Peter DeFazio

So the bill, H.R. 4487, does not really address the idiots at OMB.

The Federal Government began occupying more leased than owned space, and in almost every case that is the more expensive way to go.

I don't know. My understanding is from the GAO documents that it was set at $500 million and that it hasn't been indexed.

I understand that we want to promote this industry, and we do. You know, this is great for the U.S. to maintain our leadership in space, but the question is, why would we have the same agency promote and oversee safety?

But if someone were doing something that you thought was going to exceed $500 million, you would just say: Well, you buy $500 million and the Government will take care of the rest?

I heard exactly those same things a couple of months before ValuJet when my amendment was defeated, and then my colleague said: Oops, that doesn’t look too good, does it?

I am hoping the panel will discuss what our role should be after 2023, when the moratorium on FAA regulating safety expires.

If you are going to do this again, you probably need to validate this test.

So if we had a, actually, applied working group that drilled down into each center and came up with higher numbers, why do we even bother with the mathematical algorithm that popped out of the finance department with the target minimum…

I mean this whole process is aggravating. I mean I think we are screening out, potentially--at least one, and I am sure there is more than one--qualified people from becoming controllers.

I mean what is the goal? I mean if the goal is to get people--you know, because it becomes more expensive as you go through the process.

It actually came to the conclusion it should be an independent Government corporation removed from the Federal budget process.

It is not right to tax people for something and then take the money away.

The issue is critical. You know, many people have been talking about this for years.

I would suggest, since we are doing a lot of pretend legislation around here on the floor, maybe we should do some real legislation.

Our air traffic controllers are doing a phenomenal job. Some of them are being forced into mandatory overtime, 6-day weeks.

I hope that Congress will soon allocate additional funds for the new obligations we put on your agency.

You mentioned the same thing I did in my opening statement about the backlog in deferring maintenance.

There's things left over from MAP-21.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Administrator Flowers, I realize you're briefly on the job.

It is pretty embarrassing when in what is called the capital of the free world, the greatest country on Earth, American exceptionalism, we are killing people on a transit system.

Congress has neglected to make sufficient investments in infrastructure.

For the first time since Prohibition we have more breweries in the United States than at any time in our history, 4,300.

I think this is a very common-sense proposal that would stimulate a tremendous amount of growth in small businesses.

This is a very modest proposal which would do a great deal to grow America's small businesses.