Bill Shuster: “I simply want to summarize by saying that while NTSB is a small agency, it is a highly respected agency for the quality…”

“I simply want to summarize by saying that while NTSB is a small agency, it is a highly respected agency for the quality of its accident investigations. It has also taken on the responsibility for assisting families of airline accident victims, a responsibility that we assigned to them in 1996. The authorization for the agency expired last year, and this bill before us now will rectify that problem. The reauthorization bill before you now adopts several changes to the Board's underlying statute. These changes should improve the operations of the NTSB. Many of these changes were requested by the agency itself. The bill authorizes an increase in funding for the agency; not as much as the agency wanted, but still enough to ensure the Board's efficiency and technical competence.”