WASHINGTON -- Years of painstaking effort to promote long-term air travel improvements throughout the United States advanced today with Committee approval of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reforms based on legislation first introduced in 1987, according to Rep. James L. Oberstar, Ranking Democratic Member.
"This is one of those satisfying days in a congressional career when you see your legislative efforts come to fruition, knowing that it will be the American people who will benefit from it," said Oberstar, speaking of The Federal Aviation Administration Revitalization Act of 1995 (H.R. 2276). The bill, as amended, was approved today in a voice vote.
"This legislation is a watershed in the drive to reform the Federal Aviation Administration by reestablishing it as an independent agency. It is an investment in the future of air travel, and in the safety of air passengers, by making changes in law ensuring that FAA will have the authority and flexibility it needs to meet its responsibilities," Oberstar added.
"Our reform effort began in the mid-1980s, when the old Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight conducted a series of hearings on FAA programs. Those hearings demonstrated that micromanagement of FAA by the Department of Transportation had led to a shortage of air carrier inspectors, a shortage of technicians to maintain air traffic control equipment, and a failure to update air traffic control equipment, to name only a few," Oberstar explained.
"The American people deserve better from their government than ineffectual administration and bureaucratic in-fighting -- especially when it comes to the growth and safety of air travel. I was proud to chair our investigation in the 1980s, to introduce the first FAA independence legislation in 1987, and to see this day. Today, our call for reform became a chorus," Oberstar concluded.
H.R. 2276: