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Thank you. I'm pleased to be with all of the "Davids" at my table today - even the one I work with every day. And I'm pleased to be with all of you today… thank you for inviting me. I bring greetings from President Bush and Secretary Mineta, who support your work as attorneys to keep the skies safe. And, you know, it's appropriate that your conference is entitled the Flight Path for the 21st Century, since your work helps determine that path. Together, the aviation bar and the FAA are creating a foundation of safety for this new century of aviation - the first century in the history of man to begin with planes in the sky. As always, what will come next… will rely on what's come before - and who has come before. Take the brief history of pilots, for example… You've probably heard that there are old pilots… and bold pilots… but not a lot of old, bold pilots. This last September, aviation lost one of those rare pilots - a great friend and advocate, Frank Kingston Smith - who was also one of the pioneers of aviation law. The story goes that not long after Mr. Smith started practicing criminal defense law, his doctor told him he had to find a way to beat the stress. The doctor said to learn golf - not exactly a stress reliever if your game is anything like mine - but those were the doctor's orders. Maybe Frank knew that… because he learned to fly instead. It was the start of a love affair that not only kept him healthy and happy until the age of 84, but also inspired thousands of others to join him in the skies. Frank wrote fourteen books about flying… he founded the Lawyer-Pilot's Bar Association, and he flew around the country as an advocate for aviation in the planes he owned… including one they called the "Legal Eagle." When he wasn't busy flying - as if that were possible - he squeezed in a little law practice for himself and for the National Aviation Trade Association. Today, all four of his children are pilots, and so is one of his grandchildren - and I'm pretty sure there are more pilots to come in that family. And of course, there are hundreds of other pilots he inspired to fly. Frank is going to be missed, but his legacy is part of why we're here today: he matched his enthusiasm for flying with a commitment to aviation law, and the bedrock of aviation safety that it is founded upon. In that spirit, I'd like to tell you today what we're doing at the FAA to create a safe and productive flight plan for the Frank Kingston Smiths of the future - and in fact, for the entire aviation community - as we move into the 21st century. But let me begin with a word about the future of the FAA itself, the long-term reauthorization bill called Vision-100. This important bill provides policy guidance and broad funding levels for all FAA programs over the next few months and years - it is at the center of our safety efforts for the immediate future. Yesterday, you may have heard my colleague Sharon Pinkerton address the issues in the bill. The reauthorization supports one of the President's and Secretary's key priorities… to re-energize aviation and bring vital stimulus to the overall economy. It will drive the creation of 650,000 new jobs in airport construction projects alone . . . with spending of $60 billion in new and continued programming to benefit aviation. The House of Representatives has passed the bill, and we look forward to passage in the Senate very shortly… and when it does pass, we're going to see a lot of progress that benefits the entire industry, because this funding is the foundation for long-term improvements in the system. That's why we've been carefully looking at how the FAA uses its resources… And we took "counsel" - if you will - from many sources. Under the leadership of the Secretary, we talked to our management… our employees… and the aviation community… and with the partnership of these groups, we created a five-year business plan. We call it our Flight Plan, and it sets the agenda for the FAA with four goals… increased safety, greater capacity, international leadership, and organizational excellence. Safety is "a first among equals…" throughout the modes of transportation at the D-O-T… so it would follow that the FAA's top goal in the Plan is to achieve the lowest possible accident rate, and to constantly enhance safety. Several times today, you're going to hear me say that safety is our highest priority - as mandated by Secretary Mineta - because it is. And you just heard this morning from Peter Lynch - our Assistant Chief Counsel for Enforcement - about how enforcement is an underutilized tool to promote safety - I completely agree… and it's vital tool we must use as we plan for the 21st century in aviation. Right now, we're taking steps to focus our limited FAA enforcement resources to best ensure safety. As you know, many enforcement matters are initiated and then go for years without being brought to closure. Our approach at the FAA has traditionally been that all cases are created equal… without taking into account the severity of the violation. Many cases floated along, unresolved… then got lumped together and settled. Obviously, this is not the best way to get the job done. And it's certainly no way to get the highest level of aviation safety out of our budget. That's why we're taking a new approach that relies on hard performance data. We begin by identifying high-risk areas, then we direct enforcement resources to those areas. And we stick with it until we've done the job. It sounds simple, because it is simple - you don't need a flowchart as big as a jet wing to know that if we take a more rational approach, we'll do a better job. When you take an orderly and goal-driven approach, safety more naturally follows, and you'll see that as a common theme throughout the Flight Plan. Another example of this approach is pilot information sharing programs… like Flight Operations Quality Assurance and Aviation Safety Action Program - FOQA and ASAP… These programs will give the FAA and air carriers the ability to plot trends and issues across aircraft types to get in front of the accident before it happens. Comair, I heard, just signed on this week for ASAP… and I feel very strongly that the FAA remains committed to using this information to promote safety, not to prosecute… But you and I also know that airlines worry about this information