAA programs, projects, and
+activities would continue uninterrupted during a future
+Government shutdown. While we talk about the effects of
+shutdowns, I want to make sure that we keep at the fore the
+human impact shutdowns have on real, hard-working people.
+ This morning I met a TSA agent working at O'Hare Airport,
+one of the busiest in the country. Christine worked hard to buy
+her manufactured, or mobile, home in Chicago, where she and her
+23-year-old son live. During the last shutdown, Christine had
+to pull out the $200 she had in savings just to buy food and
+gas. At one point, Christine called out because she didn't have
+enough money to make her 22-mile commute to work.
+ On January 10th, Christine was served a 5-day notice of
+eviction. In a recent interview, she recounted the internal
+dialogue she had during the shutdown.
+ ``How long can we last? I have got a $15 gift card, and it
+is 2 degrees out this morning. What the heck am I going to do?
+I am worried about my car, and I am worried about losing my
+home. Even if the Government is reopened, this has hurt us
+tremendously. We missed paychecks, and there will be late fees.
+Who would work at a job for 1 month and not get a paycheck?''
+ Mr. Chairman, I also listened to stories of air traffic
+controllers who are on the brink of resigning because they were
+being forced to make the decision on whether to come to work or
+find another job to pay the bills.
+ In fact, amidst the shutdown, I joined my Illinois
+delegation colleagues at O'Hare to hear directly from workers
+about the problems they faced. There were over 600 air traffic
+controllers and other aviation professionals who live and work
+throughout northern Illinois, including my district.
+ One controller whose wife had been diagnosed with a heart
+condition while their first child was in the middle of medical
+tests fell into quite deep hardship. You see, dealing with
+medical conditions is more difficult at the beginning of the
+year because working families have not yet met their insurance
+deductibles and have a larger out-of-pocket responsibility.
+ In St. Louis, there were reports of a young air traffic
+controller selling his plasma just to make his monthly
+payments. These are simply devastating stories of real
+individuals suffering from the political gamesmanship that
+threatens shutdown after shutdown. This brinksmanship has the
+effect of reducing Federal employees, contractors and their
+families to mere political bargaining chips during the
+shutdown.
+ Chicago Center was in the middle of implementing new
+equipment which will enhance communication abilities with
+pilots. This equipment is commonly known as DataComm. Once the
+shutdown started, training and implementation stopped. NATCA
+estimates that $1.5 million that was spent on training was lost
+and will need to be reaccomplished next fall or later.
+ Not only did the new equipment training come to a halt, but
+on-the-job training was ground to a standstill as well.
+ I thank all of the witnesses who have come here today to
+show us what the full impact of a shutdown on aviation is. I do
+have a question for Mr. Rinaldi.
+ With, as I understand, about 20 percent of current air
+traffic controllers eligible to retire and the current 30-year
+low in staffing, there is a critical need for new controllers
+to expand airport capacity at O'Hare and Midway and other large
+airports. What will the impact of the shutdown be on
+encouraging air traffic controllers to retire and on the
+ability to hire new controllers?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Thank you, sir. Thank you for your passion and
+your support for the Federal workers. We really appreciate
+that.
+ As far as, you know, we are still in catchup mode from the
+shutdown of 2013, the sequester that kicked in. The FAA closed
+the academy, and then we had the October shutdown for 16 days.
+The academy was closed for a full year, and we are still
+catching up there.
+ If we shut down again, the catchup will be well into the
+2022-2025 mode.
+ Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Garcia.
+ I recognize Representative Woodall from Georgia for 5
+minutes.
+ Mr. Woodall. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ And to Mr. Rinaldi, any time bad things happen and folks
+are focused, you either had a chance to have your stock rise or
+your stock fall. I don't think folks realize your members were
+working 60-hour weeks before shutdowns and 60-hour weeks during
+shutdowns and 60-hour weeks after shutdowns. That is just the
+kind of work that your members do day in and day out.
+ And at least from the Metropolitan Atlanta area, where we
+count on your folks to show up and do their very best
+absolutely every single day, I know things were getting tough,
+well, from the beginning to the end, but your folks showed up
+and did what America was asking them to do, and folks are
+grateful. So I just wanted you to know that that certainly did
+not go unnoticed.
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Thank you.
+ Mr. Woodall. We spend a lot of time these days talking
+about the demise of the aviation industry not because of
+shutdowns, but because we will stop flying planes, because we
+will have lots of new alternative modes of transportation to
+replace our aviation industry.
+ Not to get ahead of ourselves, but I know the aviation
+industry has been working hard to take care of its carbon
+footprints, to reduce emissions, to do what the private sector
+always does, which is try to be the very best corporate citizen
+it has.
+ I was hoping Mr. Bunce and Mr. Calio could take just a
+moment and talk to me about what has been going on in the
+industry to try to be the very best steward of the environment
+that you can be, to continue making advancements whether the
+Government mandates them or not.
+ Mr. Bunce. Yes, sir. I think I join my colleagues here. I
+am extremely proud of what we have been able to do as an
+industry. This industry came together. We went out to ICAO,
+which is the United Nations of aviation up in Montreal, came
+together and arrived at a carbon standard or a CO2 standard
+that now is applied worldwide.
+ We have programs going on to be able to use what is called
+sustainable alternative jet fuel, and obviously Mr. Calio's
+membership uses the bulk of that fuel, but we in business
+aviation, everybody that is using turbine fuel, jet fuel, will
+be able to meet our goals if we are able to go ahead and start
+producing or getting the demand for this and having refiners be
+able to give us that type of fuel.
+ On the piston side, for avgas, this committee has been
+tremendous supporters for us of a program that we are doing to
+be able to make that fuel more clean.
+ So in so many areas, this industry is working together, and
+because the whole planet is relying on aviation and we have
+this new, exciting dimension coming out of an ability to use
+electric and hybrid propulsion, which is even going to make us
+further green.
+ So it is a very exciting time in aviation, and we are doing
+our part for environmental sustainability.
+ Thank you.
+ Mr. Woodall. Thank you.
+ Mr. Calio. Thank you, Mr. Woodall.
+ As Mr. Bunce laid out, there is a lot that has been going
+on, and the industry has come together to do it. Please forgive
+my voice. But I point out that between 1978 and 2017, aviation
+reduced its emissions by 125 percent. That is the equivalent of
+taking 25 million cars off the road every year.
+ In addition to that, we have carried 34 percent more
+passengers at the same time and more cargo as we did in 2000
+without emitting any more carbon dioxide.
+ We have aspirational goals for the years coming up, short
+term and long term, that would take more off, and so you know,
+the proposals are nice, but the world can't live without
+aviation. We all know that. I tried to book a high-speed rail
+train to Brussels. I couldn't get one. So we are going to have
+to keep planes in the air, but we have to do better.
+ And it is a multipronged effort from the manufacturers to
+everybody across the board. From our perspective, the less fuel
+we burn, the better.
+ Mr. Woodall. I appreciate that. We spend a lot of time
+challenging each other to do better. I wish we spent as much
+time celebrating the successes when we achieve them. It is
+worth celebrating, and I am grateful to you for sharing it.
+ Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Woodall.
+ The entire subcommittee will have an opportunity to show
+their love for the greening of aviation, aerospace, and
+airports sometime in the future when we have a hearing. I look
+forward to everyone's full support for things we need to do,
+including having been mocked on the floor of the House 10 years
+ago for introducing even a sense of Congress for an emissions
+training system during the cap and trade debate. I am glad we
+are all catching up to where I am. I appreciate that.
+ So with that, I recognize for 5 minutes Representative
+Norton from the District of Columbia.
+ Ms. Norton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ I think it is important that you quickly held this hearing
+so we can learn from it, particularly since we don't know if
+there is going to be another shutdown.
+ And I would like to ask about the actions of the industry
+in preparation for shutdowns. I suppose I should go to Mr.
+Calio first.
+ Everyone saw the shutdown coming. We just couldn't believe
+it would really occur, but there it was. And, of course, there
+have been shutdowns in prior years repeatedly, and we have been
+unable to stop them. I don't know whether some of the bills
+that are coming forward will ever have that effect because
+there are some negatives to those bills as well.
+ So in seeing this shutdown coming, were there actions that
+the industry took or could take?
+ And in light of the fact that although we believe the
+current bill will be signed, are there actions being taken in
+preparation for a possible shutdown as we speak here today?
+ Mr. Calio. Thank you, Madam Congresswoman.
+ Yes, from our perspective there is always planning
+operationally and what we can do in which we have to anticipate
+what will happen with the rest of our partners in the aviation
+community as a shutdown progresses and how we can make it up.
+ Frankly, there is a lot of piecing and patching that takes
+place to try to get airplanes in the air, to keep airplanes in
+the air, to handle the fact that we can't get new planes
+certified, the fact that we can't get airworthiness directives
+approved, the fact that the FAA inspectors are out of the
+system, you know, who we welcome because we need and want the
+oversight.
+ So a lot----
+ Ms. Norton. You will be flying during a certain shutdown.
+ Mr. Calio. Yes, we will.
+ Ms. Norton. So are there actions with planes going to be in
+the air that you take or must take when you know that there is
+going to be a shutdown?
+ Mr. Calio. Yes, we have to take overall account for what is
+going to be in the system and what the level of capability is
+to fly what number of planes and which number of passengers.
+ Ms. Norton. So if there is going to be shutdown with
+various parts of your staff or various parts of the system, I
+should say, not being paid and, therefore, not sure that they
+will be there, are there actions that are taken considering
+that planes do not stop circulating during that time?
+ For example, are there fewer planes in the air? We were
+told that there were long periods of times when planes could
+not safely land. Those are the kinds of safety issues I am
+interested in.
+ Mr. Calio. Well, what happens is, depending on the
+capability of the rest of the system, what the FAA will do is
+decrease the number of planes in the air; will stretch out the
+timing between flights, all of which slows the entire system
+down; and----
+ Ms. Norton. And decreasing the number of planes, it may
+mean you have to cancel some flights?
+ Mr. Calio. Yes, absolutely, which has a terrible impact on
+the people who are trying to fly, for the people and businesses
+that are waiting for their packages, and all of the knockon
+effects for the surrounding communities for people not flying,
+not going to hotels.
+ It all in all is a bad situation. Again, what we need to do
+is look forward and pass a bill like H.R. 1108, which will
+prevent any future shutdowns in this industry and allow for
+stable funding so we can make long-term plans rather than have
+to plan for shutdowns.
+ Ms. Norton. Do any other witnesses have anything to say?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. I would just add to that every time we
+approach a lapse in appropriations in the FAA, about 2 weeks
+out we start scaling down our modernization activity. We
+certainly start looking at our list of who is essential/
+nonessential, who is going to be coming to work, and basically,
+we stop moving the organization and the industry forward
+because we actually have to take a step back to actually
+prepare for the incoming shutdown or the eventual shutdown if
+it happens.
+ And all too often in high drama, Congress will pass it on
+the 11th hour and give us another 2 weeks. Well, all that does
+is give us another 2 weeks to prepare for another shutdown
+because those lists change all the time.
+ It is an endless circle with the hamster just pawing away
+going nowhere because we are preparing for shutdowns. It is
+ridiculous. It needs to end.
+ Ms. Norton. I just want to thank all of our witnesses who
+had to confront this shutdown, that you were able to keep the
+United States of America safe in the air during the shutdown.
+So we owe you.
+ Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Norton.
+ I move to now grant 5 minutes to Representative Carbajal of
+California.
+ Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
+ And thank you for being here and sharing with us the
+important work the industries and the workers you represent do
+day in and day out to keep us all safe.
+ Mr. Rinaldi, in your testimony, you mentioned the personal
+toll the 35-day shutdown took on air traffic controllers. In my
+district, I represent three airports, Santa Maria, Santa
+Barbara, and San Luis Obispo, community airports.
+ I personally met with a number of air traffic controllers
+and other airport workers in my district who echoed some of the
+same concerns you outlined in your testimony. Many were anxious
+as to when their next paycheck would come or when the shutdown
+would end.
+ For some of the workers in my district, this took an
+extraneous toll on their personal lives, as some were
+recovering from losing friends and family members or homes
+during the Thomas fire and Montecito debris flow.
+ Can you speak further how the shutdown impacted staffing
+for smaller community airports?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. Yes, sir. Thank you, and thank you for your
+passion for our members.
+ Certainly, I am assuming you are talking about Trisha
+Pesiri-Dybvik, which has been out there. She lost a home. They
+lost everything they had during the fires. Then to continue to
+come to work and not get paid while they are trying to rebuild
+their home a year later is devastating and demoralizing.
+ And it is around the country. It is not just at our core 30
+airports or our large en route centers or our core 30 TRACONs.
+It is every airport out there. Controllers showed up every day
+to maintain the safety of the National Airspace System, with
+the uncertainty of when they were going to get a paycheck, and
+it weighed on them and they were doing side jobs just to put
+food on the table. And they didn't know how long it was going
+to last because there was a lot of rhetoric that was going on
+that this could go on for months or years, and people were
+really, really concerned at that point.
+ Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Rinaldi.
+ Mr. Bunce, this shutdown took a huge toll on our economy.
+Could you share with us a little bit of the impact that this
+shutdown had on the manufacturing, aviation manufacturing
+industry?
+ What did it do to many of those production lines? What was
+the fiscal impact?
+ Mr. Bunce. Again, it is because each company has a
+different level of activity and where they are in a production
+process of new aircraft. It could be all from one company was
+very close to bankruptcy to another company that was just
+burning a tremendous amount of cash, but they had more product
+lines to be able to absorb it.
+ So I cannot give you a quantification of the overall dollar
+amount of impact, but what you really do in that situation is
+you hurt our ability to be able to service markets all over the
+world because if you look at content-wise, most of the aircraft
+that are delivered in this very competitive marketplace have a
+lot of U.S. content.
