On the recordFebruary 17, 2011
let me thank the chair and the ranking member for their leadership on this issue. Along with my colleagues from Maryland, we have the airports that are most affected by these changes, and we have worked in that spirit of compromise. As the Senator from Arizona noted, I don't think anyone is totally satisfied. I wish to particularly single out the ranking member and the chair for their willingness to acknowledge our work on the issue of the effects of these additional flights. Going up from where the House position was and the airport authority's original position was to make sure--vis-a-vis Dulles--that the economic effects of this and the question involving the potential shared debt service between the two airports be addressed. This was an issue, again, that we were not able to resolve, but I appreciate the chair, the ranking member and their staffs' willingness to continue to work as this bill goes to conference. It is very important that we get this bill passed and we move forward on NextGen and all the other important parts of the FAA bill.