being used against them in litigation… Let me be as candid as possible. The FAA knows that a voluntary program won't be voluntary for long if it creates unmanageable exposure. We're going to have to continue to encourage dialogue on information sharing between the regulatory and legal communities. I think it begins with straight talk from both sides. And if I didn't believe we could get there, I wouldn't mention it to you today. The second goal in the Flight Plan is increased capacity. We can do this three ways: new technology… new procedures … and new pavement. Capacity is often a matter of engineering, but that engineering must be supported by legal and regulatory groups, and it must have the flexibility for whatever advances come along. I'll mention just three efforts on capacity: First, we are trying to more efficiently blend commercial and general aviation traffic… Second, we're balancing access with post 9/11 security concerns, trying to make sure that the "T" in TFRs really does stand for temporary… And third, we're taking action to balance environmental concerns with need for growth. Once again, capacity is a place where the Flight Plan relies on cooperation of informed parties - like all of you - who recognize the interests and needs of various interest groups - but who share a single overriding concern for the safety and integrity of the national system. Now, I want to just briefly touch on the last two sections of the Flight Plan, U.S. international leadership and organizational excellence… areas where our approach to safety are both propagated and reinforced. The FAA is a strong supporter of the European Aviation Safety Agency - EASA - as it assumes several aviation safety functions previously carried out by individual EU member States. We believe the new agency can further our common goal of promoting safety and efficiency in global aviation. EASA is beginning a three-plus year transition period, and I am confident that it will evolve into a strong safety regulator, and a key player in the global aviation system. However, it's important that EASA build on the success of the past. The U.S. and Europe have established a strong and effective safety relationship over the past 20 years, and we're committed to building from that. We can use our current relationships to come to an understanding with the European Community that will recognize the new regulatory authority in Europe and define our safety partnership from the outset. But at the same time we ensure FAA performance on an international level, we must look within to make certain that what we do as an organization is as efficient and high-quality as possible. As I have stressed, under the new Flight Plan, the FAA will become more performance-based. Russ Chew, as you know, is the FAA's new C-O-O for the Air Traffic Organization… and he's committed to doing just that. He has been focused on restructuring a few of our offices - Air Traffic Services, Research & Acquisition, and Free Flight - in order to establish the Air Traffic Organization. And that's because with the A-T-O, we're committing ourselves to deliver the best possible services to all our customers and stakeholders - including you and those you represent - and to be held accountable for results based on clear objectives and specific goals. If any of these attributes - performance… results… customer service… accountability - sound familiar, it's because they appeared in a report by the National Civil Aviation Review Commission in 1997, which was chaired by Norm Mineta. So, as you can imagine, we have some stron, high-level direction - and more importantly, support - as we build the A-T-O. And we have specific goals and objectives for the long term future of aviation as well, and in that regard I'd like to say something about what's beyond the Flight Plan… the longest of long-term planning - the work of the Joint Planning Office, or JPO. This office is much larger than just the FAA… because it's a much larger issue. It is a collaboration of the FAA, NASA and the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security. Much of what they do will have a critical impact on what you do. I know that Jeff Shane talked a bit about this yesterday, including the prominent role that Secretary Mineta will play by chairing the Senior Policy Committee that will guide the initiative… The JPO is working on the creation of a National Plan to transform aviation… This Plan will ensure economic growth through more affordable and easier-to-use air transportation… it will improve overall service… it will maintain American technological leadership… and, as always, it will keep safety at the top of every list. JPO has a pretty exciting mission. It gets to do some "blue skying" about the future… The team gets to think about what flying would be like in a perfect world… and then it gets to look at actually making these things reality. So JPO won't just be looking at the usual suspects. They'll be looking at curb-to-curb service… the use of unmanned vehicles for shipping… scientific advances that move us, for the first time, into talking about things like positive environmental impact… on-demand service…and breaking down the financial and technical barriers to air travel… This ambitious agenda - our Flight Plan and the JPO - suggests that FAA has a pretty big appetite for progress. But we wouldn't set out on this path if we didn't believe we could get there. And part of that confidence comes from partners such as you, the aviation bar. The connection between us is very clear. You are the direct line from the aviation industry that brings real-world issues to our attention. We know what's important… because you tell us what's important. Sometimes you take us to court to tell us… but you tell us. And that's how it works… We're bound up in this system together… and we are bound to perform together for the safety of the public. I think it works pretty well. I expect a great future for our industry. I also expect there will be more Frank Kingston Smiths to get us there… more individuals, like yourselves, who not only understand aviation at its heart… but who also uphold the law to guarantee safer skies. Together, we will create a foundation of tools for aviation that is big enough, strong enough, and flexible enough… to support whatever can be dreamed. Thank you. ###
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