FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 8, 1999
Contact: Henry J. Price
Tel.: (202) 267-8521
DOT 20-99
Clinton Administration Unveils FAA Reauthorization -- Proposal Modeled on Best Reinventing Government Principles
Modeled on President Bill Clinton's best reinventing government principles, Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater and Federal Aviation Administrator Jane F. Garvey today unveiled the FAA five-year reauthorization legislation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Authorization Act of 1999 will enhance aviation safety, allow the FAA to operate at a higher rate of efficiency, modernize the nation's air traffic system, and reduce costs to taxpayers through innovative funding methods.
"I am very pleased to announce the proposed FAA reauthorization -- the administration's new plan to ensure that as our global economy grows, we continue to work to keep our airlines as safe as possible," said Vice President Al Gore. "The proposed legislation reaffirms our commitment to improving airline safety by providing the funding and management mechanisms necessary for new infrastructure investments."
The proposal reflects core objectives: Improving Safety and Efficiency; "Rebuilding America" -- Expanding System Capacity; Enhancing Competition and Access; and Improving Rural Air Service.
The six years of economic growth under President Clinton's leadership has produced increased demand for an expanded aviation system. The proposal reauthorizes the FAA for fiscal years 2000 through 2004. For fiscal year 2000, the measure sets agency funding levels at $2.319 billion for facilities and equipment; $173 million for research, engineering and development; $6.039 billion for FAA operations; and $1.6 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). Except for the AIP, funding beyond fiscal year 2000 will be determined as necessary.
"President Clinton challenged us in his State of the Union address, saying that this is not the time to rest, but the time to build," said Secretary Slater. "This FAA reauthorization will provide better services for those who rely on smaller airports, secure economic growth in our communities, provide innovative funding to save taxpayers money, and most importantly, provide programs and funding to make aviation even safer for all Americans."
"President Clinton challenged us in his State of the Union address, saying that this is not the time to rest, but the time to build," said Secretary Slater. "This FAA reauthorization will provide better services for those who rely on smaller airports, secure economic growth in our communities, provide innovative funding to save taxpayers money, and most importantly, provide programs and funding to make aviation even safer for all Americans."
"We have the plan, and this reauthorization provides the tools we need to carry out the FAA's ambitious, more-focused Aviation Safety Agenda," said Garvey. "This proposal will help ensure that we meet the Vice President's objective to reduce the rate of aviation accidents by 80 percent."
Improving Safety and Efficiency
Last year, over 600 million people traveled by air, and in 10 years over 1 billion are expected to travel by air each year. The proposal takes a number of steps to invest in aviation to meet the nation's growing safety and efficiency needs.
Based on input from the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, Garvey unveiled a comprehensive, focused Aviation Safety Agenda in 1998 that outlined specific proposals to improve aviation safety, security and system efficiency. To meet the agenda's goal of reducing the rate of aviation accidents by 80 percent, the reauthorization takes a number of important steps. The proposal authorizes $9.1 million for a University Consortium to develop a safety and security certificate program. The reauthorization also directs FAA to spend $2 million to fund the security programs, products, and procedures developed by the Safer Skies Alliance.
Vice President Gore's National Partnership on Reinvention has moved the federal government to be more accountable to the public and not restrained by rules and regulations that can hamper the agency in carrying out its mission. To make this a reality at the FAA, by Jan. 1, 2000, the proposal establishes a performance-based organization (PBO) to provide air traffic services. Under the proposal, the transportation secretary and FAA administrator will retain overall responsibility for aviation safety and security; however, air traffic would not be restrained by rules that may apply to other areas of the FAA unrelated to air traffic control. For day-to-day operations, the measure creates a chief operating officer to run the PBO.
The act more fairly distributes the cost of funding the system. For example, air carriers would pay for services provided by the PBO through cost-based user charges, established by an independently validated cost accounting system. General aviation privately operated aircraft, would continue to pay for their use of the system through fuel taxes that would be utilized by the PBO. Congress would need to both authorize and appropriate these fees for the PBO's use.
