John Mica: “I thank our chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, Mr. Petri, for his leadership. Also Mr. Costello, who formerly…”

“I thank our chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, Mr. Petri, for his leadership. Also Mr. Costello, who formerly chaired the committee and now is the ranking member. I want to thank him for his dedication to our Nation's aviation system, safety. And also Mr. Rahall. You couldn't ask for better partners. Mr. Rahall is the Democrat leader of the committee, and we have a great working relationship. We have had a great working relationship to try to move forward legislation like a long-term reauthorization of FAA and other major transportation legislation that has been mired in delay. Quite frankly, my colleagues, I find myself very frustrated being here. Now, this is the 21st extension. I complimented and don't let me not compliment the staff on both sides. We have great professionals that deal with this. {time} 1350 The Congress is fortunate and the Nation is blessed to have the kind of leadership we have with staff working on these important issues to move what accounts for about 8 to 9 percent of our GDP. That's the aviation industry forward, setting the policy, the programs, the funding formula, all those things these folks are responsible for. And they're good stewards of that responsibility. So I thank them in advance. I also want to thank Senator Rockefeller, Mr. Speaker, and others who have worked with us trying to bring this to a conclusion.…”