+ So one example, there is an Italian company during the
+shutdown that was supposed to have FAA test pilots come over
+and fly the test aircraft in icing conditions in Europe so that
+they could deliver to a U.S. airline that is here on the east
+coast. Those aircraft have a significant amount of U.S.
+content.
+ Now, all of that flight tests now, they do not know when
+they are going to be able to get it done, and they may miss the
+icing season that they needed to be able to get those tests
+done.
+ So even what is happening overseas is impacting U.S.
+companies here because of the global nature of our trade back
+and forth.
+ Mr. Carbajal. Thank you.
+ Clearly, we have been told that the impact was over $11
+billion to our economy, $3 billion of which we will not be able
+to get back. That was part of our GDP.
+ So thank you for sharing, and thank you all again for the
+work you do and those you represent.
+ Mr. Chair, I yield back.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Carbajal.
+ Now, I will do a second round of questions, and I will
+start by recognizing Mr. Graves for 5 minutes.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Mr. Rinaldi, do you believe that the FAA is going to hit is
+fiscal year 2019 targets for training controllers?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. For training controllers or hiring
+controllers? For hiring through the academy?
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. I am trying to remember their
+target. Was their target for training or hiring?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. It is for hiring through the FAA Academy.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. OK. For hiring then.
+ Mr. Rinaldi. I believe they are going to struggle to make
+that. They are going to try, but I think through the process
+and through the limited seats in the classes out in Oklahoma
+City, they are certainly going to try, but I think they are
+going to miss their target this year.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Do you have any suggestions or
+recommendations on what we could be doing, I guess more
+specifically, what the FAA could be doing to address the
+failure rate of those graduating from the academy?
+ Mr. Rinaldi. The failure rate is actually at the academy to
+screen, right? So, you know, we much prefer that we would
+screen them out at the academy than to bring people that quite
+possibly are not qualified into our facilities and train them
+on live traffic if they do not have the skills and the aptitude
+to become a certified air traffic controller.
+ So those screens that are happening out in the academy
+roughly depending on the class, it goes from 50, 60 sometimes
+success rate. I think that is a good path because the end
+product we are seeing out of the academy, we are seeing a
+higher success rate at our larger facilities.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you.
+ Mr. Perrone, do you have any other ideas on things we could
+be doing to help address or, I guess, mitigate some of the
+safety impacts that you have raised from the shutdown?
+ Mr. Perrone. Thank you.
+ And I think the biggest thing is keep the Government open,
+keep people employed, and making it where they want to come to
+the agency and continue to keep the safest system in the world.
+ You know, the FAA reauthorization bill has some training
+and staffing models that we haven't gotten to yet because we
+were just starting and then the shutdown occurred. So we need
+to get involved in that.
+ It is just important that the Government stays open. You
+know, we have people that go to Oklahoma City and get trained
+at other locations continually throughout their career. It is
+not a one-time event. So the academy has to stay open for
+people to get trained.
+ New equipment comes onboard. They have to get out there to
+get trained and then go back and get on-the-job training and
+certification of equipment.
+ So it is a continuing process for us. It is not just a one
+time here is a new-hire and that is it. Myself, I spent over
+2\1/2\ years in the academy in training. So it is important to
+keep everything going.
+ The FAA reauthorization bill has training that we want to
+work with the FAA on other ways or avenues of getting them
+trained, locally, colleges, other events. So we appreciate
+keeping the Government open.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you.
+ Ms. Nelson, I believe other folks commented on the
+performance, FAA leadership. I am just curious if you had any
+reaction in regard to their performance or suggestions on how
+things could be done differently in the event we would run into
+an awful situation like this in the future.
+ Ms. Nelson. I appreciate the leadership of the FAA, and
+certainly of all the people who came and tried to keep the
+system running and make it safe. When they talk about pulling
+down capacity and efficiency, that is a direct impact on my
+members' jobs.
+ And the conditions that the air traffic controllers were
+describing here that they were put in, where they were having
+to make a determination to keep the system safe, that that
+efficiency rate would have to go down. The capacity rate would
+have to go down and could result in massive furloughs for
+airline workers and a cascading effect from there.
+ So we actually appreciate Administrator Elwell's very close
+watch on this and work with us, but the fact of the matter is
+that we were hearing both out of the FAA and the TSA that the
+only way to keep us safe is to have certain long-term funding.
+ Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you.
+ Lastly, Mr. Chairman, I just want to make note there were a
+few comments about the shutdown that were made, and I want to
+commend and associate myself with the comments from Mrs. Craig
+regarding the Members not being paid.
+ And I think also her comments regarding Members having to
+show up, mandatory showing up 7 days a week, I think that is
+absolutely, absolutely what needs to happen.
+ And let me just go back, and I want to thank all of you. I
+want to thank the people you represent and say it again. I
+think it is awful that the folks who were impacted by this
+didn't deserve it, and they couldn't solve it. I think that is
+wrong.
+ And I think for us to continue to be paid under that
+scenario is inappropriate. It takes two sides to any
+negotiation, and while Chairman DeFazio and Mr. Larsen have
+introduced legislation that mitigates this impact in the
+aviation industry, I do think that we need to be focusing more
+broadly on shutdowns as well.
+ So thank you all very much for being here.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Representative Graves.
+ So just to wrap up, I have a question and a couple of other
+additional comments. The question I have is for Ms. Nelson.
+ Would you like to clarify your comments on the general
+strike and what that actually means?
+ Ms. Nelson. I would be happy to.
+ So we have called for a general strike in response to this
+shutdown, and the reason for that is because nowhere in private
+industry would anyone come to work without getting paid.
+Through all of the pain that we went through as aviation
+workers during the bankruptcies, the first day order in those
+bankruptcies was to make sure everyone got paid, and there was
+no determination of who was essential and who was nonessential.
+The only way to keep the business running is to have everybody
+chip in and make sure that it works and make sure that people
+get paid.
+ So we had 2 million people who were not getting paid here
+and others who were forced to come to work without pay. This
+was unprecedented, and we believe that it requires an
+unprecedented response.
+ So we were calling on all workers to talk about a general
+strike in response to this. If Congress can't do their job and
+can actually or if Washington can't do its job and can actually
+put us in a position where people are thrown into hopelessness,
+2 million American workers and the rest of us who were feeling
+the impacts of that, where this doesn't happen anywhere else in
+the country, where we have said over and over again that we do
+not agree with making people come to work without getting paid,
+then it requires an unprecedented response from the American
+people.
+ And so we know that maybe we are not ready to have a
+general strike. We haven't even talked about it in this country
+for over 50 years. We believe that the conditions were that
+serious that we needed to talk about it.
+ Separately, our members will continue to assess the
+conditions at work if there is a continued shutdown, and in
+situations where we believe that it is unsafe, we will withhold
+our service and not go to work and make sure that the American
+people are safe.
+ Mr. Larsen. Thank you.
+ I just ask unanimous consent the following items be entered
+in the record of today's hearing: two additional written
+statements from the National Business Aviation Association, and
+the Regional Airline Association.
+ Without objection, so ordered.
