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REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
NEXT GENERATION AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
INTEGRATED NATIONAL PLAN
MEDIA BRIEFING
WASHINGTON, D.C.
DECEMBER 15, 2004
11:30 AM
Good morning, and welcome, everyone.
We are here today to launch American aviation into an exciting future where even the sky may not be the limit. To get there, we are unveiling the Integrated National Plan for the Next Generation Air Transportation System. This is our blueprint – a blueprint that will lead to the transformation of America’s air transportation network.
It was one year ago this week that I joined President Bush in North Carolina as the Nation celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ historic first flight.
The first century of aviation was a century of American leadership. We were the first to break the sound barrier, the first to put a man on the moon, and, earlier this year, the first to send a privately built craft to the cusp of space and back again.
Reflecting on aviation’s first one hundred years, the President pledged, and I quote, “By our skill and daring, America has excelled in every area of aviation and space travel. And our national commitment remains firm: By our skill and daring, we will continue to lead the world in flight."
The President has a strong commitment to encourage a new generation of American
innovation, and an atmosphere where innovation thrives.
We are already catching a glimpse of what creative inventors, innovators, and
entrepreneurs have in store for aviation. It won’t be long before the nation’s
airspace will be filled with more aircraft of all kinds – like air taxi
services, new commercial jetliners, on-demand micro jets, and commercial space
vehicles.
Today, reusable spacecraft are being tested in the California desert, and very light jets are starting to capture our interest and imagination.
These are but a few signs that tell us that the private sector is on course to determine aviation’s flight path of the future – as it should be. For its part, government needs to have a framework in place that allows new ideas to take off, so they are not left stranded on the runway.
As you know, last December, the 108th Congress and the President took a critical first step toward transforming our air transportation system by passing and signing into law Vision 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act.
The legislation created a unique coalition of public and private partnerships to lead this historic effort and design and manage the work associated with the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
Our Next Generation plan will deliver a system with the capacity to allow travelers to choose how, where, and when they want to travel – while making their experience as safe, secure, and hassle free as possible. It must also be flexible enough to encourage the exploration of new business models and a more dynamic set of services for air travelers, which have the potential to shorten curb-to-curb travel time.
This Integrated National Plan is a long-term strategic business plan. It lays out goals, objectives, and requirements for transformation in eight specific areas, each individually significant yet interdependent with the others. They are: airport infrastructure development, security, the air traffic system, information technology, safety management, environmental stewardship, weather forecasting, and global collaboration.
Developing the plan has been a coordinated effort involving six government agencies and the private sector. Leading the effort here at the Department of Transportation are Jeff Shane, our Under Secretary for Policy, and Marion Blakey, head of the Federal Aviation Administration. NASA has been a strong supporter and driving force in the Next Generation initiative, and I’m delighted that Dr. Vic Lebacqz, the Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, could join us. You will hear from them in just a few minutes.
This plan is the next step on what will be a long journey toward developing a Next Generation air transportation system. We have made tremendous progress to date, and will continue to push forward in the months ahead. But I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the private sector to this initiative’s ultimate success.
Before I conclude, I also want to recognize the fathers of this initiative from the Commission on the Future of the Aerospace Industry, chaired by former Congressman Bob Walker, which focused attention on the need for modernization of our air transportation system. With us today are General John Douglass of the Aerospace Industries Association, Ed Bolen of the National Business Aviation Association, and Dr. John Hamre.
Dr. Hamre leads the advisory council that we created to ensure that our effort reflected a diverse cross-section of views and experiences. Its members include individuals from the airline, aerospace, defense, and technology communities. They have already contributed a great deal of time, energy, and creativity to the Next Generation initiative, and we appreciate their continued support.
As we move forward, we must draw on private-sector ingenuity, and a key component to the entire effort will be the development of innovative public-private partnerships.
Designing the air transportation system for aviation’s second century is an ambitious undertaking. But then, from the Wright Brothers forward, aviation history has been written by those who were willing to dream big and take on great challenges.
The Next Generation plan sets the course as we begin our journey into the second century of aviation. I look forward to sharing that journey with you. Thank you.
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