Testimony of Ann Carlson, Acting Administrator, NHTSA
United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Modal Perspectives
December 13, 2023
Good morning, Chairman Crawford, Ranking Member Norton, and members of the subcommittee. I am Ann Carlson, Acting Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Thank you for inviting me to testify today on NHTSA’s efforts, under the leadership of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, to fulfill the agency’s important safety mission.
Every person has been touched by crashes on our nation’s roads. Many of us have lost loved ones, friends, or family to a crash, as I have. And virtually everyone knows someone who has been injured. That’s why NHTSA’s work touches every person in the United States every day. NHTSA is committed to making the nation’s roads safer for everyone, preventing crashes, and reducing fatalities, injuries, and the economic cost of crashes on our roads.
Today I’m pleased to share new early estimates of traffic fatalities for January through September of 2023, which project that traffic fatalities declined for the sixth straight quarter. We are projecting that fatalities decreased about 4.5 percent from the same time in 2022.
While we are optimistic that we’re finally seeing a reversal of the record-high fatalities seen during the pandemic, this is not a cause for celebration. An estimated 19,515 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the first half of 2023, a devastating loss that Secretary Buttigieg has rightly called a crisis on our roadways.
That’s why NHTSA – and the whole U.S. Department of Transportation – is leaning in on the safe system approach and the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.
The only acceptable number of fatalities is zero. Getting to zero will require consistent, dedicated focus and work from every level of government, safety advocates, and the private sector.
One way we are working toward zero fatalities is by using the remarkable new resources Congress provided NHTSA through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL. I thank you for increasing NHTSA’s overall budget by more than 50 percent.
BIL also directs us to conduct a number of new research projects and rulemakings. NHTSA continues to work as quickly as possible on these critical projects and rules to save lives and to meet our statutory obligations.
We have issued a proposed rule to require automatic emergency braking, or AEB, and pedestrian AEB in new passenger cars and light trucks. With the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, we have issued a proposed rule to require AEB in heavy vehicles, including tractor trailers. When deployed, these technologies should dramatically reduce rear-end crashes, save more than 500 lives and prevent nearly 33,000 injuries per year.
NHTSA has also proposed significant upgrades to our 5-Star Safety Ratings program, and we completed a BIL directive in February 2022 when we issued our final adaptive driving beam rule.
We are also working closely with the states and especially those communities most significantly affected by traffic crashes. This includes both urban and rural areas. It’s worth noting, for example, that while 20 percent of Americans live in rural areas, they accounted for 40 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2021.
Every decision we make at NHTSA puts safety first, and this also informs our approach to emerging vehicle technologies, including automated driving systems, or ADS, and advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS, too.
Promoting innovation while prioritizing a strong safety culture is at the heart of NHTSA’s work in this rapidly evolving sector. Innovation and safety must go hand in hand – a robust safety culture builds public trust in advanced technologies and automated vehicles. We are using all of our authorities and research capabilities to ensure that we advance technologies that make vehicles and roadways safer.
Finally, NHTSA takes its enforcement responsibilities very seriously. So far this year, NHTSA has opened 40 defect investigations, closed 28 investigations, and overseen more than 900 safety recalls of vehicles, car seats, tires, and other equipment, as of Monday. Our Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation has opened 13 criminal investigations this year.
NHTSA is a small agency with a big mission, and safety is at the heart of everything we do. I care very deeply about the safety of every person who uses our roads, no matter if they drive, walk, bike, ride or roll. They all deserve to arrive home to their loved ones safe and sound at the end of every day.
I thank the committee for its support of NHTSA’s lifesaving mission, and I look forward to answering your questions and continuing to work with you to save lives on America’s roads.
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Testimony of Robin Hutcheson, Administrator, FMCSA
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Highways & Transit
Oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Modal Perspectives
December 13, 2023
Thank you, Chairman Crawford, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, and Ranking Member Holmes Norton for your leadership on this subcommittee. To all committee members, thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your ongoing partnership.
When I was confirmed as Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, there was an unprecedented spotlight on not only the trucking and motorcoach industry, but the men and women driving that industry – the truck drivers. Coming off the heels of the pandemic, Americans are now acutely aware of the impact of a truck driver’s work – from the long-haul drivers delivering 75% of our goods annually, to the school bus drivers taking our children to school, and to the city drivers picking up our recycling. There’s no doubt that drivers are essential to our daily lives.
Today, I am happy to report that we have kept that spotlight shining on the industry as we carry out our mission—to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. Roadway safety affects not only those whose lives were lost, but the family members and loved ones who suffer the grief of loss. We have more work to do, and we can and must do better. The work of FMCSA and the industry is supported by the historic passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. I want to thank you all for the opportunity to work with you on this unprecedented investment, which has allowed not only FMCSA, but our partners, to carry out safety priorities to achieve our ambitious goal of zero fatalities on our Nation’s roadways and to support the goals of the Department of Transportation – Safety, Economic Strength, Equity, Climate, and Transformation.
We continue to work with our State and Local Government boots on the ground partners across the country on the critical goal of improving safety, leveraging the increased resources in our formula and discretionary grants by prioritizing inspections for high-risk carriers, dedicating resources to high crash corridors and work zones, and closing loopholes to prevent unsafe drivers and carriers from ever being on the road.
Truck Drivers are essential safety partners. Data demonstrates that the safest drivers are those that have been in the industry the longest. We need to understand, “why are drivers leaving the industry?” I’ve rode along with long-haul drivers in the Midwest and municipal drivers in rural Alaska, hosted listening sessions with stakeholders, and asked these questions. We know that drivers need to feel safe, have access to training, and to be well compensated to both enter and stay within the industry. We have taken that feedback and leveraged the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law resources to assist the truck driving profession and our Nation’s supply chain by creating a better, safer pipeline of drivers and improving recruitment and retention in the profession. And, our assistance underscores the Department’s goals, as it sits at the intersection of safety, economic strength, and equity.
We established the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Women of Trucking Advisory Board to understand and address obstacles, including violence, harassment, and discrimination, for women entering – and remaining in – the industry. We have created action items to reduce those barriers, because, the plain fact is, we can’t leave any talent on the table. We have implemented requirements to ensure that drivers entering the industry have had a minimum level of training. We used Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to train veterans and their families, members of underserved communities, and others in safely operating a commercial motor vehicle, so that they may enter the industry. We awarded Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant funding to expedite commercial driver licenses issuances. And, since 2021, we have increased the amount of Commercial Driver’s Licenses by 1,335,850. We’ve also launched initiatives to study compensation, predatory leasing arrangements, and detention time, and work with our Departmental colleagues to address truck parking.
FMCSA has increased efforts to combat commercial operations fraud, bolstering the goals of safety and economic strength. We implemented a Strategic Action Plan to address fraudulent household goods activities, including the launch of the Protect Your Move campaign. The Campaign spanned 16 States and resulted in 700 closed complaints and a 36% reduction in customer reports.
Finally, we have dedicated grant funding and resources to prevent human trafficking, underscoring our safety and equity goals, and we completed 50 outreach events this year.
With our continued Partners’ work, our driver focus on prevention, and your historic investment in safety, we can meet our shared goal of reducing crashes on our Nation’s roadways.
Thank you for the opportunity to share FMCSA’s work – and success – in implementing the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Testimony of Shailen Bhatt, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
Before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Hearing on Oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:
Modal Perspectives
December 13, 2023
10:00am
Chairman Crawford, Ranking Member Norton, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) represents a once-in-a-generation investment in our Nation’s infrastructure, competitiveness, communities, and resilience to climate change, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides historic investments and new opportunities to build a clean energy economy that creates good jobs and lowers costs for all working families. The dedication of the Federal Highway Administration’s staff in delivering on the promise of these historic investments for the American public is inspiring. I have always said that a transportation agency exists for two reasons: to save lives and to make people’s lives better.
FHWA’s mission begins and ends with safety. Last month, I joined State and local officials at the site of a fire that took place under a section of Interstate 10 near downtown Los Angeles, resulting in a closure in both directions. Within days, FHWA announced the immediate availability of $3 million in “quick release” Emergency Relief funds for use by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to offset costs of emergency repair work. FHWA offered support to State and local officials and provided technical assistance to help respond to the closure of this vital corridor. Eight days after the fire, I was pleased to join local, State, and Federal officials, including Vice President Harris, as Governor Gavin Newsom announced the reopening of the I-10 Freeway. In June, FHWA provided a similar level of emergency support to help reopen I-95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in record time after the tragic tanker truck explosion which resulted in loss of a life and partial collapse of a bridge.
In addition to safety, FHWA’s work is guided by an initiative we refer to as “DRIVEN for the 21st Century.” There are six aspects to this initiative: Delivery, Resilience, Innovation, Values, Equity, and our Nation. It is this first aspect of DRIVEN, Delivery, that I would like to focus on today. While everyone celebrates receiving a grant award, we at FHWA are committed to turning those awards into successful projects.
Thanks to BIL and IRA, we have the funding necessary to make major improvements in our transportation system. FHWA has taken numerous actions supporting implementation of projects that improve safety and people’s lives, including distributing more than $180 billion in highway formula funding to States, and issuing Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) for approximately $14.7 billion in available funds. We are currently administering nearly 1500 grants totaling approximately $10 billion across fifteen discretionary programs, with more on the horizon.
I recognize that inflationary pressures can present challenges for project sponsors, but this is not a unique challenge for U.S. transportation projects. I previously served in a global transportation role, and inflation is a challenge we are dealing with globally. At FHWA, we are aware of these challenges and recognize that time is money, which is why we are committed to helping deliver projects on time and on budget.
The success of the BIL and IRA programs depend, in part, on streamlined delivery of funding to recipients. FHWA stood up a new, permanent team to oversee grants-management matters. We also implemented process reforms across our suite of Federal grant programs. We continue to refine our management of these programs to increase efficiency and transparency, thereby benefitting the Nation via the delivery of new projects.
The BIL is funding projects throughout the country that will deliver results for the U.S. transportation system and Americans as a whole. For example, the Bridge Investment Program Large Bridge Grant Awards FHWA announced in January 2023, included $1.385 billion to rehabilitate and reconfigure the existing Brent Spence Bridge to improve interstate and local traffic flow between the interconnected Kentucky and Ohio communities on either side of the Ohio River. FHWA is focused on strong engagement with States and locals as they deliver the many projects funded by the BIL, ranging from small, routine projects to large, complex projects, like the Brent Spence Bridge. For example, key members of FHWA’s leadership team and I are in regular communication with Ohio and Kentucky leadership to ensure that this critical project stays on track.
As Administrator, I have had the privilege to travel around the country to see and hear the immediate need for safer, accessible, and resilient transportation. The transformational funding provided by this Congress has enabled FHWA, in partnership with States and localities, to create a system that delivers for our economy and all of our people, while getting individuals and goods safely to their destinations. There are no Democratic roads or Republican bridges—transportation binds us all together, which is why we must work with each other to support the common good. FHWA remains committed to this task. Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I would be happy to answer any questions.
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Testimony of Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Carlos Monje Jr
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Modal Perspectives
December 13, 2023
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Chair Crawford, Ranking Member Norton, and members of the subcommittee – thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your support as we continue to work to build a stronger, safer transportation system.
We just experienced one of the busiest Thanksgiving travel periods on our roads and in our skies in recent years. That includes the busiest air travel day ever; TSA screened 2.9 million passengers the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and for the holiday week, the airline cancellation rate remained under half a percentage point, well below the average and a testament to the hard work of countless people across the aviation system including our colleagues at the FAA. The holiday season tests our transportation system and serves as a reminder of how central transportation is to our prized traditions and everyday lives alike.
Last month, the Administration celebrated our second year of implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) through which we’ve already implemented 37 new programs and announced funding for more than 40,000 projects and counting, in every state and territory. The Department has continued its strong history of accountability, responsibility, and financial stewardship. The career team behind DOT’s efforts was one of the recipients of the 2023 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals – the Oscars for public servants also known as the Sammies – for their leadership shaping and carrying out these historic investments in IIJA. And the work does not stop. Just this week, we announced an award of nearly $650 million to 18 projects in rural areas to reconstruct or replace critical roads and bridges, upgrade freight hubs, and expand transit service. Projects like these are generational investments in transportation safety, economic competitiveness and jobs, equity, and climate and resilience.
I’d like to share a few notable examples of how we’re delivering on these priorities for the American people.
Safety is the Department’s top priority and in 2022, Secretary Buttigieg announced the ambitious goal of achieving zero roadway deaths through the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy. The infrastructure law gave us new resources to invest in road safety improvements across the country in pursuit of this goal. Awards under the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program are already benefiting 70 percent of our Nation’s population. Earlier today, Secretary Buttigieg announced another $817 million for 385 projects to continue helping communities deploy proven safety improvements like enhanced crosswalks, roundabouts, and improved lighting. We’re also making our roads and rails safer by improving risky at-grade rail crossings, advancing life-saving technologies like automatic emergency braking, and expanding the availability of truck parking.
We’re doing all of this first and foremost so our loved ones make it to holiday dinners, and to make sure that the simple acts of walking to the grocery store or biking to work are as safe as they can be. But preventing and mitigating crashes benefits our economy as well, complementing Administration-wide efforts to provide American workers and businesses access to resources, markets, and good-paying union jobs. We are strengthening America’s trucking workforce and creating pathways to recruit and train more drivers through apprenticeship programs. Meanwhile, we’re investing heavily in our multi-modal freight network, improving our ports and investing $40 billion to replace and upgrade critical bridges across the country, including the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge right here in DC and the Brent Spence Bridge between Kentucky and Ohio – currently the second worst truck bottleneck in the Nation.
Infrastructure investments like these are critical to making our supply chains more efficient, which ultimately cuts costs for consumers and drives down inflation – and will help your holiday presents arrive on time, keep store shelves stocked, and provide access to jobs, schools, medical appointments, and other vital destinations.
As we work to improve the safety of our transportation system and strengthen it as a core driver of our Nation’s economy, we are mindful that the investments must reach everyone, especially in communities that historically have been left out of meaningful investment – often in rural, Tribal and communities of color. New programs created by the infrastructure law will reconnect communities that were previously divided by transportation structures, from capping interstates that currently divide neighborhoods to reconfiguring interchanges and thoroughfares, all so people can get to their school, jobs, doctors’ appointments, and family – safely and easily.
We’re also cognizant that some of the most critical projects are not being funded simply because smaller agencies face a steep learning curve as they navigate the Federal funding landscape. That’s why we’re providing technical tools and organizational capacity – leveraging the expertise of non-profits, academia, and the private sector – to help disadvantaged and under-resourced communities compete for federal aid and deliver quality infrastructure projects. And we’re not only helping communities compete for funding, but also partnering with federal, Tribal, state, and local project sponsors to speed up project delivery and thereby maximize and accelerate the benefits of these investments.
Through all this work, we’re building a more efficient and resilient transportation system while cutting carbon pollution and creating jobs. For example, we’re investing in modernizing the Nation’s bus fleet, more than doubling the number of zero- and low-emissions buses on America’s roadways, while creating good-paying American jobs in manufacturing and maintenance. We’re also working with state and local governments to create a convenient, reliable, affordable, and equitable national EV charging network, which is already spurring private sector investment.
These generational investments will benefit our entire Nation, from its densest cities to its most remote communities. Whether you walk, roll, ride, or drive, or don’t travel at all and rely on deliveries as a lifeline, we’re committed to making your transportation experience safer, more affordable, and more efficient. And we’re committed to working alongside Congress to deliver on these promises for the American people.
Thank you again, and I look forward to your questions.
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STATEMENT OF KELVIN B. COLEMAN
ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
HEARING BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE AND SCIENCE GOVERNMENT PROMOTION OF SAFETY AND INNOVATION IN THE NEW
SPACE ECONOMY
DECEMBER 13, 2023
Chair Cantwell, Chair Sinema, Ranking Member Cruz, Ranking Member Schmitt, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to be here today to discuss the important role the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) play in ensuring the safety and economic competitiveness of U.S. commercial space activities. We are committed to continuing to enable safe space transportation and keeping pace with the growth of the commercial space sector while prioritizing U.S. leadership.
U.S. commercial space capabilities and innovation are vitally important to our Nation. The U.S. commercial space transportation industry is rapidly developing new technologies that will assure our Nation access to space, take us back to the moon and to other interstellar destinations, connect global communities, help us better serve the planet, and improve the daily lives of our citizens. Commercial space activity worldwide surged in the past decade, resulting in a half-trillion dollar global space economy that will nearly double in the next decade. The United States contributes roughly half of all commercial activity, and the U.S. commercial space industry will continue to be an extremely important contributor to the growth of this space economy. My testimony focuses on DOT’s authorities and responsibilities for commercial space, the Biden-Harris Administration’s proposal to establish additional regulatory roles and responsibilities for DOT and FAA regarding new and novel U.S. in-space activities that will ensure the U.S. remains the world’s preeminent commercial space country of choice, and ongoing efforts to streamline and improve our commercial space regulatory framework.
Overview of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation and its Responsibilities
The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary), in accordance with Title 51 of the United States Code (U.S.C.), regulates and oversees U.S. commercial space transportation operations, which include launch and reentry operations worldwide, the operation of launch and reentry sites, and human space flight missions. This authority has been delegated by the Secretary to the FAA. The FAA, through the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), which I have led as Associate Administrator since September of last year, carries out these authorities to protect the public health and safety, the safety of property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. In addition to these important responsibilities, the FAA is also responsible for encouraging, facilitating, and promoting commercial space launches and reentries by the private sector and facilitating the strengthening and expansion of U.S. space transportation infrastructure. To put it simply, consistent with these responsibilities, our mission is to enable safe commercial space transportation, and we recognize and embrace the central role the DOT and the FAA play in ensuring the U.S. continues to be the global leader in space.
Since 1989, the FAA has licensed or permitted nearly 700 commercial space transportation operations, more than any other country in the world by far. To put the growth of the commercial space sector into perspective, in fiscal year 2023, AST oversaw the safety of 113 operations, tripling the number of licensed operations since fiscal year 2020. Additionally, we have received a 186% increase in license applications since fiscal year 2020. And in the last few years, we’ve seen an increased use of reusable launch vehicle technology, new manufacturing techniques, and other innovation. The FAA has leveraged its licensing and regulatory capabilities and other various programs and initiatives to enable the growth of the U.S. commercial space industry in a manner that has resulted in an impressive safety record for this rapidly growing industry. No FAA-licensed launch or reentry operation has resulted in a fatality or injury to a member of the public, nor has there been any significant public property damage. Looking forward, we expect the total number of licensed commercial space operations to double by fiscal year 2026. This is fantastic growth, and the FAA is committed to seeing it continue.