+ [The information follows:]
+
+
+ Statement from the National Business Aviation Association, Submitted
+ for the Record by Hon. Larsen
+ Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves and members of the
+Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, thank you for holding
+this important hearing to address the significant challenges faced by
+the entire aviation system during the most recent 35-day partial
+government shutdown. On behalf of our 11,000-member companies, the
+National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is pleased to submit this
+statement.
+ The United States has the largest, safest and most diverse aviation
+system in the world, and this system functions so well thanks to tens
+of thousands of dedicated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
+employees. While much of the discussion during the most recent shutdown
+focused on our traffic control system, there were also negative impacts
+on the general aviation industry. General aviation annually contributes
+$219 billion to the U.S. economy and provides more than 1 million jobs,
+many of which are dependent on a fully-functioning FAA.
+ One of the major challenges for NBAA members during the shutdown
+was reduced staffing at Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO). While
+certain aviation safety inspectors were deemed essential and worked
+without pay during the shutdown, the reduced staffing meant that only
+safety-critical functions could be performed. Safety is of course the
+number one priority; however, FSDOs perform other functions that
+general aviation operators rely upon to conduct their business.
+ This meant that during the most recent shutdown, Part 135 air
+charter operators were unable to add new aircraft to their fleets. For
+NBAA member company Jet Logistics Inc., which transports human organs
+for transplant using Part 135 aircraft, this presented a significant
+challenge. The company was prepared to add two new aircraft to its
+charter certificate as there is a growing need for operators who are
+qualified to conduct organ-transplant flights. However, due to the 35-
+day shutdown, the two new aircraft, representing a $12 million-dollar
+investment were grounded, halting transplant flights.
+ For another Part 135 operator that provides cargo flights to a
+small community lacking service from larger carriers, the shutdown
+reduced their ability to provide service. In order for its pilots to be
+qualified and meet FAA requirements, the operator needed a check airman
+that had a current authorization. During the shutdown, this
+authorization could not be issued, and the operator was forced to
+ground four of its five cargo aircraft. This had serious financial
+consequences for both the cargo company and the clients that rely upon
+its service.
+ For flight training providers, the shutdown resulted in delays and
+slowdowns that reduced the number of qualified pilots available to the
+industry. To issue pilot certificates, flight training providers
+require regular authorizations from the FAA, and these could not be
+renewed during the shutdown. The inability of training providers to
+issue certificates had the potential to halt pilot training and prevent
+aircraft from having the necessary crews to operate.
+ During the shutdown, the qualifications for training center
+evaluators also expired and there was a backlog for approval of flight
+simulators. This made it impossible for organizations to conduct
+critical training activities, resulting in negative economic impacts.
+Training providers work in close partnership with the FAA, and for this
+system to generate qualified pilots, there simply cannot be extended
+government shutdowns where critical authorizations expire.
+ With passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, the FAA
+Aircraft Registry was deemed essential, meaning that dedicated registry
+staff worked without pay during the shutdown. This change allowed
+aircraft transactions to continue, and NBAA appreciates the leadership
+of this committee in working to deem the Aircraft Registry as
+essential. However, although the registry was operating, the Office of
+Aeronautical Central Counsel was closed during the shutdown. This meant
+that aircraft registrations requiring a FAA legal opinion, including
+those involving limited liability corporations and trusts, could not be
+processed. Many companies utilize these structures for regulatory
+compliance and the inability to secure FAA legal opinions delayed
+aircraft being placed into service.
+ With the far-reaching impacts of the 35-day government shutdown on
+general aviation, NBAA supports a targeted solution to providing the
+FAA with funding certainty. We thank Chairman DeFazio and Aviation
+Subcommittee Chairman Larsen for their leadership in introducing H.R.
+1108, the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019. Under this bill, the
+FAA would be permitted to use funds from the Airport and Airway Trust
+Fund to continue operations and pay employees during a shutdown. With
+balances in the trust fund growing, this approach provides funding
+certainty, while maintaining congressional oversight of our nation's
+airspace system. NBAA supports this legislation which ensures our
+aviation system continues to operate safely and efficiently.
+ The 11,000-member companies with NBAA appreciate the dedication and
+commitment of FAA employees during the extended shutdown. Through their
+work, our system continued operating, but we must understand the
+significant consequences and work to avoid another FAA shutdown in the
+future.
+
+
+ Statement from Faye Malarkey Black, President and Chief Executive
+Officer, Regional Airline Association, Submitted for the Record by Hon.
+ Larsen
+ The Regional Airline Association (RAA) would like to express strong
+support for the February 13, 2019 Aviation Subcommittee hearing
+entitled, ``Putting U.S. Aviation at Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown''
+and submits this written testimony to convey that another government
+shutdown would carry severe and unsustainable consequences for RAA's 22
+regional airline members and the 153 million passengers we serve each
+year.
+ As you know, the U.S. aviation system drives $1.6 trillion in
+annual economic activity and supports 10.6 million jobs, with $446.8
+billion in earnings. Regional airlines play a critical role in
+upholding this system and operate 41 percent of all commercial airline
+departures. Further, fully 409 airports (about two-thirds of our
+nation's commercial airports) are too small to support air service from
+larger airlines with larger aircraft, yet still need reliable air
+service to connect with loved ones, business contacts, travel
+destinations and the global economy. For these 409 airports, regional
+airlines provide the only source of scheduled, commercial air service.
+Regional airlines therefore play a singular, critical role for smaller
+communities and this air service to smaller communities also supports
+the nation's economy writ large. In fact, regional airline service to
+the nation's smallest airports alone (non-hub and small hub) drives a
+conservatively estimated $134 billion in annual economic activity and
+supports more than 1 million jobs, with $36.4 billion in earnings.
+ We appreciate the committee's leadership in holding this hearing
+today. RAA is gravely concerned at the prospect of another shutdown on
+February 15 and the negative impact this would carry for the commercial
+aviation system. While RAA firmly believes the best scenario is
+avoiding future shutdowns altogether, we are especially grateful to
+Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman DeFazio and
+Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Larsen for introducing H.R. 1108, the
+Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019, to protect the U.S. aviation
+industry during any future shutdowns that do take place. We endorse and
+support this targeted approach, which assures stability and the
+continued safe operation of the aviation system in the event of another
+shutdown.
+ consequences for regional airlines during government shutdown
+ As you know, airlines, along with employees at the Federal Aviation
+Administration and Transportation Security Administration, are still
+overcoming the impacts of the previous shutdown. RAA and its members
+are deeply grateful to the dedicated professionals at the FAA, TSA and
+Customs and Border Protection who kept air travelers safe and secure
+despite missed paychecks and the accompanying financial hardship, as
+the shutdown continued. You already know some of the serious impacts on
+the FAA and the Transportation Security Administration, as the shutdown
+forced air traffic controllers to slow the flow of flights in the
+airspace to maintain high safety standards and led to long lines at
+security checkpoints at U.S. airports. In addition to these highly
+visible impacts, regional airlines experienced other shutdown-related
+consequences that impacted our operations and passengers. Future
+government shutdowns would bring these same consequences and more, with
+problems compounding as the duration extends.
