James Oberstar

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello).

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished chair of our Water Resources Subcommittee, Ms. Johnson of Texas.

Mr. OBERSTAR. If the gentlewoman will yield.

Mr. OBERSTAR. The provision in section 114 establishes a pilot program envisioning four to five pilot projects to be determined by the Secretary of Transportation. I will gradually join with the gentlewoman and appeal to the Secretary on behalf of the Dallas project. I think it makes good sense. I think it would be a splendid candidate and would be happy to support her in advocating for selection of the Dallas Love Field project.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the gentlewoman for raising this issue and for yielding. I, too, represent a district with a large rural area and many small airports. The standards for firefighting on board aircraft have not been updated for years, and it is time to do that. It is not our intent that this updating should impose exceptional, unusual, or heavy burdens on small airports. In fact, the language in section 311(d) states that, during the rulemaking proceeding, the FAA shall assess the potential impact of any revisions to the firefighting standards on airports and on air transportation service. We are going to be very clear that they take into account the unique circumstances. Many small communities can share firefighting services with local firefighting organizations.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield the distinguished gentlewoman another 30 seconds. There are airports where that doesn't exist, where that capability does not exist. So we will be watching the rulemaking process very carefully. I will be glad to work with the gentlewoman to ensure that in the process small airports are heard and that in the end their concerns are reflected.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson).

Mr. OBERSTAR. I want to compliment the gentleman for his vigorous and persistent advocacy for the St. George Airport. I'm delighted that Secretary LaHood has committed to fund the navigation aids for the St. George Airport. We encourage him to stay on track, and we'll continue to work with the gentleman in pursuit of that objective. Congratulations on your advocacy.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield now 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Salazar).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, the distinguished gentleman from Colorado has been most persistent and vigilant on this issue of aviation safety. As the gentleman rightly noted, there have been a number of air ambulance crashes in his district, two of which were fixed-wing aircraft.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. We intend to concentrate the attention of the FAA on helicopters because the preponderance of the problem has been helicopter services, but the FAA can and should take action also on fixed-wing aero medical service safety. Mr. Costello and I will work with the gentleman not only to ensure that helicopter ambulance service is held to the highest standard but also that of fixed-wing aircraft. I appreciate the gentleman's persistence on this subject and his knowledge on the issue.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello).

Mr. OBERSTAR. We reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield myself the minute and a half remaining. I would not want to come back on this floor at some future date and have to respond to an air tragedy because an aircraft wasn't properly inspected in a foreign repair station that was not properly crewed or supervised by U.S. personnel. We have the personnel in Europe to do the inspections. If the European community says--and they're crying wolf, they're screaming inanities here that they don't have the personnel to inspect mutually in the U.S., then that's their problem. It's not ours. But I want to say that the Congressional Antitrust Modernization Commission recently made this recommendation: ``Statutory immunities from the antitrust laws should be disfavored. They should be granted rarely and only where, and for so long as, a clear case has been made that the conduct in question would subject the actors to antitrust liability and is necessary to satisfy a specific societal goal that trumps the benefit of the free market to consumers and to the U.S. economy in general.'' We are not terminating alliances. The language in this bill says that the antitrust authority shall expire at the end of 3 years. The alliance can continue. There is nothing wrong with alliances, but no one in this society deserves permanent immunity from the antitrust laws of this country, and that is what Bob Crandall, one of the greatest innovators in aviation history said that the antitrust immunity should not be allowed.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Because the fiscal year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act was already enacted in March, P.L. 111-8, this amendment strikes the 2009 funding authorization in the base bill. Therefore, with adoption of the manager's amendment, total funding provided for Federal Aviation Administration programs in H.R. 915 is approximately $53.5 billion, including $12.3 billion for the airport improvement program, $10.1 billion for facilities and equipment, $794 million for research and development, and $30.3 billion for operations. The manager's amendment also addresses safety, the Airport Disadvantaged Business Enterprise System, and noise. On the safety provision, it includes a requirement that FAA initiate a rulemaking to improve the safety of flight crew members, of medical personnel, passengers, and helicopters providing air ambulance services. The FAA must issue a final rule on these issues within 16 months after date of enactment of the act. The manager's amendment requires the Comptroller General to study helicopter and fixed-wing air ambulance service, including the state of the industry to request and dispatch practices and economic and medical issues and report back to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure within 1 year. DOT is required to review the study, to issue a report to the committee indicating policy changes it intends to make as a result of the study. It strengthens the aviation safety whistleblower protection office. The manager's amendment includes very specific language with reference to the foreign repair station issue citing the agreement, the bilateral aviation agreement, which I've already cited. I don't need to cite it again. The amendment makes clear that the language in this bill is in keeping not only with the language of, but the spirit of, the U.S./EU aviation agreement. The amendment applies the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program and the Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program to airports collecting passenger facility revenue. It provides more protection from noise for airport neighbors. Under existing law, the FAA is not permitted to fund soundproofing of residences to reduce airport noise unless the airport undertakes an extensive analysis, a Part 150 Study. The amendment allows grants for soundproofing without a Part 150 Study if the airport takes certain actions, such as preparing noise contours and implementing land-use zoning restrictions. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello).

Mr. OBERSTAR. I reserve the right to close.

Mr. OBERSTAR. It's my amendment.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Parliamentary inquiry. Is the right to close reserved to the opposition to the amendment?

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello).

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I will close to say that although we have beaten this repair station horse to death with 30-second cameo commentaries about threats of job losses, the point is safety. We must never negotiate away the right of the United States FAA, the gold standard for safety in the world, to assure that aircraft on which our fellow citizens travel are maintained properly and in accord with FAA standards and with certificated facilities and properly certificated maintenance personnel. And our right to inspect them should not be inhibited. The previous administration should never have negotiated away any such right or presumed to limit our ability. We are acting in this language in this bill under the authority of the U.S.-EU Aviation Agreement. It specifically says so. And for us to come in and inspect only when there is a problem is the graveyard mentality that got the FAA out of problems and fatalities in the eighties. We're not going to repeat that in the future.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. OBERSTAR. Could the gentleman explain whether his position is just raising questions or is he in opposition to the amendment?