Additionally, the FAA's involvement in commercial space transportation operations is extensive; it also includes license modifications and license renewals, conducting payload and policy reviews with our interagency partners, conducting an assortment of safety analyses, safety inspections, mishap investigations, and more. We’ve seen significant increases in all of these activities. For example, since fiscal year 2020, we’ve increased safety inspections by 124%.
Currently, about two-thirds of the AST organization is dedicated to working on these important activities. The FAA’s impressive safety record and ability to keep up with this rapidly growing industry are in large part because of the incredible staff that I have in AST. Thanks to recent support from Congress in fiscal year 2023, which allowed us to expand our team, we were able to hire an additional 33 new employees using various hiring and recruiting authorities, raising our total staff size to a current level of 147 individuals, which allows us to address many of the growing demands that have been placed on our office.
Looking forward – Novel Space Activities
Last month, the Biden-Harris Administration unveiled a legislative package titled the “Authorization and Supervision of Novel Private Sector Space Activities Act,” which, if enacted, will provide clear and predictable authorization and supervision for novel U.S. private sector in- space activities. The Administration's legislative package would expand the Department's
licensing authority to include the operation of human space flight vehicles in outer space and the operation of space transportation vehicles if the operation is for the sole purpose of conducting in-space transportation. This is a logical extension of the Department’s existing authorities and will simplify the process for industry. The authority to license operations of human space flight vehicles in outer space would ensure consistent oversight of human space flight activities throughout a mission’s full lifecycle, addressing public safety, space sustainability, and other
U.S. interests and, after the learning period expires, occupant safety from launch through reentry. AST would utilize our extensive expertise in space transportation to carry out in-space transportation licensing authority. For some missions, this authority would allow for in-space transportation operators to apply for a single license to conduct all transportation activities, including launch, in-space transportation, and reentry, which will reduce the regulatory burden on applicants and ensure consistency in transportation rules from launch through reentry.
We recognize the importance of a robust domestic commercial space transportation industry to the Nation. The Department’s approach to the authorization and supervision of these in-space activities would prioritize a clear, predictable, and flexible oversight process that promotes access to space and imposes minimal burdens on the industry. The Department would also work closely with the Department of Commerce, NASA, and other departments and agencies to ensure the application of consistent standards.
We are in full support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to fostering a policy and regulatory environment that enables the competitive and burgeoning U.S. commercial space sector, including through this legislative package, and we look forward to continued conversations with Congress on this incredibly important topic.
Efforts to Streamline and Improve FAA’s Commercial Space Regulatory Framework
At the present time, as we work to enable safe space transportation within our existing authorities and keep up with this rapidly growing industry, we have also undertaken efforts to streamline and improve our commercial space regulatory framework. These efforts include:
Part 450: In December 2020, the FAA published a final rule to consolidate, update, and streamline all launch and reentry regulations into a single performance-based part, which is found in Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 450 (Part 450). We designed Part 450 to allow a commercial space operator to obtain a license for a portfolio of operations, which enables an operator to streamline and include different vehicle configurations, different mission profiles, and even multiple sites under one license. The FAA anticipates full implementation of Part 450 will reduce the number of times an operator will need to come to the FAA for an approval. Ultimately, this will free up licensing resources and ensure there are adequate resources available for evaluating the safety of new operators, vehicles, sites, and technologies. Additionally, among other things, Part 450 enables coordination between the FAA and our Federal range partners, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense, on ground safety at Federal launch sites to eliminate gaps and duplication in oversight. By March 10, 2026, all launch and reentry licenses issued by the FAA under legacy regulations will no longer be valid, and launch and reentry vehicle operators must be in compliance with Part 450.
We are committed to ensuring this transition to Part 450 is as smooth as possible. Part 450 is a relatively new rule, and as we approach these next two years, through various initiatives, AST is working to ensure that the FAA has the tools in place to ensure that the industry has a full understanding of how to achieve compliance with Part 450 and how to take advantage of the intended benefits of this streamlined process. Among these initiatives are:
- Continual Website Improvements: We have worked, and continue to work, on improving the FAA’s website to ensure that information is easily accessible for prospective license applicants. For example, we have replaced relevant portions of the website that contained licensing information with a “Getting Started with Licensing” page2 that provides prospective applicants with important information they will need to successfully submit an application to the FAA for a license, permit, or safety element approval. The page contains a link to commercial space regulations, a link to all active Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Circulars, a link to contact AST and provide project and operator information in order to efficiently begin the pre- application process, a link to pre-application checklists, a detailed step-by-step process for all applicants, and more. Additionally, we have added a tool to the page to guide prospective applicants in determining what type of license they will need.
- Application Checklists: We have developed application checklists that prospective applicants may use when applying for a launch or reentry license, experimental permit, launch site operator license, or safety element approval. These checklists provide prospective applicants with the information they need in the pre-application process to ensure they submit a comprehensive, compliant, and complete application for FAA review and approval.
- Virtual Tutorials and Workshops: We have posted educational videos on our website that cover various Part 450 topics, including a Part 450 modular “at your pace” training video that offers a broad walkthrough of Part 450.3 We have also hosted workshops to assist prospective applicants with Part 450. For example, we held a Part 450 workshop in 2020 with industry participants where we did a broad walkthrough of Part 450 and provided a crosswalk of mapping tools comparing the new rule to legacy regulations. Additionally, this summer, we held a compliance and enforcement workshop with industry participants. We plan to develop more training videos and hope to host more workshops in the future.
- Guidance: The FAA has published guidance on means of compliance with Part 450 requirements through Advisory Circulars to assist the commercial space industry. As of today, the FAA has published 18 Advisory Circulars related to Part 450 compliance, which cover topics like Space Nuclear Systems, Flight Hazard Analysis, Ground Safety, Population Exposure Analysis, System Safety Program, High Consequence Event Protection, and Computing System Safety. The FAA anticipates publishing two more advisory circulars in the near term, one that will provide guidance to the industry on elements required for a complete application and one addressing denial and tolling processes. We are working to publish more advisory circulars in the future to further facilitate applicants’ understanding of and compliance with Part 450.
- Licensing Electronic Application Portal: FAA is working to develop a Licensing Electronic Application Portal (LEAP), which will be used to accept, modify, exchange, and approve licensing materials under Part 450. LEAP is expected to enhance our ability to identify, track, and quickly resolve questions and issues both internally and externally with applicants.