+ furlough of safety reporting and oversight professionals is
+ unacceptable
+ The FAA is a safety organization and therefore, all FAA functions
+are essential. During the last shutdown, FAA employees responsible for
+safety and reporting systems were furloughed. Additionally, guidance
+for the agency's Certificate Management Office (CMO) was interpreted
+inconsistently across field offices, and it was unclear which essential
+functions employees could perform. Due to this confusion, offices
+responded differently to non-emergency--but still difficult--situations
+encountered by air carriers. Over the course of the 35-day shutdown,
+guidance was clarified, and consistency improved. However, if
+subsequent shutdowns cannot be prevented, then essential and non-
+essential functions must have a clear definition, so individual
+Certificate Management Office professionals are not left to interpret
+which functions are essential and which are not.
+ pilots training, certifications and upgrades were delayed or disrupted
+ Because regional airlines are the career entry point for most Part
+121 commercial airline pilots, our members are constantly hiring. Pilot
+demand is at an unprecedented high, and major airline hiring has led to
+high attrition and the need for a dynamic workforce. During the
+shutdown, the FAA was unable to issue new student pilot certificates,
+unable to participate in check rides, unable to administer the ATP
+written test for new pilots, unable to certify new Advanced
+Qualification Program (AQP) providers and unable to certify new Aircrew
+Program Designees (APD), which constrained training for countless
+prospective pilots and exacerbated a pilot shortage that is already
+seriously straining smaller U.S. communities. Carriers were also unable
+to upgrade pilots to new positions (from Second in Command [SIC] or
+First Officer, to Pilot in Command [PIC] or Captain) during the
+shutdown.
+ New hire training was further delayed or halted because the FAA was
+unable to process mandated pilot background checks through the FAA-
+provided data base during the shutdown. While some airlines were able
+to use the online Pilot Records Data base tool during the shutdown,
+others experienced access problems and were unable to obtain these
+records. This created an uneven playing field when some carriers could
+gain access and others could not. Many regional airlines also have
+Extended Envelope Training programs, training manual revisions, and
+Advanced Qualification Program curriculum awaiting FAA approval. The
+shutdown delayed these approvals and their timely incorporation into
+pilot training programs.
+ This complex matrix of observations and checks required to inspect
+qualifications of all pilots in various phases requires timely renewals
+and certification by the FAA in its role and of those authorized to
+provide the same. When one part of the system is delayed, there is a
+cascading effect on the entire system. In this way, the shutdown
+delayed planned operations and, in some cases, grounded pilots.
+ shutdown impacted aircraft certification and delayed new routes
+ Airlines had difficulty or were unable to place new aircraft into
+service because the FAA did not have the resources to authorize new
+aircraft, leading to service disruptions and, in some cases, delayed
+starts of planned routes. Airlines must gain FAA approval to start new
+routes or increase frequency on existing routes. This is routine, and
+flight tickets are often sold well in advance with the understanding
+that new aircraft will be able to flow into the network. A shutdown
+disrupts this process because critical FAA certification and oversight
+work that is required to add aircraft to fleets is delayed or halted.
+ This has resulted in substantial revenue losses for airlines and
+service delays for communities. One regional airline is currently
+adding up to five new aircraft per month; if those aircraft cannot
+enter service, up to 30 flights daily may be disrupted. For small and
+non-hub airports with more limited connections to the air transport
+network, such as Essential Air Service (EAS) communities, these delays
+can have particularly devastating economic consequences. Unlike larger
+markets, these airports don't have a range of other service options to
+mitigate the consequences of disrupted air service. Passengers and
+businesses simply go elsewhere, and it is unclear if these communities
+can recover from a protracted shutdown.
+ conclusion
+ A healthy, reliable and safe aviation system is only possible with
+the collaboration and cooperation of all aviation stakeholders and the
+Federal Government. Another shutdown would again seriously impact
+airline operations and should be avoided. However, if a shutdown cannot
+be prevented, steps must be taken to ensure the full operation of the
+FAA throughout.
+ The Regional Airline Association stands ready to support the
+Committee in its work to bring certainty to the commercial aviation
+industry and the Federal workers who support it, giving passengers
+confidence that airline operations will continue and their future
+travel plans will not be disrupted.
+ Thank you for this opportunity to provide comments.
+
+ Mr. Larsen. And finally, I just want to note about the
+National Transportation Safety Board had to furlough employees.
+The NTSB is the independent agency responsible for
+investigating transportation accidents and advocating for
+safety improvements. It stopped work on more than 1,800 ongoing
+general aviation and limited aviation safety investigations,
+and it prevented the Board from working with the FAA to
+investigate 15 general aviation accidents that occurred during
+the 35 days.
+ So we want to be sure that was clear in the record.
+ If there are no further questions from the subcommittee and
+seeing none, I would like to say thank you to the witnesses for
+your testimony today. Your contribution to today's discussion
+has been informative. It has been helpful, and I hope we have
+set down into the record what the impacts of a shutdown is on
+aviation and aerospace.
+ I ask unanimous consent that the record of today's hearing
+remain open until such time as our witnesses have provided
+answers to any questions that may be submitted to them in
+writing.
+ And I ask unanimous consent that the record remain open for
+15 days for any additional comments and information submitted
+by Members or witnesses to be included in the record of today's
+hearing.
+ Without objection, so ordered.
+ If no other Members have anything to add, the subcommittee
+stands adjourned.
+ Thank you.
+ [Whereupon, at 12:20 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
+
+
+ Submissions for the Record
+
+ ----------
+
+
+ Statement of Hon. Stacey E. Plaskett, a Delegate in Congress from the
+ Virgin Islands
+ Thank you, Chairman DeFazio, and thank you to all the witnesses for
+your testimony.
+ The 35-day Trump shutdown had a significant, real-world impact on
+the Virgin Island Port Authority's readiness, ability to receive
+passengers efficiently and safely, and capacity to meet FAA's consent
+decree requirements. The 35-day shutdown worsened an already tenuous
+situation at the Territory's airports.
+ To date, the V.I. Port Authority has not been able to receive any
+feedback from the FAA on the status of its two applications for FAA
+natural disaster funding. . .all attributable to the 35-day Trump
+shutdown. These applications are for our two airports; one located in
+St. Croix, the second located in St. Thomas. This $400 million in
+potential airport improvement program funding would provide both
+airports in the Virgin Islands sorely needed dollars for expansion and
+modernization projects.
+ Finally, long overdue repairs to the Instrument Landing System at
+our airport in St. Thomas has been delayed indefinitely because the FAA
+Tech Ops Department was furloughed during the shutdown. As everyone is
+acutely aware, my District was ravaged in 2017 by two category five (5)
+hurricanes. The impact of the 35-day government shutdown is
+immeasurable and we cannot afford another Trump shutdown as the Virgin
+Islands continues rebuilding its economy and a better, more resilient
+infrastructure.
+
+
+ Statement of Hon. Greg Stanton, a Representative in Congress from the
+ State of Arizona
+ Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important hearing today to
+examine the impacts to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the
+recent 35-day partial government shutdown. I want to thank each of the
+witnesses for being here today and for sharing with us some of the
+impacts that resulted from the shutdown.
