Opening Remarks

• The Honorable Arlen Specter

  United States Senator

  Pennsylvania
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  Opening Remarks

  The Honorable Arlen Specter

  Prepared Statement of Hon. Arlen Specter

  U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania

   

  May 24, 2007

   

  Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to introduce to the Committee Mr. Charles D. Snelling as a nominee for reappointment to the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Mr. Snelling has exemplary aviation, business and leadership qualifications that I believe make him a nominee worthy of confirmation.

   

  Mr. Snelling is a licensed pilot with extensive experience in the field of aviation. He has served aptly on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority since 2003, when he was originally nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Additionally, Mr. Snelling was appointed in 2000 by PA Governor Tom Ridge to be a member and chair of the Pennsylvania Aviation Advisory Committee, on which he served until 2003. Prior to this service, Mr. Snelling served on the Board of Governors of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, which operates the Lehigh Valley International Airport.

   

  Mr. Snelling's business experience includes founding Cryo-Therm, Inc., an applied thermodynamics company that pioneered a number of energy conversion systems and processes that were utilized by both military and industry and resulted in Mr. Snelling holding over 20 issued patents. Mr. Snelling has also achieved remarkable success in the field of private venture capital, real estate development and agriculture. He is founder and director of a family of venture funds that is widely regarded as leading startup venture investors.

   

  In addition to his aviation and business achievements. Mr. Snelling is also a leading political and civic figure. In 1976, he was appointed by President Ford to the President's Commission on Personnel Interchange and in 1990 he was appointed to serve on the U.S. Small Business Administration's National Advisory Committee. He has also served as President of the City Council of Allentown (PA), Chairman of the Republican Finance Committee of Pennsylvania and delegate to the Republican National Convention. Presently, he serves on the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee. Mr. Snelling's civic experience includes service as a Life Trustee of Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA; a Trustee of the Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education; and Past President of the Pennsylvania Society, to name a few.

   

  Mr. Chairman, the nation's air transportation system is a vital asset that must be properly managed to ensure its safety and efficiency. Our nation's airports, including those managed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, will face enormous challenges meeting projected increases in congestion and passenger demand in the near future. Mr. Snelling has the experience and leadership qualities to help meet these challenges, and I support his nomination and prompt confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Testimony

• Mr. Charles Darwin Snelling

  Nominated to be a Member of the Board of Directors

  Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
  Read statement

  Testimony

  Mr. Charles Darwin Snelling

  Statement of

   

   

  CHARLES DARWIN SNELLING

   

   

  concerning

   

   

  his Nomination to a Second Term as a

   

  Member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

   

  before the

   

   

  COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

   

   

  UNITED STATES SENATE

   

   

  May 24, 2007

   

   

  Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee:

   

   

  I am Charles Snelling, the President's nominee to a second term as a Member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors. I am delighted to appear before you again.

   

   

  I was last here in September 2006, in a hearing on my nomination to the same position. Although the Committee reported my nomination unanimously, the Senate did not act on its report, and the President nominated me again in January.

   

   

  The President appoints three Directors of the Airports Authority, and the three of us are proud to be among the most active members of the 13-member Board. We each chair a Committee that meets monthly. For two years, I served as Chairman of the Finance Committee, and have recently been named Chairman of a new Planning and Construction Committee. As I have advised this Committee before, my prior experience on the Board of the Lehigh Valley Hospital , a billion-dollar charity, has proven most helpful training for my service on the Airports Authority.

   

   

  Mr. Chairman, as most Senators use our Airports, I think it useful to mention briefly the major issues pressing us. First, as you may be aware, the Airports Authority is about to assume responsibility for the construction of the Metrorail extension that will connect the entire region with Dulles Airport, a project we will finance in large part with tolls from the Dulles Toll Road. We have been engaged in difficult negotiations over the price of the rail project, but have managed to agree on a contract that sets a price within the Federal Transit Administration efficiency standards. It now appears that we will soon be engaged in rail construction at the same time as airport construction. We relish the challenge.

   

   

  On the aviation side, our efforts are both to attract new services and make sure our facilities are ready to handle the continuing growth. At Dulles, as you know, we are building an underground people mover; the project is on schedule, and the trains should start running in 2009. We will continue to build out our master plan, with an extension to the existing midfield terminal, and the ultimate construction of parallel midfield terminals. Those new midfield terminals are still off in the future, but I am confident they will be built sooner than anyone now expects.

   

   

  At Reagan National, we are scrambling to build additional parking capacity to accommodate passenger growth caused by flights added over the last several years. As you may know, our garages are often full on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

   

   

  Traffic has been growing steadily at Reagan National, at 18.5 million for the last 12 months, up 2.4 percent over the same period last year. At Dulles, there has been a decline for the same 12-month period, still reflecting the sudden demise of Independence Air, but Dulles has nearly fully recovered: the month of March 2007 showed 13.7 percent growth over March 2006. Our anticipation is that the number of Dulles passengers will continue to grow smartly. Total passengers for the 12-month period were 23.6 million.

   

   

  More interesting than the numbers are the new services being introduced at Dulles. Thus far in 2007, we have new daily services to Beijing, Rome, and Huntsville, and additional flights to Seoul and London . As the year goes on, we will have new services to Madrid, City, Doha, Dublin, Rio de Janeiro, and Oklahoma City . Flights to Addis Ababa will double, to 4 per week. Washington 's air service is matching its significance as a world-class capital city.

   

   

  Mr. Chairman, it is just over twenty years since the Congress agreed to turn over Dulles and National, the Metropolitan Washington Airports, to the independent Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. In my opinion, this has proven a most wise and beneficial decision. I look forward to continuing the Authority's excellent record as we face the future, dealing with an ever-changing aviation world.

   

   

  Thank you for considering my renomination to the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. I will be happy to answer any questions.