Human Space Flight Occupant Safety: In addition to supporting industry’s efforts on voluntary consensus standards and updating a set of recommended practices for human space flight occupant safety, DOT established the Human Space Flight Occupant Safety Aerospace Rulemaking Committee (Human Space Flight SpARC) on April 21, 2023. The Human Space Flight SpARC allows us to engage with the commercial space industry and will provide consensus information, concerns, opinions, and recommendations to the Department regarding the establishment of a commercial human space flight occupant safety framework. We expect recommendations from the Human Space Flight SpARC by the summer of 2024, which we will use to plan our efforts with the industry on a future safety framework.
Financial Responsibility: On March 15, 2023, DOT established the Financial Responsibility Aerospace Rulemaking Committee (Financial Responsibility SpARC) to engage the commercial space transportation industry and solicit information, concerns, opinions, and recommendations about updating the financial responsibility regime for licensed launch and reentry operations. The financial responsibility requirements for a launch and reentry license have not been updated in years, and the Financial Responsibility SpARC’s recommendations, due in early 2024, will help the FAA modernize the financial responsibility regulations.
Conclusion
I once again would like to reiterate the importance of the commercial space transportation industry and express the strong commitment of the Department of Transportation, especially the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, to ensuring the U.S. continues to be the global leader in space. The U.S. must remain the world’s preeminent commercial space country of choice, and the Administration’s proposal on in-space authorization will ensure that. We will continue leveraging our licensing and regulatory capabilities, as well as other programs and initiatives, to enable the growth of the U.S. commercial space transportation industry, and we are committed to continued growth. Thank you again for the opportunity to be here to discuss the important role DOT plays in ensuring the safety and economic competitiveness of U.S. commercial space activities. This concludes my testimony, and I will be glad to answer any questions from the Committee.
STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY L. AREL
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AIR TRAFFIC ORGANIZATION FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
HEARING BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION SAFETY, OPERATIONS, AND INNOVATION ADDRESSING CLOSE CALLS TO IMPROVE AVIATION SAFETY
NOVEMBER 9, 2023
Chairs Cantwell and Duckworth, Ranking Members Cruz and Moran, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the chance to be here today to testify about some of the significant events we have seen in the National Airspace System (NAS) this year. Before I delve into the details and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) actions to address these events and prevent them in the future, I want to emphasize the seriousness with which we approach this issue. Collectively, air traffic controllers, pilots, commercial operators, general aviation, and airports all play an important role in minimizing risk within the system. Through years of collaboration with these stakeholders, the FAA has established multiple layers of safety that protect the traveling public from the time they board an aircraft to the time they deplane. These efforts include continued pilot outreach and training, controller awareness and training, investments in surface safety and situational awareness technology tools, robust procedures managed by air traffic controllers, and the application of Safety Management Systems internally and across part 121 commercial operators as well as major airport operators.
The level of safety we have would not be possible without continuous transparent and collaborative communication between the FAA and industry. At the FAA, we are proud of our proactive safety culture, which emphasizes the value of nonpunitive sharing of data and safety information between the agency and industry to reduce risk and maximize safety. Nevertheless, we view even one runway incursion or other unsafe operation in the NAS as too many, and the FAA is committed to the relentless pursuit of continual improvement in everything we do. Any runway incursions or other event in the NAS, whether isolated or part of a possible trend, is a concern, and we don’t take it lightly. We appreciate the oversight and attention this subcommittee has focused on this issue, as increased awareness helps us improve safety.
Runway Incursions
A runway incursion is any occurrence at an airport involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. Incursions are caused by operational incidents attributed to air traffic control action or inaction, pilot deviations, or vehicle/pedestrian deviations.
We measure four categories of runway incursions based on objective, observable standards:
- Category A is a serious incident in which a collision was narrowly avoided.
- Category B is an incident in which separation decreases and there is a significant potential for collision, which may result in a time-critical corrective/evasive response to avoid a collision.
- Category C is an incident characterized by ample time and/or distance to avoid a collision.
- Category D is an incident that meets the definition of runway incursion (e.g., the incorrect presence of a single vehicle/person/aircraft on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft) but results in no immediate safety consequences.
For fiscal year 2023, of the approximately 54.4 million takeoffs and landings in the NAS, there were 1,756 total runway incursions. Approximately 60 percent of those incursions were attributable to pilot deviations, approximately 20 percent were caused by air traffic controller action or inaction, and the remaining approximately 20 percent were caused by vehicle or pedestrian deviations. It’s important to note that the total number of Category A and B runway incursions was 23. Although these statistics suggest that runway incursions account for approximately 0.003 percent of all NAS operations, and the more serious incursions in Categories A and B combined account for about 0.00004 percent of all NAS operations, we recognize that any number is an unacceptable safety risk and we are working hard to drive the number of such incursions to zero.
Overall, our data, which is regularly shared with Congress and publicly available, shows a recent downward trend in the rate of runway incursions. For example, in fiscal year 2022, there were approximately 33 incursions per one million takeoffs and landings. In fiscal year 2023, there were 32 incursions per one million takeoffs and landings. Although the change is modest so far, we are optimistic that our recent and ongoing work and collaboration with industry is bearing fruit and will lead to continued safety improvements in the NAS.
The FAA takes seriously every safety event in the NAS, whether it occurs on the surface or in the air. Through the promotion of Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs and expanded system monitoring through Aviation Risk Identification and Assessment, we identify and mitigate events that would have previously been unknown even two years ago. Our focus is on maintaining our status as the premier air navigation service provider, keeping aircraft safe, separated, and on time.
Safety Summit and Follow-on Actions
In March of this year, in response to an uptick in the most severe runway incursions, the FAA took a number of additional actions aimed at helping to drive down the incidence of all runway incursions. The Administrator’s call to action led to a safety summit that brought more than 200 safety leaders from across the aviation industry to examine ways that safety could be enhanced to prevent future occurrences. These discussions covered commercial and general aviation operations, the air traffic system, and airport and ground operations. The FAA also held a series of surface summits separately with stakeholders, including general aviation, air carriers, business aviation, and airport operators.
