On the recordJanuary 24, 2012
I want to thank Chairman Petri, our chair of the Aviation Subcommittee. I see Mr. Costello, the ranking member, former chair of the subcommittee. Thank you for your work. We're here to extend FAA for the 23rd time. The consequences of that can, I hope, be positive, that we can conclude this long overdue and very important authorization. Members of Congress, we must authorize every program. That's part of our constitutional responsibility. I had the privilege, when I chaired the Aviation Subcommittee, to write a lot of what was in the last bill which we authored in 2003. It expired in 2007. The other side of the aisle had 4 years in which they controlled the body, 2 of which they controlled every branch of government, and were unable to pass that. They passed 17 extensions. We've had to pass--it will now be five--but we can get this done. This should be a bipartisan and must be a bicameral jobs bill. The aviation industry in our country accounts for between 7 and 8 percent of our gross domestic national economic activity, and for us not to have passed an authorization that updates the safety, all of the programs, the next generation of air traffic control, things that are so important to have a dynamic industry, and then an area of our economy that we have led in in the world. The biggest area of exports is aviation. That's huge for jobs in this country. So this is going to be the last extension.…
