Peter DeFazio

Airports need to make new investments to maintain and modernize our nation's airport infrastructure.

I want to thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves for the Committee's time and attention to this issue today.

These decisions we make today matter; they reverberate well into the future.

Airports must be empowered to make our own decisions.

I remain committed to ensuring we continue this success, but I am worried about how quickly we can execute key projects.

The cost of doing nothing is too high to ignore.

I strongly encourage you to consider raising this cap to provide airports like Spokane with the broadest range of funding and financing support.

The cost of doing nothing is high, and we are already paying for it at the risk of harming the economic well-being of our community airports.

Last Congress, along with Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, I introduced H.R. 1265, the Investing in America: Rebuilding America's Airport Infrastructure Act, which would have removed the PFC cap, generating billions of dollars in…

We are sending a bipartisan letter to the FAA urging the agency to engage an independent, third-party review of Boeing's proposed changes

We are eager to hear from anyone who can help.

We have also requested that the inspector general provide us with status reports on any corrective actions undertaken by the FAA

I would like to take a moment to provide an update on the important work this committee is undertaking

I introduced a bill with Representative Massie on this, and we had a bipartisan bill.

I question the validity of that assertion.

I am surely not opposed to increasing the FAA's Federal AIP grant levels.

The cap has not been raised in almost 20 years.

Air travel is by every measure the safest form of travel, but the aging of our nation's airports continues to put more strain on the system.

We commend the Committee for recognizing the importance of our Nation's airports and look forward to collaboratively working to address the funding challenges of our Nation's greatest assets--its airports.

H.R. 302 does not lift the $4.50 federal cap on the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC), which would have generated more revenue for critical airfield construction.

Investing in our nation's airports matters, as the poor condition of America's infrastructure is having a negative effect on economic prosperity and job creation.

It is time to move forward with a robust investment plan to address our country's growing infrastructure needs.

We urge this committee to take a leadership role in addressing the needs of U.S. airports by increasing AIP funding and lifting the cap on PFCs.

I think it is an arbitrary Government price control.

The Feds should be paying for the machines; the airports have to pay to accommodate the machines.