Since the safety summit, the FAA has taken a number of actions to enhance flight safety and reduce incursions:
- March: The FAA issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) identifying items for safety management focus, including guidance related to runway safety, and asking all pilots, air carrier management, and operators to review processes, procedures, or training to ensure operations are conducted at the highest level of safety, including adherence to air traffic control instructions and maintaining a “sterile cockpit” to mitigate risks associated with extraneous communication.
- March: The FAA announced additional steps the agency’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) will take:
- Ensure that supervisors devote their full attention to the operation and airfield during peak traffic periods at each facility.
- Provide more dedicated training for unusual circumstances.
- April: The FAA named an independent safety review team to further examine ways to enhance safety and reliability in the nation’s air traffic system. The Safety Review Team began its work in May and will complete its work this fall and present concrete recommendations on how the agency can advance air traffic safety.
- June: The FAA launched the “Stand Up for Safety” Campaign. The series will provide monthly, mandatory special emphasis training for our controller workforce, including operations supervisors and managers, in collaboration with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).
- August: The FAA announced it will hold runway safety meetings at approximately 90airports between August and the end of September. The meetings, held annually at each airport with a control tower, are the primary forum for pinpointing and addressing airport-specific risk in the surface environment and are part of the ongoing work of the Runway Safety Action Teams discussed below.
- August: The FAA issued a SAFO with reminders of practices to prevent injuries while workers are towing aircraft and guiding them to and from gates. The SAFO reminds aircraft operators that it is important for personnel to remain clear of operating engines until they are shut down.
- September: The FAA tasked the Investigative Technologies Aviation RulemakingCommittee to provide recommendations on new technologies, such as cockpit alerting systems, designed to reduce runway safety events. When aircraft land on the wrong surface, it presents risks that can lead to catastrophic events where the surface could be closed, damaged, or an unsuitable length for a safe takeoff or landing.
Moreover, over the course of fiscal year 2023, the FAA awarded grants for 55 runway safety projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and 154 runway safety projects under the Airport Improvement Program, totaling more than $1.0 billion. These projects will reconfigure taxiways that may cause confusion, install airfield lighting, signage or markings, or construct new taxiways to enhance safety on the airfield.
Longterm Runway Safety Initiatives
The actions since March that are noted above are a small fraction of the overall sustained effort that the FAA and industry have undertaken over time to lower runway incursions. Runway safety will continue to be a high priority for the FAA, and we will continue to develop and refine initiatives to enhance runway safety. Here are some of the more significant FAA initiatives that are moving the needle on safety.
- Runway Safety Council. The FAA convened the Runway Safety Council (RSC) to fundamentally change the existing safety culture and move toward a systemic proactive management strategy that involved cooperation throughout the FAA and among the different segments of the aviation industry. By applying the formalized and proactive approach of the ATO’s Safety Management System, the RSC is advancing the shift from a compliance-based safety system to a risk-based, data-driven, integrated systems solution to runway safety.
Collaboration with the aviation community is a key component of runway safety. The RSC includes aviation stakeholders from across FAA Lines of Business, including Airports, Aviation Safety, and the ATO, as well as FAA employee labor organizations like Professional Aviation System Specialists and NATCA, and industry representatives such as aircraft operators, airline representatives, and flight instructors.
- Runway Safety Action Teams. Runway Safety Action Teams (RSAT) bring local airport stakeholders together at least once a year at towered airports to identify risks to surface safety at individual airports and develop plans to mitigate or eliminate those risks. RSATs provide the foundation of the Runway Safety Program at individual airports. The RSAT meetings are the primary forum for pinpointing and addressing airport-specific risks in the surface environment. The product of a RSAT meeting is a Runway Safety Action Plan in which the stakeholders document and agree to pursue specific actions intended to improve surface safety.
- Runway Incursion Mitigation. The Runway Incursion Mitigation (RIM) program is a national initiative at airports with a history of runway incursions to identify airport- specific risk factors that might contribute to a runway incursion. These risk factors may include unclear taxiway markings, airport signage, and more complex issues such as the runway or taxiway layout. The FAA then works with the airport sponsors to develop strategies to mitigate runway incursions at these locations. Currently, 131 unmitigated RIM locations have been identified across 80 airports. To date, the program has mitigated 99 locations. Other solutions like operational modifications or a hot spot designation (to optimize pilot awareness) are employed when physical changes are not feasible or best suited. There is a 78-percent average reduction of runway incursions at mitigated RIM locations. The RIM program continuously monitors these locations for reoccurrence and assesses incoming data for any new RIM location candidates.
Runway Safety Technologies
Investment in technology will continue to be an effective mechanism to enhance aviation safety and runway safety in particular. We are committed to the continued development and deployment of safety technologies in support of aviation safety. Here are some examples of technologies that are advancing safety.
- Technology Sprints. The FAA has announced that we are pursuing a technology sprint by fast-tracking the deployment of three initiatives to address specific safety concerns on the airport surface.
- The Surface Awareness Initiative will deploy a situational awareness display of airport surface traffic to tower air traffic controllers for airports that do not currently have a surface surveillance system.
- The Approach Runway Verification will add functionality in the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement Terminal System (STARS) to provide controllers with alerts of wrong runway, closed runway, and wrong airport alignments to prevent wrong surface landings.
- The Runway Incursion Device will provide a memory aid device that generates an audible and visual alert to controllers to enhance situational awareness of occupied and closed runways, which we plan to deploy to over 70 towers.
- Runway Status Lights. The FAA developed Runway Status Lights (RWSL) technology to increase situational awareness for flight crews and airport vehicle drivers and thus serve as an added layer of safety. A RWSL system derives traffic information from surface and approach surveillance systems and illuminates red in-pavement airport lights to signal a potentially unsafe situation. Runway Entrance Lights are deployed at taxiway/runway crossings and illuminate if it is unsafe to enter or cross a runway. Takeoff Hold Lights are deployed by the departure hold zone and illuminate red when there is an aircraft in position for departure and the runway is occupied by another aircraft or vehicle and it is unsafe for takeoff. RWSL is operational at 20 U.S. airports.
- Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X. Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) integrates data from a variety of sources, including radars, transponder multilateration systems, and Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) to provide accurate target position and identification information and thus give controllers a more reliable view of airport operations. ASDE-X provides tower controllers a surface traffic situation display with visual and audible alerting of traffic conflicts and potential collisions. ASDE-X is operational at 35 airports in the United States.
