Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee, delivered the following statement at the subcommittee’s hearing on “The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012: Two Years Later.” The remarks are as prepared for delivery.

Thank you, Chairman LoBiondo, for calling today’s hearing on “The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012: Two Years Later.”

Mr. Chairman, this month marks the halfway point of the FAA reauthorization cycle. It is a good time to stop and assess the FAA’s progress implementing the 2012 reauthorization act. Together, we must take stock of those areas of the Act the FAA has successfully implemented, and note where Congress may need to make adjustments as we look forward toward the next FAA reauthorization.

Looking forward, the force of globalization and the growth of emerging international markets present both opportunities and challenges for American aviation. As I said in our last hearing, we simply cannot write a reauthorization bill for 2015 without taking a look at what’s happening elsewhere in the world. The aviation industry is global, it is competitive, and there are new entrants in the market every day. What happens in Shanghai, Dubai, New Delhi, Moscow, and Bueno Aires matters here in the United States. And what the FAA does here in the United States will affect our ability to compete internationally.

The 2012 FAA reauthorization contained several provisions intended to accelerate the deployment of the Next Generation Air Transportation system. At the request of this Committee’s bipartisan leadership, the Department of Transportation Inspector General recently audited the FAA’s implementation of these NextGen-related provisions. The audit noted that, to date, the FAA has implemented roughly half of these provisions.

According to the Inspector General, the FAA’s difficulty in implementing the remaining NextGen provisions, and meeting stakeholder expectations for NextGen more generally, stem from long-standing programmatic and organizational challenges.

Mr. Chairman, one of the key takeaways from the 2009 RTCA NextGen Mid-Term Implementation Task Force report was that organizational structure matters. The officials responsible for planning and implementing NextGen must have the responsibility, accountability and authority to get the job done.

To its credit, the FAA has had some successes advancing individual NextGen programs. Yet that is not always the case. Mr. Chairman, you and I held several hearings and listening sessions last year where we heard frustration from aviation stakeholders regarding the FAA’s ability deliver near-term NextGen benefits.

We have also heard continuing concerns that FAA’s efforts to advance NextGen at the programmatic level are not properly integrated across the agency’s lines of business. For several years, stakeholders have stressed the need for unity of effort across the FAA lines of business, and between FAA’s partner agencies, to achieve both near-term benefits and a long-term NextGen vision.

Congress attempted to strengthen the FAA’s NextGen organizational structure in the 2012 FAA reauthorization by creating a Chief NextGen Officer position. Last June, Michal Whitaker assumed this role, and last September, the FAA appointed Major General Edward Bolton to fill the position of Assistant Administrator for NextGen.

As we look toward the next reauthorization, it will be important for this Subcommittee to evaluate whether the organizational reforms that Congress made have been effective, or whether additional reforms are warranted. I look forward to hearing our witnesses’ thoughts on this subject.

Mr. Chairman, the disposition and physical condition of FAA facilities are also inextricably tied to the successful rollout of NextGen. Moreover, they are critical safety and quality of life issues for FAA’s employees. Last September, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that FAA’s staffed facilities had a backlog of approximately $260 million in deferred maintenance. Further, the existing technology at several terminal facilities must be upgraded to accommodate NextGen. For these reasons, section 804 of the 2012 FAA reauthorization required FAA to complete a study on the consolidation and realignment of FAA facilities.

Administrator Huerta, I commend the proactive and collaborative approach that you have taken to address the FAA’s need to consolidate its aging facilities. As directed by the FAA reauthorization, you are working closely with the affected FAA employees’ unions through a comprehensive process to identify cost beneficial consolidation opportunities. Based on the briefing that you provided to Committee leadership last December, we expect that the FAA will provide initial consolidation recommendations early next year, right around the time that this Subcommittee will be taking action on the next reauthorization.

While we hope that facility consolidation will provide cost savings in the long-term, it will be an expensive undertaking at the outset. This Subcommittee will need to examine whether the FAA’s current capital funding levels will support facility consolidation, or whether Congress will need to increase FAA’s capital budget to support this effort. We will also need to make sure that labor groups are included in the decision making process.

One last key issue I hope to discuss in more detail today concerns Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Mr. Chairman, unmanned aircraft are not a Next Generation technology – they are very much in the here and now. Like so many other innovations in aviation, the growth and development of large unmanned aircraft has been spurred by military necessity. We have seen large UAS technology mature over the last decade through thousands operational hours and missions flown over the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The FAA estimates that we can expect 7,500 small unmanned aircraft in the national airspace system over the next five years, provided regulations and operational guidelines are in place to handle them. In fact, you do not need to go much further than the Internet to see that entrepreneurs are finding creative applications for small unmanned aircraft today.

Congress and the Administration must ensure that these systems are safe before being fully utilized beneficial public and private sector applications. For this reason, the FAA reauthorization act requires the FAA to safely integrate UAS into the national airspace system by September 30, 2015. The Act also provides FAA with specific tasks and milestones on its path toward UAS integration.

While the FAA has completed roughly half of the UAS provisions set out in the Act, it has missed most of the statutory deadlines for the provisions it has completed. For example, last December the FAA announced six UAS test ranges where the agency will collect data to address safety and operational issues. Yet, according to the Inspector General, FAA officials do not believe that the agency will meet the September 2015 milestone for safe UAS integration. Additionally, GAO will testify today that FAA will probably not meet the August 2014 final rule deadline for small unmanned aircraft required by the FAA reauthorization act.

Mr. Chairman this Subcommittee must provide vigorous oversight in the coming months to ensure that FAA stays on track implementing these important provisions.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.