+ The government shutdown impacted 800,000 Federal workers across the
+country and had an $11 billion impact on our economy according to the
+Congressional Budget Office.
+ The shutdown not only impacted air traffic controllers who worked
+long hours without pay, it also halted safety inspections and many
+other critical functions the FAA is charged with to keep our air system
+safe, secure, and efficient. The shutdown also had a ripple effect that
+extended beyond that to airlines, general aviation, airports,
+manufacturers, and passengers.
+ Last year, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport hit a record for the number
+of passengers it served, more than 44.9 million, a 2.3 percent increase
+compared to 2017. And the Mesa Gateway Airport also saw a record
+setting year for passengers. To keep these passengers on the move and
+the air system running as it should, our Federal employees from air
+traffic controllers to Customs officials to security screeners are
+vital and without them, everything would come to a halt.
+ As someone who travels every week by air, I am thankful for the
+dedicated service of our Federal employees during the very difficult
+and challenging time of the shutdown. They performed admirably, and I
+appreciate the community in my state for coming together to support
+them. They should not have had to go through this and it is important
+we look for solutions to prevent this situation from happening again.
+It is vital that the FAA be able to function without interruption to
+ensure the safety of our air system and those passengers traveling
+through our nation's airports, like Sky Harbor and Mesa Gateway.
+ I want to thank the Chairman DeFazio and Chairman Larsen for the
+proposal they have advanced--the Aviation Funding Stability Act--which
+I support and have cosponsored, to make sure the FAA is funded during a
+government shutdown by allowing it to tap the resources in the Airport
+and Airway Trust Fund. This would allow the FAA to keep operations
+funded and make sure our dedicated Federal employees are paid for their
+work. We shouldn't have to resort to this type of legislation, but it
+is clear we need to find a reasonable way forward should we ever be
+faced with another government shutdown.
+ Mr. Chairman, thank you again for holding this important hearing
+and for our witnesses here today.
+
+
+ Statement from the American Federation of Government Employees,
+ Submitted for the Record by Hon. DeFazio
+ February 12, 2019.
+U.S. Representative Peter A. DeFazio
+Chairman, House Transportation/Infrastructure Committee, Washington,
+ DC.
+U.S. Representative Rick Larsen
+Chairman, House Aviation Subcommittee, Washington, DC.
+ Dear Chairman DeFazio and Chairman Larsen,
+ Our AFGE Local Bargaining Unit represents approximately 310 Federal
+employees at the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes
+Technical Center in New Jersey. Our employees perform essential support
+of the National Airspace System (NAS). Air Traffic Control personnel
+rely on us for the deployment of new and improved NAS products and on
+expert repair and restoration services when Air Traffic Control systems
+fail.
+ We first wish to express our appreciation for your efforts to ward
+off FAA Privatization over the past years. Your subject matter
+expertise and advocacy resulted in Non-Privatization legislation
+essential to the FAA labor force.
+ You are both keenly aware of the risks to the FAA Mission,
+America's flying public, and the tens of thousands of FAA employees and
+stakeholders resulting from the Federal Government Shutdown of 2018/
+2019. We have become aware of your 02-13-19 ``Putting U.S. Aviation at
+Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown'' hearing.
+ We now write to you with a sense of urgency. We have unique insight
+on the Shutdown effects on the FAA Mission/Operations, on the Technical
+Center Community, small businesses and the economy of Southern New
+Jersey. AFGE Local 200 organized two Public Awareness Events bringing
+together Senator Menendez, Congressmen Norcross and Van Drew, four
+Unions, the FAA Managers Association, small businesses and most
+importantly Federal and contractor employees to share their hardships
+(all while meeting the FAA Mission).
+ https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/Federal-
+ workers-rally-for-
+ return-to-work-paychecks/article_47ad152f-6f40-56f0-be94-
+ fe8a78628dbe.html
+ Please consider including AFGE 200 in deliberations on protecting
+the FAA from shutdowns as well as short term ``CRs''. We are capable of
+giving fact and data based input, as well as the human/community cost
+of FAA shutdowns as shown in the attached statement submitted for
+consideration in tomorrow's hearing.
+statement for consideration regarding house aviation hearing: ``putting
+ u.s. aviation at risk: the impact of the shutdown''
+ Good Day Chairman Larsen and Ranking Member Graves,
+ AFGE Local 200 represents approximately 310 Federal employees at
+the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical
+Center located at Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey.
+ Our employees are assigned to three Lines of Businesses in the
+FAA's Air Traffic Organization (ATO). They are: En Route & Oceanic
+Services, Terminal Services and Technical Operations.
+ Our employees perform Air Traffic System Hardware, Software and
+System Administration Engineering and Test, as well as Field Support
+and Restoration of the FAA National Airspace System (NAS). The systems
+used by Air Traffic Control personnel rely on us for the deployment of
+new and improved NAS products, expert repair and restoration services
+when systems fail.
+ Our prior organization was simply known as ``Operational Support''.
+Our motto was ``AOS Makes It Work''. The same is true today. And we
+keep it working. Even during Shutdowns.
+ executive summary
+ Furloughs offer no benefits to America. Quite the contrary. The
+calculated monetary cost of FAA Shutdowns is great. But worse, there is
+long-term decline in confidence, increased fear and uncertainty, and
+rising pessimism in the FAA Mission and among its workforce. The FAA
+value to the flying public and taxpayer can be lost.
+ FAA Shutdowns have directly resulted in failed privatization
+efforts. The Agency and our workforce had wrongly been held accountable
+for slipping schedules and cost overruns. Such artificial and unfounded
+findings have cut into morale, staffing/retention, and public
+perception of our workforce. Our mission suffers from Shutdowns.
+ the unique faa shutdown problem
+ Since 1995 when the FAA was authorized as an ``Excepted Agency''
+under Federal law, the FAA has been shut down more than any other
+Federal Agency. We have been shutdown for long duration large
+appropriations lapses affecting multiple Executive Departments and
+Agencies. The recent damaging Shutdown being the worst. These
+``appropriation'' events always involve non-aviation industry, non-FAA
+issues. As well, we have been shutdown individually as an Agency
+multiple times. For these ``FAA reauthorization shutdowns'', some have
+been over aviation issues while others have not.
+ Risking the integrity of the FAA Mission, NAS Modernization and NAS
+Operations during unrelated political fights is harmful to all three,
+to the flying public and to the American taxpayer. And though FAA
+Reauthorization requires robust debate to reach good business sense and
+structural/organizational improvement, shutdowns would only complicate
+meeting our mission.
+ the unique faa technical center shutdown problem
+ The Technical Center is largely not an operational facility. The
+main Technical Center function is to research, engineer, test and
+certify new NAS system and safety technology. Our workforce is split
+between Federal and contractor Subject Matter Expert employees. In the
+recent shutdown, AFGE 200 roughly estimates there were:
+ 1,000 Federal Employees working without pay
+ 1,000 Federal Employees furloughed without pay
+ 1,000 Contractor employees layed off immediately or
+incrementally who who get no back pay
+ With the Technical Center the hub of Southern New Jersey
+Technology, many of our employees are spouses. Moms and sons. Dads and
+daughters. Families. Both or more may be ``Feds''. Or Contractors. Or a
+mix. The bottom line is that many families will lose income. Sometimes
+two incomes. Many times, the loss is for good.