- Airport Surface Surveillance Capability. Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) is similar to ASDE-X. It improves surface surveillance and situational awareness in all kinds of weather. With ASSC, air traffic controllers see aircraft and ground vehicles on the airport surface and on approach and departure paths within a few miles of the airport. Like ASDE-X, ASSC fuses data from multiple sources, including radars, to provide a highly accurate display for controllers with the same visual and aural alerting capabilities. ASSC is operational at nine airports in the United States.
- Runway Incursion Warning Systems and Vehicle ADS-B Transmitters. Runway Incursion Warning Systems (RIWS) and vehicle ADS-B transmitters are available for installation on airport and airline-owned vehicles that regularly operate in the movement area. These technologies enhance situational awareness for surface operators and Air Traffic Controllers. FAA has been actively encouraging airports to voluntarily equip their vehicles. Grants are available for installation of these systems. As a result, there are now over 2,100 vehicles equipped with ADS-B transmitters at airports with ASDE-X and ASSC and over 1,000 vehicles equipped with a RIWS.
- From the Flight Deck and the Runway Safety Pilot Simulator. The FAA has produced 100 site-specific “From the Flight Deck” videos to educate and inform pilots and controllers of the risks associated with operating at specific airports around the NAS. Other videos cover safety topics, including wrong surface landings, complex airfield geometry, hold short, wrong direction intersection takeoffs, and more. Additional airport videos are forthcoming.
FAA's Runway Safety Pilot Simulator video series is a self-guided resource to assist flight instructors with teaching student pilots surface safety best practices before they step foot into the cockpit. It allows student pilots to navigate on airport surfaces while communicating with air traffic control and gain experience following instructions provided by air traffic control. The scenarios are interactive and allow viewers to make decisions based on air traffic control instructions.
- Pilot Information on Airports Across the NAS. To supplement From the Flight Deck videos, we began publishing additional information on faa.gov. This content includes details such as airport-specific cautions, information local controllers want pilots to know, airport communications, airspace details, more general best practices, lost communications tips, and other preflight planning resources. This supplemental web content is currently available for 25 airports across the NAS, with more content in development.
Controller Hiring
Finally, although eliminating runway incursions requires close coordination and collaboration with industry, we recognize the vital role we play in working to avoid and eliminate them. Part of that work is the hiring and training of air traffic controllers. The President’s FY 2024 budget request includes funding for the hiring and training of 1,800 controllers, an increase of 300 above the hiring level for FY 2023. This funding supports the continued training of the 1,500 controllers hired in FY 2023. The FAA Academy's training schedule in execution for FY 2024 will support the FAA's overall goal to hire 1,800 controllers to include the added training cost for the additional 300 controllers reflected in the FY 2024 budget request. The budget request will allow the FAA to continue progress toward attaining the necessary Certified Professional Controller staffing levels to meet current traffic demands, which have returned to, or in some markets exceeded, pre-pandemic levels. The 2023 Controller Workforce Plan released in May includes facility-specific staffing targets. As we continue to work with our labor partners, we also submitted to Congress the results of the Collaborative Resource Workgroup and look forward to continued discussion and progress as we all work toward the shared goal of staffing targets to meet traffic demands.
Conclusion
I would like to reemphasize the seriousness with which we approach this issue and assure you that although we are proud of our safety culture and the work we have done, the FAA will doggedly press for continued collaboration with industry to further enhance safety initiatives and technologies to reduce runway incursions with the goal of eliminating them. Thank you again for the chance to speak about this critical safety issue.
Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Carlos Monje Jr.
Testimony before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy
“The Economic Impact of Federal Investments in Massachusetts“
October 20, 2023
Chair Warren and Senator Markey, thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your leadership and partnership as we work to build a stronger, safer transportation system.
As I speak to you today, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is close to wrapping up the second year of implementing the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). We’ve been hard at work creating new programs and making critical investments in our Nation’s infrastructure. To date, across the Administration we have announced over 38,000 projects across the country. Our transportation investments are making our roads safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers; making transit more affordable, reliable, and accessible; and reconnecting communities that have been divided by past transportation decisions. We’re making sure that these new investments are not only resilient against extreme weather, but help combat the climate crisis. And these are not only investments in America’s infrastructure, but also in its workforce, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs each year in manufacturing, construction, and transportation.
On behalf of Secretary Buttigieg, I’m honored to share with you today some of the ways in which the people of Massachusetts are benefiting from these investments, as well as other areas of the Department’s work.
Safety is the Department’s top priority and in 2022, we committed to an ultimate goal of achieving zero roadway deaths through our National Roadway Safety Strategy. I am pleased to begin by highlighting our safety investments in Massachusetts; after all, Massachusetts consistently ranks as one of the safest states in the nation in terms of fatalities per miles traveled and pedestrian fatalities per capita. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law greatly expanded the resources we’re able to put toward roadway safety in the form of the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. To date, we’ve awarded more than $30 million to 17 communities in Massachusetts. The SS4A program is helping 15 communities across the Commonwealth, including the Cities of Fitchburg, Pittsfield, Southbridge, Ware, and Worcester, to develop comprehensive roadway safety action plans. We’ve awarded $9 million to Boston to deploy low- cost, high value safety improvements at intersections across the city. And in Springfield, we awarded $15 million to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists at 15 intersections and along 10 corridors that currently experience a disproportionately high number of fatal crashes. The SS4A program is just one example of how we can continue to work together to make one of the safest states in the nation even safer.
DOT is also hard at work making sure that the transportation sector is central to tackling the climate crisis; as the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, transportation must also be a part of the solution. On this front, we’ve made significant investments in Massachusetts.
Most notably, our Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded nearly $220 million the last two years under its BIL-funded Low- and No-Emission and Bus and Bus Facilities programs.
Through these awards, we’re helping to replace diesel buses with electric and hybrid buses across the Commonwealth. In Fiscal Year 2022, Massachusetts received more than 10 percent of the total funding from this program, and was second only to California in terms of total funding received. These kinds of investments not only make transit agencies more reliable, but also give transit riders a quieter, more pleasant experience, and communities cleaner air. Moreover, they include efforts to prepare our transportation workforce for these newer technologies, including through apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and instructional training. A good example is the $6.9 million award provided to the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) in June to purchase hybrid-electric buses to replace older vehicles that have reached their useful life and to launch a workforce development program to provide on-the-job and instructional training for the maintenance and operation of hybrid electric vehicles.
