Airport Alert: DOT Secretary Buttigieg Testifies at House Transportation Committee Oversight Hearing

 

DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on September 20 at a hearing focused on oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). During the hearing, Secretary Buttigieg encouraged Congress to pass a long-term FAA reauthorization bill and raised concerns about the impact of a potential government shutdown on aviation. 

In his opening statement, Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-MO) focused on the committee's oversight role and desire to ensure effective implementation of the IIJA funding. He was critical of the overall speed of the Department in funding projects, which was a theme among several Republican members. In contrast, Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA) highlighted the benefits of the bill's funding for a number of projects across the country and the overall economic, employment and climate benefits from the legislation. Larsen also highlighted that the House has already completed consideration of the FAA Reauthorization bill and encouraged the Senate to act soon. Buttigieg's opening statement touted several specific IIJA projects, highlighted DOT efforts to hold airlines accountable for customer issues and noted FAA's recent progress in hiring air traffic controllers.

Key Aviation Issues:
 
Air Traffic Staffing: Multiple members raised concerns about the current state of air traffic controller staffing, including in the New York region specifically. Buttigieg acknowledged that the system is understaffed by approximately 3,000 controllers and said that DOT/FAA are focused on improving overall staffing levels and moving forward with controller hiring. To date, he stated FAA has over 2,000 prospective controllers in the training pipeline and is on target to hire another 1,800 next year but emphasized multiple times during the hearing that any government shutdown would 'stop the training pipeline in its tracks,' setting efforts back by months even if the shutdown only lasts days.
 
PFAS Transition Efforts: Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) asked the Secretary what role DOT should play in the process of transitioning airports away from the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foams. The Secretary stated that FAA 'highly encourages' airports to transition to fluorine-free foams (F3) now that there is an approved product on the qualified products list (QPL). He highlighted the AFFF transition plan the agency released in April and noted that the FAA is working with the Department of Defense to develop and share with airports best practices for utilizing the F3 and training personnel. Rep. Carbajal recently introduced two bills that would provide grants to airports to supply PFAS-free foam and require FAA to provide regular updates on transition efforts.
 
Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) inquired about efforts to make sustainable aviation fuel more available. The Secretary focused on several efforts to encourage public/private efforts to bring more SAF to market, including the Administration's SAF Grand Challenge and the FAST grant program that provides $291 million in grants to accelerate SAF and low emissions technology.
 
Airport Matching Funds: Rep. Mike Ezell (R-MS) raised concerns about the challenges for small communities to meet airport projects matching funds requirement. Buttigieg acknowledged the challenge for small communities and highlighted that EAS communities or those with significant public lands can receive a discount in the match requirement. 

Other aviation issues raised by members included concerns about aircraft incursions at airports, use of Chinese drones to inspect FAA facilities, use of the Atlantic City airport to house migrants, TIFIA grants for airports, the pilot retirement age, airline mergers, and the continued need to invest in modern technology for the air traffic control system.

Members also spent significant time during the lengthy hearing discussing non-aviation and parochial issues. The administration's efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles was a prime target of discussion with the ongoing UAW strikes front-and-center with many committee members.