Dem Rep. Garamendi: FAA, DOT Should Appear Before Congress ‘Every Six Months,’ Fixing Air Traffic Systems Is ‘Too Slow, Far Too Expensive’

On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Way Too Early,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) said that updating the air traffic control system has been “far too slow, far too expensive,” and received too much resistance from airlines and Congress needs to “consistently stay on the back of the FAA and the Department of Transportation, hold them accountable, bring them in repeatedly, like every six months,” but Congress has been lax in doing oversight.

Garamendi said, “Well, there’s actually been an ongoing effort over the last decade to substantially improve the FAA’s traffic control systems. The air traffic control system is called NextGen. That’s been a ten-year process, far too slow, far too expensive, and far too much pushback by the airline industries who would also have to upgrade their onboard communications systems. The other piece, this NOTAM, also was in the process of being upgraded and improved and backup systems. Again, very, very slow, complex steps to be sure, all of the airlines, all of the pilots, everybody on the ground, in the air has a say in what this new…system would look like. And, once again, Congress has been very slow in providing the money, even though we do, from time to time, give them a swift kick and say, get going.”

He added, “[A]s members of Congress, our committee, we just need to consistently stay on the back of the FAA and the Department of Transportation, hold them accountable, bring them in repeatedly, like every six months, get an update at the staff level. That is part of the process. I think, unfortunately, there have been many other things that diverted the attention of Congress away from continually monitoring the progress or the slow progress. Also, there’s a funding issue. A good portion of this is paid for by the airline industry. And they don’t want to pay, although they’re making record profits at the present time. And you’re right, there are so many different players in this, all with a different view and they’re all, with their own particular — seeking an advantage to their own type of operations. The bottom line of this, the role of Congress is critical, providing the money, providing the overall direction, and then making sure that we follow up and hold the FAA accountable and push them.”

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