By Kramer Phillips
February 17, 2011
Today, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Senior Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, spoke out in support of a four-year Federal Aviation Authorization (FAA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 658) introduced by Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Fl. Currently, the FAA is functioning on a series of short-term funding extensions.
“This reauthorization bill is the result of hard work and a commitment to finding ways to use our resources more efficiently and effectively. This bill does not contain a single earmark, yet achieves many of the goals set forth by the Committee, including streamlining programs, reducing waste, and improving aviation safety,” stated Capito. “The aviation industry provides good-paying jobs to many West Virginians, and it’s due time that Congress demonstrates its commitment to ensuring our pilots, mechanics, flight attendants and air traffic controllers are granted certainty in their funding levels and program structures.
The bill includes an upgrade to the nation’s air traffic control system, which lags far behind those in other countries in terms of technological advancement, and does not increase user fees for general aviation pilots. It also supports the rights of passengers by requiring carriers to be more helpful if a plane is stranded on a runway and creates a hotline for stranded passengers to reach useful information.
“We can all relate to the frustration of sitting on an airplane for hours at a time, not knowing if the flight may be delayed for five minutes or five hours. This bill looks to find ways to give passengers the opportunity to access timely and useful information. I am grateful to the Committee Members for introducing this long-overdue authorization bill,” Capito concluded.
Source: THE STATE COLUMN
Date: 2011-02-17