To protect airline employees from apparently growing incidents of harassment on board aircraft, the reauthorization also increases civil penalties for unruly passengers from $1,000 to $10,000. In addition, the Clinton administration relies heavily on input from segments of the nation, including federal employees, to improve government services. In 1996, the FAA received a unique status and was removed from many cumbersome federal acquisition and Civil Service Regulations. This legislation re-establishes important "Whistleblower" protections for FAA employees and extends these protections to airline and aviation manufacturer employees.
Rebuilding America -- Expanding System Capacity
The reauthorization proposal permits eligible airports to increase PFCs by $2 per passenger, from the current $3 cap per passenger to $5. This increase, if implemented by all airports currently participating in the PFC program, would generate about $800 million per year above current annual PFC receipts of approximately $1.4 billion. These funds can be used to accommodate airport safety and security needs for the 21st century and invest in vital infrastructure improvements that will increase capacity, efficiency and competition. Projects that will particularly benefit are those that are either unlikely to be funded with scarce AIP funds or are ineligible under the AIP but still needed for airport development. Under this proposal, in order to encourage greater air service competition, large airports dominated by a single air carrier would be required to submit a competition enhancement plan to the transportation secretary as a prerequisite for a PFC above $4 per passenger. The substantial increase in PFC revenues that would result for large and medium hub airports from this proposal is tied to their foregoing all AIP entitlement funds which will then be used to permit greater investment in small airports.
Enhancing Competition and Access
The High Density Rule (HDR) was established in the 1960s to maintain efficiency and cut down on noise around four of the nation's largest airports. Now, with new technologies and better air traffic systems, the reauthorization phases out this rule over five years for LaGuardia, Kennedy and O'Hare airports. While Reagan Washington National Airport is also an HDR facility, it was made so under separate legislation and would require additional congressional action for repeal. To enhance competition for rural air services, the proposal also removes landing and take-off restrictions for quieter regional jets at HDR airports.
The proposal offers several improvements in existing law to bring about better protections for Americans traveling by air. The measure extends Air Carrier Access Act protections to disabled passengers on foreign air carriers. In addition, the reauthorization strengthens current law and increases civil penalties for denying access to air travel because of race, religion or sex from $1,100 to $10,000 per infraction.
Improving Rural Air Service
As the airline system continues to focus on high-volume sites with an increasing concentration on global expansion, rural areas have found it tougher and tougher to obtain adequate air service. The Clinton administration is committed to improving rural air service. In addition to the return of the PFC funds from larger airports for more rural use, the legislation takes a number of steps to help rural areas address service problems.
To ensure federal funding is used more effectively for projects of highest national priority, the act would eliminate the existing $300 million cap on AIP discretionary funds. AIP (but not PFC) eligibility at large and medium hub airports would be limited to only federally mandated improvements, noise mitigation, and new airfield capacity projects. To further assist smaller airports and improve efficiency through greater travel options, the AIP formula for funds apportioned to states is increased from 18.5 percent to 20 percent of the total AIP. The FAA also is proposing initiatives that would encourage upgrading projects at smaller airports, including improvements to permit the use of satellite navigation (Global Positioning System) at up to 1500 rural and other small airports. These initiatives will be made possible with formula funds given up by larger airports collecting the higher PFC, as well as the higher state amounts.
Additionally, the proposal includes provisions that will ensure that our nation's environment is not adversely affected as we invest in the aviation system of the 21st Century. The reauthorization calls for AIP discretionary funds to be increased and the noise mitigation set-aside form the larger amount of funding will be increased from 31 percent to 35 percent. A minimum noise set-aside goal of $200 million per year will be established. In addition, the measure outlines the establishment of cooperative procedures with the National Park Service to protect the nation's national parks.
The act also implements recommendations of the Secretary's Task Force on Assistance to Families of Aviation Disasters as well as incorporates other requirements to continue to assure that families of the victims of aviation disasters receive the most prompt and compassionate assistance possible.
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