WASHINGTON, D.C.—Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV will address the Aero Club of Washington today about the need for Congress to pass a comprehensive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization bill.  Rockefeller will discuss the persistent inaction on the bill as well as the impacts this has had on the aerospace industry.

Chairman Rockefeller’s prepared remarks follow:

It is great to be among so many friends.  It’s been too long since I’ve had the chance to speak to the Aero Club.  The remarks that I have prepared are tough—they are not the remarks that I wish I could deliver praising our successes and focused only on the future.  They are also most likely not what you want to hear.  But friends need to be able to have an honest conversation.  And I hope that there will be some demonstrable benefit to my sharing a blunt assessment of where I think we stand as an aviation community.

I am both angry and frustrated that after 4 years Congress still has not been able to pass a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration.  Everyone in this room recognizes the FAA is one of the most important agencies in the federal government.  But that doesn’t seem to force compromise.  So I want to spend a few minutes on how, in my judgment, we came to this point.  When one thinks about it, the inability of the aviation industry to work together to address one of the most critical problems facing our nation—an aviation system that’s not ready for the 21^st century—is an embarrassment.  Together, I think we need to find a way to change that. 

We all share a common goal—a safe, modern, efficient, and competitive aviation industry that provides good wages and benefits to the millions of people who depend upon it.  We all have slightly different views about how best to achieve these goals.  But we have let the issues that divide us prevent us from achieving anything.  

Let me tell you why I say our divisions have determined the fate of the FAA bill and thwarted our nation’s progress.  It’s 2007—General Aviation versus the Commercial Airline industry.  The dispute is over how to pay for the Next Generation Air Traffic Control System.  The fight stalls the bill for months.  When FAA finally gets to the Floor, a fight between airlines over pension policy kills the bill.  It’s 2010—The fight between FedEx and organized labor is resurrected from 1996.  That Gordian knot of a dispute is exacerbated by two other inter-industry fights.  One, a multi-airline fight over slots at National Airport, and, two, an airport-airline fight over Passenger Facility Charges.  The combination of disagreements makes it impossible to get a bill enacted into law.  It’s 2011—A fight between one single airline and organized labor imperils the bill.  

I don’t intend to diminish the importance of these issues.  Some of the disagreements involve core principles, some have real economic consequences.  Many people feel passionately about them.  I certainly have strong views on each.  Even though I aggressively advocated for many of these provisions, I was always willing to compromise to get the job done.  I believed then, as I do now, that none of these issues was, or is, more important than the development of the Next Generation Air Traffic Control System.  Not one of these issues is more important than the overall fiscal health of our aviation industry.  What’s more, none of them are as important as the continued safety of the nation’s aviation system.  

Nevertheless, the sad fact is the small issues that divided us ultimately dictated the outcome.  We have lost 4 years.  We have forgone hundreds of millions of dollars that should have been directed to the Aviation Trust Fund.  The damage of inaction has been great.  We cannot continue on this disastrous path.  But, stunningly, we stand on the precipice of losing another FAA Reauthorization bill.  

We started the 112^th Congress in the Senate with the FAA bill.  It was the first bill to hit the Floor.  The Majority Leader was teeing us up for success.  We had spent hundreds of hours trying to reach agreement on the contentious issues that came up during the previous two efforts.  We solved the funding issue—not to my full satisfaction, but to their credit, the General Aviation (GA) community advocated for a tax increase on high-end GA aircraft operations.  Even with the funding issue resolved, it still was not easy.  The fight over slots at National Airport, again, almost derailed the bill on the Senate floor.  It was a hard, brutal, process—one I was willing to stick out in order to get a bill.  We got a deal.  Not a perfect one, but sufficient.  The Senate FAA Reauthorization passed with 87 votes.  We overcame partisanship in the Senate; no easy feat.  Senator Hutchison and I remain committed to getting this bill done.  She is an excellent partner.  

Fast forward, several months, we worked with the House to produce a compromise bill.  We were making substantial progress.  I was genuinely hopeful that the bill would be signed into law.  However, the issues that still divide some of us threaten the common goals of all of us.  Again, we are stalled.  We all know why.  I will not discuss the underlying merits of the issue—I think everyone knows where I stand.  But, I am angry at the situation.  I do not understand how the fixation of one airline can be seen as paramount in such that the House would shut down the FAA to get its way.  

The FAA shutdown this summer damaged the FAA, its employees, the industry, and Congress.  It also came at great cost to my state of West Virginia.  This summer, the House sent over a short-term extension of FAA that made rifle shot changes to the Essential Air Service that affected Morgantown’s EAS.  Morgantown is a thriving university, high-tech community.  Its airport is humming because of EAS.  All of that is now at risk.  I can guarantee you that I will do what it takes to make sure West Virginia’s airports and air service will never again become collateral damage in this process.  

I sincerely believe that everyone here shares in the blame for how we came to this point.  I’m the first to admit that Congress has not done its job, although I hasten to add that I believe the House did not act in good faith when they refused to appoint conferees.  But I do think the industry shares blame for the lack of action on an FAA bill.  Depending on the day of the week, or the group I’m talking to, the message changes far too often.