+ Then there are the small businesses, many of them being minority or
+female owned. These businesses do not have `corporate cash reserves'.
+What comes in, goes out. In many cases, finance and contracts
+processers were furloughed meaning several companies got paid nothing
+for work already performed before the Shutdown.
+ One community impact is our Daycare facility known as ``The Little
+Flyers Academy''. It is a non-profit entity. With little cash reserves
+and while trying to defer employee payments due to losses of income,
+``Little Flyers'' almost had to lay off staff. Had layoffs occurred,
+``Little Flyers'' may have lost its State certification to operate.
+ Further community and Small Business impacts can be addressed under
+separate cover.
+ the unique faa nas operational support and afge 200 employee shutdown
+ problem
+ As stated, our lines of business deploy of new and improved NAS
+products. This is often under the purview of Facilities & Engineering
+funding which is cutoff during shutdowns. We also perform expert repair
+and restoration services when systems fail. This is under Operations
+funding which is deemed ``Essential''.
+ This causes half of our workforce to be furloughed while the other
+is Working Without Pay. This is indeed unique in the FAA. Virtually all
+FAA Controllers of NATCA and the System Specialists of PASS work
+without pay. Our workforce is split between ``Essential'' and ``Non-
+Essential'' leading to inconsistencies and arguments over what is
+essential. A resulting morale issue is hard to measure because of the
+professionalism of our workforce. But though management must take the
+`inequity' into account, there is no mechanism to do so.
+ the shutdown effect on modernizing the nas
+ On top of direct monetary shutdown losses, impacts to the many
+Operational and Acquisition programs under FAA responsibility must be
+considered. The calculations of the lost time and funds on these
+projects adds complex program and financial analyses not accounted for
+in program baselines. All time lost or expended is money lost.
+ Critical National Security Fixes, the modernization of existing
+programs, the development of new more efficient systems and programs
+all come to a halt. Shutdowns postpone efforts to improve the programs
+and systems. A shutdown even of a couple weeks can delay progress by
+months, therefore delaying the improvements critical to many systems
+currently fielded. When work stops, the trickledown effect can be felt
+in every aspect of the Government and our vendors/stakeholders. And
+short term ``CRs'' continuing delaying this work.
+ Finally, when Human Resources and Contract process overhead is
+added to our work, our core mission focus is not optimal. Through no
+fault of their own, employees/managers face pay, benefit, allotment,
+unemployment, unemployment repayment, leave accrual, canceled
+vacations, use or lose recovery issues. And worse.
+ AFGE Local 200 Conclusion--The FAA should never be Shutdown again.
+ Respectfully Submitted--The Officers and Employees of AFGE Local
+200
+
+
+ Appendix
+
+ ----------
+
+
+ Questions from Hon. Steve Cohen for Paul M. Rinaldi
+
+ Question 1. In your testimony, you mentioned that the Federal
+Aviation Administration (FAA) scheduled the ASDE-X Taxiway Arrival
+Prediction (ATAP) Alerting System to be enabled on March 31, 2019, at
+the Memphis International Airport. This new technology enables air
+traffic controllers to detect potential runway conflicts by providing
+detailed coverage of movement on runways and taxiways.\1\ Regrettably,
+due to the shutdown, the implementation date of this system has been
+postponed from March until June 2019. Can you describe in detail the
+financial and staff burdens that this placed and will continue to place
+on the Memphis International Airport?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \1\ https://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/
+news_story.cfm?newsId=23154&omniRss=
+fact_sheetsAoc&cid=103_F_S
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Answer. There are direct financial and staff burdens related to the
+delay in implementing ATAP at Memphis International Airport (MEM). As
+the March 2019 implementation was being accomplished, it required staff
+from Memphis Air Traffic Control Tower to perform duties related to
+that implementation, which means the personnel were not available to
+perform their normal air traffic operations duties. In some cases they
+were backfilled with overtime to perform the operations duties. The
+implementation work must be repeated, which means additional time
+during which staffing at MEM will be affected. This delay also led to
+unexpected costs.
+
+ Question 2a. As you know, the Memphis Air Route Traffic Control
+Center has been heavily involved in training for the implementation of
+Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC), also known as
+DataComm. This program allows the National Airspace System (NAS) to
+handle more traffic, reduce flight delays, route aircraft more
+efficiently and improve safety, all while reducing operational costs
+for airspace users.\2\ Because of the shutdown, has the implementation
+date of DataComm changed?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \2\ https://www.harris.com/content/federal-aviation-administration-
+faa-data-communications-data-comm-user-information
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Answer. Yes, the implementation date for Enroute Data Comm at
+Memphis ARTCC has changed. The original implementation date was
+December of 2018. NATCA is currently working with the FAA on a new
+implementation date, but at this time Memphis ARTCC is scheduled to re-
+start implementation in late 2020, with the goal of January of 2021 as
+an implementation date.
+
+ Question 2b. Will the completed training on the program have to be
+repeated?
+ Answer. Due to extended delay in the implementation date, all air
+traffic controller training related to CPDLC will have to be repeated.
+Due to many factors including the need to train our next generation of
+air traffic controllers, the decision was made to move Memphis Center
+from early in the old Data Comm implementation waterfall to late in the
+new waterfall.
+
+ Question 2c. Can you describe in detail the financial and staff
+burdens that this placed and will continue to place on the Memphis Air
+Route Traffic Control Center?
+ Answer. Memphis ARTCC, like many FAA facilities, has staffing
+challenges. Any and all additional tasks placed upon the workforce,
+which includes much more than just Data Comm, place a burden on
+staffing by removing air traffic controllers from operational duties
+for a period of time to complete the other task. In many cases, this
+requires back-fill overtime for the operational positions. Memphis
+ARTCC had already begun training on CPDLC, which took employees out of
+the operation and required staffing to be reallocated. With the new
+timeline and the need to re-train all employees, all financial
+expenditures from initial workforce training were in vain and like the
+training itself, the expenses will have to be born again.
+
+ Questions from Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr. for Paul M. Rinaldi
+
+ Question 1. Instead of heeding the desperate pleas of our fellow
+Americans, President Trump doubled-down on the shutdown and stated,
+``Many of those people that won't be receiving a paycheck . . . agree
+100 percent with what I am doing.'' Is there any evidence within your
+membership that most federal workers supported a government shutdown in
+exchange for a down payment on a border wall?
+ Answer. NATCA did not poll our membership on this subject. NATCA
+represents its members on issues related to collective bargaining,
+workplace rights, employee benefits, and the safety of the National
+Airspace System.
+
+ Question 1a. Did President Trump meet with your organization during
+the shutdown to support this claim?
+ Answer. NATCA members contacted the Administration and Members of
+Congress to urge them to end the shutdown.
