Good morning Chairman Mica, Congressman DeFazio, and Members of the Committee.  It is my pleasure to appear before you today — for the first time — as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Before we begin, let me acknowledge the new Ranking Democrat of the Aviation Subcommittee, Congressman DeFazio.  I look forward to working with you as well as the other Members of the Subcommittee. 

Two days ago, Secretary Mineta sent to Congress the  Administration’s reauthorization proposal — the Centennial of Flight Aviation Authorization Act, or Flight-100.  I would like to thank Secretary Mineta and Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson for their tireless efforts in developing and clearing Flight-100.

I would also like to thank them for challenging all of us at the Department of Transportation to be Safer, Simpler, and Smarter. These three principles developed by the Secretary not only form the basis of Flight-100 — but they also describe a Department that puts a premium on performance, flexibility, and accountability. And, we at the FAA intend to do our part to meet the Secretary’s challenge.

To that end, we believe that the Administration’s proposal will serve as a strong foundation for the development of reauthorization legislation. We stand ready to work with you — and industry stakeholders — as Congress considers this proposal and develops additional ideas.

I can say that we want to The intent of our proposal is tobuild on AIR-21. Your hard work on that statute resulted in significant innovations in safety, the environment, and significantly increased levels of funding. But more importantly, Air-21 provided us the continuity and stability we need during these turbulent times. 

So, with Air-21 as a foundation, let me take a few moments to give you the gist of Flight-100.

Given the current condition of the aviation industry, it may be most appropriate for me to start by highlighting what is not in the bill.  Flight-100 contains no new taxes, it makes no new economic demands on the industry, and it imposes no new financial burdens on the flying public.

We are maintaining our commitment to safety, capacity and system efficiency by following the lead of AIR-21. Unlike years ago . . . when Trust Fund balances continually increased . . . we are prepared to spend the revenue and interest deposited in the Trust Fund.     Of course, post- Sept. 11 uncertainties and now the war have affected the number of people traveling by air, and, as a result, we are currently spending more than we are collecting into the trust fund.  But there is a healthy uncommitted balance, and our forecasts show that traffic will return and that those past uncommitted balances I just mentioned will see us through these challenging times.

So, now that I’ve told you what isn’t in the bill, let’s turn to what is.  First, foremost,   and always, we want to improve safety.  The  funding levels in Flight-100 continue to support important infrastructure improvements, safety initiatives, system efficiencies, and safety research.  The proposal gives us additional authority to prevent the use of counterfeit or fraudulently represented parts. It also boosts penalties for operators who violate safety regulations.

In addition, our environmental streamlining proposal gives the FAA new ability to respond to critical safety recommendations in a timely manner by designating such projects for priority environmental review. These measures help us continue to find innovative solutions to serious safety problems.

Furthermore, Flight-100 demonstrates our commitment to increasing airport capacity by maintaining the robust level of AIP funding, simplifying formulas, and by dedicating more money to those smaller airports that rely the most on federal assistance. 

Now helping smaller airports is a theme in our bill, and I know it is a concern of many of you.  I understand the pressing needs of our smaller airports — in fact, much of my early education on this issue resulted from a meeting I attended with Chairman Mica in Daytona Beach, Florida, on small airport economic development.

I share the Chairman’s desire to help our smaller airports, and I believe Flight-100 does just that. The proposal provides additional money to help them through market fluctuations and periods of declined traffic that might otherwise cause serious economic hardship.  Non-hub airports, like Daytona Beach, will also be permitted to use their entitlement dollars to fund security-related requirements. Small airports should not have to choose between improving airport security and funding other important projects.

Flight-100’s proposed AIP formula changes also ensure that needed capacity-enhancing projects at the nation’s most congested airports will be funded by increasing the amount of discretionary dollars available.

Flight-100 is also about simplifying, streamlining, and removing unnecessary complications.  As I noted, we’ve simplified the AIP formulas.  We’ve also changed the Passenger Facility Charge application process to make it faster.  Flight-100 proposes to remove duplicative or unnecessary notice and consultation requirements and eliminate burdensome review standards that merely add time rather than protect the public interest.  

Flight-100 also expands our environmental streamlining efforts. I know we all agree that when it comes to runways, protracted decision-making helps nobody. In fact, it contributed to the serious congestion problems we all faced just a few years ago.  

But before going any further on this subject, I want to commend the Committee for taking the lead on this issue. Your hard work resulted in responsible and effective legislation, and we thank you for involving us throughout the process. But, our work together is not finished. We must use this temporary downturn in traffic to continue to increase airport capacity. And passing legislation that further streamlines the environmental review process can only help this effort. 

We believe that Flight-100 will help streamline the process by proposing a more flexible use of the AIP noise set-aside to accelerate research designed to reduce aircraft noise and emissions. The proposal lessens the impact of airport expansion and provides grants to state and local governments to make land uses adjacent to large and medium sized airports more compatible with airport operations. 

Let me take a final moment to mention a serious issue of concern to all of us — the financial condition of the airline industry.  As I mentioned, theEveryday, we at the FAA help to ensure the safetyof anairline industry that is  is in serious economic peril. While FAA has no economic oversight responsibilities, we must ensure that the airlines’ financial problems do not have safety implications.  I know we all agree that safety cannot be shortchanged — no matter how tough our economic situation becomes.

For this reason, I made it a point to meet with the FAA managers overseeing US Airways and United Airlines regularly — as well as the senior safety managers of those airlines — to determine that employee training and internal airline oversight mechanisms, and our stepped-up inspection programs are adequately supported. I am happy to report that both airlines fully maintain their commitment to safety — even as they reduce other parts of their operation. And the FAA will continue its increased oversight there.

Finally, I’m fond of a saying that the folks at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association like to use:  “A mile of road will get you one mile.  A mile of runway will get you anywhere.”  With the current downturn, we have a unique opportunity to increase capacity before it returns to pre-9/11 levels.

Increasing capacity can basically be accomplished in three ways: new technology, new procedures, and new pavement.  We need all three and we need to invest in all three wisely — in a manner that is fiscally sound, that is consistent with projected traffic forecasts, and that will maximize expansion of capacity. Let’s do our best to avoid id the nightmare of delays we experienced not that long ago.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement.  I am happy to answer your questions at this time.