On the recordMay 7, 2010
As a member of the Commerce Committee, again, I am very concerned that we still do not have a Deputy Administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration in place. As we know, there have been many recent incidents. We are trying to get the FAA reauthorization done to finally modernize our airports with NextGen so we can have the next generation of airport control, so we can better process our planes, so we can better land these planes, so we can have more safety, so we can have less congestion at our airports. This is very difficult to do when you don't have in place all of your managers who are supposed to be managing the Federal Aviation Administration. We have had incidents in Minnesota of a plane that overran the airport and ended up in Wisconsin. We have had planes that have been sitting on the tarmac for 6 hours with passengers without food and water. We have had all kinds of issues with aviation, and yet--and yet--my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, while supportive at times of these efforts to modernize our air traffic control system, are blocking the nomination of the deputy administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration.