I have to move beyond the political ugliness of this summer.  I want a bill.  I want a Next Generation Air Traffic Control System; I want a viable airline industry; I want modern airports; I want a healthy GA industry; I want a thriving workforce; and I want the good jobs that come with a growing U.S. aerospace industry.  I want our economic future to be strengthened by a vibrant aviation system.  

This is why I still care.  This is why I will fight to the last days of Congress to get this bill done.  But I simply cannot do it alone.  I believe that over the years, I have been one of, if not the, aviation industry’s strongest champion in Congress.  I get that a strong and stable aviation system is essential to our long-term economic competitiveness.  I know how important it is to West Virginia.  I remain a relentless proponent of modernizing our nation’s air traffic control system.   

But let’s get real.  The industry has few reliable friends on the Hill.  People generally care about aviation only when bad things happen.  They do not understand how much of our economic underpinnings are tied to aviation.  To be honest, when I talk to my colleagues about aviation, it is too often about their unpleasant travel experiences.  Because of this, an FAA bill is not going to just happen.  You cannot wait passively hoping Congress will act.  You need to put great pressure on Congress—I know it is hard to break through given the current political dynamic, but I need to ask you to do more.  

Today, I am challenging everyone here to compromise more, advocate more, work harder, work smarter, and work as a team.  I need everyone here to put the greater good ahead of the individual needs of your industry, airline, airport, or company.  Because, as I see it, the consequences of failure are significant.  We are at a crossroads for U.S. aviation and its position in the world.  I am seriously concerned that we are losing our global dominance in aviation.  We are at risk because we lack a clear, common purpose for all stakeholders.  

For years, the FAA has been operating under repeated short-term extensions.  These stopgap measures have drastically impacted the mission of the agency, and I fear they are sapping the life out of the commercial flight.  That, in turn, affects everyone in this room and the overall success of the aviation industry.  I also believe the FAA and industry have become paralyzed by the uncertainty of not having a long-term FAA Reauthorization in place.  This is not a small matter.  There is no question that passing a long-term FAA package would provide our nation’s air transportation network the stability and direction it desperately needs.  Continuity—certainty—would benefit domestic air carriers, manufacturers, and their employees who need a sustained period of positive industry trends after years of difficult economic conditions.  

If the FAA bill does not pass soon, I believe it will be some time before an FAA Reauthorization package will pass any Congress.  Another shut down is not out of the question—and it would cost all of us far too much.  If we get another extension, things will have to shake out before Congress will get back to developing a new FAA bill.  Tougher budget cuts are virtually inevitable.  Congress may abandon regular FAA Reauthorization bills in favor of more discrete aviation legislation or just plain cuts.  I do not think that benefits anyone in this room—and I know it won’t modernize our nation’s air traffic control system.  I think the bill should give stakeholders comfort that the federal government is committed to seeing modernization through.  If we can pass the FAA Reauthorization, I commit to work with you to address issues that stem from the immense challenge of implementing NextGen.  

In the coming years, we face a “Catch 22” where a healthier aviation industry, which we all want, will eventually result in congested airspace that will lead to air service disruptions.  We all recognize that our aviation system would be in gridlock right now if not for the terrible financial setbacks that limited airline passenger traffic over the past decade.  When air service is degraded, the U.S. economy suffers.  Again, our position in the global marketplace is at stake, and will be directly impacted by our ability to modernize.

Our new system will not come without cost.  The Senate version of the FAA bill includes a modest increase in fuel taxes—an increase that the House is currently resisting adopting despite support within the GA community for the increase.  The current budget dynamic will require users of the aviation system to pay more.  I know that there is a great debate raging over the Obama Administration’s proposed $100 per flight fee and efforts to raise the aviation security fee.  Did I take some delight in seeing the Administration’s proposal?  I did.  Guess it makes my efforts to impose a $25 per flight fee look like a very good deal.  In all seriousness, I am not sure if the Super Committee will manage to produce a bill.  Even if they do, I am not sure what will be in it.   

What I do know is that we will need additional revenues in the future.  More cuts to discretionary programs will hurt safety.  More cuts will hurt our efforts to fund Next Gen.  More cuts will hurt our ability to improve airport safety and capacity.  After a decade of underfunding aviation, the Obama Administration has finally committed the resources the FAA needs.  Now is not the time to cut these programs.  

I know that increasing revenues is not a popular idea.  No one wants to pay more.  I am afraid that it will become increasingly hard to sustain the current level of general fund revenues to pay for aviation—I believe you will see a call for users of the aviation system to pay more.  This will be the next big issue in aviation.  We all need to think about how we are going to pay for a 21^st Century aviation system.  We cannot defer Next Gen.  The choices are never easy in this kind of budgetary environment.   

I am an optimist by nature—we will find a way forward on the issues that challenge us.  I remain committed to our common goals.  We have the finest manufacturers, airlines, airports, and workforce in the world.  We will have the finest air traffic control system.  I will also state that we have the finest regulator—the FAA and its employees do not get enough credit for the work they do.  Working together we will maintain our global leadership.  

It will require sacrifice and compromise, but I still have faith that we will succeed.  I am eager for reports that you have again pressed Leadership on both sides to make this a priority before the end of the year.  This is a jobs bill.  And it is my job and yours to actually prove we can be part of the solution in this town.  I am determined to prove it.  But I need your help. 

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