Senate Subcommittee on Aviation
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Category: US Senate Committees
| Senate Subcommittee on Aviation | |
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Senate Subcommittee Aviation
Latest News
January 9, 2007: The subcommittee has hearings scheduled for Jan 17th, 18th and 24th.
Background
The Senate Subcommittee on Aviation is a subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, a standing committee of the United States Senate.
Contact information for the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation
Majority: 202-224-5184
Minority: 202-224-9000
Public Information Office: 508 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Committee Jurisdition
- Federal Aviation Administration
The FAA is charged with ensuring the safety and efficiency of all domestic airspace.
- National Transportation Safety Board (Aviation Programs)
The NTSB is the investagative and advisory board for the aviation industry.
- Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
The MWAA controls IAD and DCA, two of the three airports that serve the Baltimore Washington area. Washington National (DCA) is of particular interest, given that the majority of congresspeople use it.
- Aviation Industry
- Aviation Safety
- Aviation Trust Fund
Woah...Big, big problems...
- Airports Improvement Program
Major Issues
There are several major issues this committee will be debating in the upcoming session.
- User Fees
Congress has to decide how the next generation of Air Traffic Control technology will be funded. The FAA and ATC systems are not funded to their full requirement, and congress has been awful in ensuring stability. This is a bipartisan, Corporate vs. Individual, interest issue. From AOPA:
"While there is currently little overt support for general aviation user fees in Congress, we can't relax," said Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs. "We understand that the airlines have a lobbying war chest of millions of dollars, and they view this as the BIG fight when the new Congress takes over. There will be a lot of arm-twisting and a lot of favors called in before Congress writes the new FAA reauthorization bill next year."3
I (Gravedugger) will be developing looking at policy proposals about this issue, with two alternatives. One being a modification and strengthening of our current system, the other being a modified user fee system based around carbon footprint metrics. A core part of ANY change to FAA funding structures needs to ensure that the ATC system remains a public, rather then a private entity.
- Safety Regulation
- Air Traffic Controllers
The ATC system is chronically understaffed. There is quite a bit of history here, and since President Reagan's strike/union busting idiocy, quite a few problems. Reagan destroyed the Union, and blacklisted a number of the controllers. 1982/1983 therefore had a large hiring blip, and those controllers are due for retirement very, very soon. Clinton's lifting of the ban a decade later caused few controllers to return. The government and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association have not had a decent relationship, and this permeates down to management/worker relations. ATC stafffing is a large point of danger in commercial flight right now.
- Very Light Jets
As composites and new turbine technology allow for smaller, more efficient jets, the possibility of true "air taxi" service and personaly owned/operated jets becomes a reality. This has implications for aviation manufacturing, ATC capacity and insurance.
110th Congress
The following is information on the Subcommittee on Aviation for the 110th Congress.
110th Congress: Subcommittee Hearings and pertinent full Committee Hearings
JANUARY 17th at 10:00 AM:Aviation Security - Reviewing the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission
JANUARY 24th at 10:00 AM:State of the Airline Industry: the Potential Impact of Airline Mergers and Industry Consolidation
Information from:
(cites)
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