+
+ Question 1b. Did your organization make a public statement to
+support this assertion?
+ Answer. NATCA's national and local leadership who spoke publicly
+during the shutdown educated the public about the ever increasing
+safety concerns related to the shutdown and the stress and fatigue that
+the shutdown created for our membership.
+
+ Question 2. At the heart of our National Airspace System is
+Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which handles over
+100 million passengers per year. The shutdown ended on January 25th and
+Atlanta hosted the Super Bowl on February 3rd. What kind of pressures
+and challenges did the shutdown impose to air traffic controllers who
+were preparing for air traffic volume like the Super Bowl?
+ Answer. The partial government shutdown made planning for the Super
+Bowl very difficult because the large-scale formal meetings that had
+been periodically occurring were stopped. These meetings were attended
+by NATCA, FAA, NFL, various airport authorities, fixed base operators,
+and any other stakeholders that would have been invited to participate
+in the planning for the Super Bowl. At least one formal meeting was
+canceled. This meeting would have been used to troubleshoot any
+foreseen issues, to better streamline the procedures, and validate any
+changes that had been investigated or implemented since the previous
+meeting. There was also no training related to Super Bowl operations
+provided to the workforce during the majority of the shutdown, which
+caused a lot of concern about whether the plan could be executed
+properly.
+
+ Question 2a. Is it true that air traffic controllers did not
+receive critical training and weekly safety meetings during the
+shutdown?
+ Answer. Controllers did not receive any kind of training on Super
+Bowl procedures until later in the shutdown. The FAA recalled a number
+of non-excepted staff back to work. They were able to quickly produce
+and distribute training materials to the workforce and finalize some
+last minute planning to make sure we could execute the plan.
+
+ Question 2b. Could you detail what kind of information is shared at
+these meetings or what kinds of drills are reviewed?
+ Answer. The formal meeting covered items such as pre-coordinated
+arrival routing plans, parking procedures, flow slot time assignments,
+Traffic Management Unit restrictions, departure routings and
+procedures. There was a great deal of information covered that needed
+to be widely disseminated to a number of parties to ensure that
+everyone was operating on the same plan.
+
+ Question 2c. Do you think this impacted how prepared air traffic
+controllers felt prior to the Super Bowl?
+ Answer. Early on during the shutdown, the controllers absolutely
+felt like they weren't prepared for the Super Bowl. Once the FAA
+recalled a number of non-excepted employees back to work and we were
+able to better prepare, the workforce began to relax and felt better
+prepared for the event.
+
+ Question 2d. Has your membership expressed whether the FAA
+expressed sensitivity to their situation or provided additional support
+when possible? Especially in the lead up to the Super Bowl?
+ Answer. FAA leadership was sensitive to the situation. They were,
+unfortunately, unable to help until later in the shutdown when they
+recalled a number of non-excepted employees back to work. Those
+employees worked diligently to make sure the air traffic control
+workforce was as prepared as possible. FAA management held face to face
+briefings during team training times, distributed electronic training
+materials to the workforce and answered the concerns brought to them by
+the workforce. FAA leadership and local management worked
+collaboratively with NATCA to make sure all of our concerns were
+addressed and all plans and procedures were executed as well as
+possible.
+
+ Questions from Hon. Stacey E. Plaskett for Paul M. Rinaldi
+
+ Question 1. Finally, long overdue repairs to the Instrument Landing
+System at our airport in St. Thomas has been delayed indefinitely
+because the FAA Tech Ops Department was furloughed during the shutdown.
+As everyone is acutely aware, my district was ravaged in 2017 by two
+category five (5) hurricanes. The impact of the 35-day government
+shutdown is immeasurable and we cannot afford another Trump shutdown as
+the Virgin Islands continues rebuilding its economy and a better, more
+resilient infrastructure.
+ Will you speak to what the impact is when an air traffic control
+tower is unable to operate its Instrument Landing System? Better put,
+how does the lack of this equipment impact the safety of the traveling
+public?
+ Answer. Although the lack of an Instrument Landing System has a
+definite effect on an air traffic facility, it doesn't necessarily
+affect the safety of the traveling public. The more likely effect would
+be a lack of accessibility. An Instrument Landing System (ILS) is
+defined as a precision runway approach aid based on two radio beams,
+which together provide pilots with both vertical and horizontal
+guidance during an approach to land. This allows aircraft to operate
+when the weather dictates that visual flight rules (VFR) are unusable.
+VFR requires a pilot to be able to see outside the cockpit, to control
+the aircraft's altitude, navigate, and avoid obstacles and other
+aircraft. Instrument flight rules (IFR) are required when VFR rules are
+not available due to weather conditions. When an ILS is unavailable,
+aircraft would be unable to operate, unless another IFR procedure is
+available.
+
+ Questions from Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr. for Michael Perrone
+
+ Question 1. Instead of heeding the desperate pleas of our fellow
+Americans, President Trump doubled-down on the shutdown and stated,
+``Many of those people that won't be receiving a paycheck. . .agree 100
+percent with what I am doing.'' Is there any evidence within your
+membership that most federal workers supported a government shutdown in
+exchange for a down payment on a border wall?
+ Answer. While PASS did not survey our membership on that particular
+question, what was clear is federal employees preferred to be working
+and getting paid instead of reporting to work without pay while others
+were furloughed.
+
+ Question 1a. Did President Trump meet with your organization during
+the shutdown to support this claim?
+ Answer. No, he did not.
+
+ Question 1b. Did your organization make a public statement to
+support this assertion?
+ Answer. During the government shutdown our message internally and
+externally was consistent: end the shutdown and get federal employees
+paid.
+
+ Questions from Hon. Stacey E. Plaskett for Nicholas E. Calio
+
+ Question 1. In my district air travel is essential to moving off
+our islands. Additionally, we presently are heavily reliant on tourism:
+cruise ships of course but the larger dollar spending come from those
+visitors who come by air and stay. So l am curious as to the change in
+the number of people who elected not to travel during the shutdown.
+Have we been able to quantify the number of cancelled flights by
+travelers?
+ Answer. Thank you for your question. A4A is not aware of a specific
+quantifiable number pertaining to `cancelled flights' by travelers
+during the shutdown. Some individual airlines did put financial figures
+out on the impact reduced demand had on their operations, but not all.
+ However, as it pertains to the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) market,
+as a broad generalization, with respect to leisure travelers, those
+consumers traditionally tend to book their trips further in advance
+than business travelers. Given the USVI market reliance on tourism,
+there is a better chance those trips that were already booked and paid
+for were completed during the shutdown since airline operations were
+not directly impacted as far as maintaining a normal schedule. To the
+extent there was a subset of those leisure travelers who were also
+impacted government employees, it would be very speculative to account
+for direct cancellations for that reason or to ascertain how many
+consumers elected not to travel during that time frame.
+ As local data becomes available, we would recommend you work with
+your local airport officials to determine passenger number fluctuations
+compared to previous years for your particular market during that time
+period. Local airport officials may be in a better position to have
+that data on a real-time basis.
+
+
+