As we make investments in the safety and climate impact of our transportation system, we’re mindful that the benefits of transportation infrastructure projects must also be done equitably. The Department is actively addressing environmental justice and working to undo past harms through the Reconnecting Communities and the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) programs. As part of the Biden Administration’s Justice 40 initiative in Massachusetts, the new Reconnecting Communities program is already helping the City of Boston assess the feasibility of reconnecting parts of Chinatown to downtown Boston previously divided by the construction of Interstate 90 (the Mass Pike). Meanwhile, RAISE is funding improvements to transit infrastructure, bridges, and roads in disadvantaged communities in Springfield, Lynn, New Bedford, Brockton, and right here in Lowell, where we’re funding the rehabilitation and preservation of four deficient bridges with improvements to pedestrian, bicycle, and transit accommodations.
Lastly, I want to touch on America’s workforce and innovation as we look toward building for the future. Massachusetts received nearly $6.5 million from DOT’s new BIL-funded Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) discretionary grant program. In Massachusetts, SMART is funding smart traffic signals in Brockton, planning for smart grids at the Cape Cod Gateway Airport and at MetroWest Regional Transit’s headquarters, and improvements to rail safety on Cape Cod using unmanned aircraft systems and smart sensors.
I was also recently here alongside Governor Healey to cut the ribbon on a brand-new facility for DOT’s Volpe Center, which will draw on some of the brightest minds to support the work across our Department. This new facility will provide the modern facilities needed to expand advanced transportation research, and house the next generation of the transportation workforce through internships, academic research partnerships, and mentoring programs.
Speaking of academic partnerships, we also recently named UMass Amherst as the lead of our New England University Transportation Center, alongside consortia members from Bunker Hill
Community College, Holyoke Community College, and MIT. We’re excited to see how they can help us advance our transportation work particularly in both safety and equity.
In closing, at DOT we see Massachusetts as an example when it comes to demonstrating how transportation infrastructure can be safer, more climate-friendly, and a tool for building communities and encouraging innovation. But we’re also encouraged by the Commonwealth’s desire to go further to continue investing here in the years to come, to improve the lives of its residents and workers, to support the critical industries that reside here, and to present a model to communities across the Nation.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
Secretary Buttigieg Testimony
House T&I Committee
September 20, 2023
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, congratulations on taking up these well- deserved leadership roles since I last was before this committee.
And before I start, I want to take a moment to send our most heartfelt condolences to a beloved member of this Committee, Representative Peltola, who lost her husband after a plane crash in Alaska last week. Our prayers are with Mary and their family and friends.
To all committee members, thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your ongoing partnership.
The first time I came before this committee, we were making the case for an infrastructure package to address decades of underinvestment, deal with clear risks on our roads, rails, and skies, and confront a pandemic that upended transportation in every way.
The second year I testified here, the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was a reality, and we were fast at work standing up new programs and preparing to get much-needed funding out the door.
Today, I’m proud to report that the Biden administration has over 37,000 infrastructure projects moving forward in every state and territory. Through these projects: we’re making people safer; we’re creating jobs and addressing transportation inequities in big cities and on rural main streets; we’re making our infrastructure more resilient against extreme weather while reducing the transportation emissions that are contributing to those issues; and we're strengthening supply chains to keep goods moving and reduce prices.
I'd like to highlight just a few examples I’ve seen recently.
Last week, I was outside of Salem, South Dakota, where we’re helping repair 28 miles of I- 90—a major freight corridor-- and adding new truck parking, which we consistently hear from truckers is their top priority to increase the safety and dignity of the job.
In July, I was at the Lehigh Valley Airport in Pennsylvania, where we celebrated an expansion and new security checkpoint to provide a faster, easier experience for travelers – my first chance to be at a ribbon cutting on a project with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
And last month, I was in Northern Indiana where we’re helping relocate a freight rail interchange, which will improve a rail crossing that is a problem for hundreds of kids trying to get to high school, while supporting goods movement for the many manufacturers in the area, and helping improve the safe transport of hazardous material that sometimes moves through the community of Elkhart.
Individually, each of these projects is a big deal for the community. Collectively, they add up to a national undertaking that is giving American families, workers, and businesses, the foundation to succeed well into this century.
But I do want to be clear-eyed about how much work remains – on reducing roadway deaths, on making our rails and skies safer, on strengthening public transit and helping it adapt to post-pandemic changes, and more.
That's why even as we keep full speed ahead to deliver good infrastructure projects, we also seek your further partnership in two critical areas: one, ensuring our transportation safety work can continue by preventing a government shutdown; and two, delivering further improvements that are achievable only through new legislation.
To that end, I want to praise this committee for your leadership in advancing a FAA Reauthorization bill that keeps up the momentum for this important legislation.
We are making good progress with the authorities we currently have; for example, we hit our goal for air traffic controller hiring this year, with a total of 2,600 ATCs now in training. We helped airlines lower cancelation rates from their pandemic spikes down to 1.6% this year, which is also below 2019 rates. And we have a wave of new rules underway to protect passengers when their flights are delayed or cancelled, and to get rid of junk fees for things like being seated next to your kid.
But we are counting on FAA reauthorization legislation that ultimately passes to provide additional, critical authorities and resources needed to keep our airports and communities safe, and we ask Congress to get it to the President’s desk.
Meanwhile, America needs the same bipartisan leadership you’ve shown on aviation when it comes to rail safety.
Freight rail safety legislation, proposed by Democrats and Republicans together after the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, has yet to advance. For the safety of thousands of communities that are host to rail lines, we need your help getting that legislation over the finish line.
Again, the Department of Transportation is doing what we can. We’ve proposed requiring at least two crewmembers on certain trains and are right now working to finalize the rule establishing minimum crewmember requirements. We’re conducting more than 6,000 focused inspections on routes over which high-hazard flammable trains travel; we’re making the biggest investment in rail infrastructure in modern memory; and more.
But if America is going to reach a place where 1,000 derailments per year is no longer accepted as the cost of doing business, we need new authorities to hold railroads accountable – which this legislation would provide.
I believe that the 2020s will be known not just for those early years when the pandemic upended transportation, but for the years we’re entering now, when transportation gets safer, more affordable, and more efficient. With tens of thousands of projects underway, President Biden has begun laying the literal foundation for that – and with further partnership with Congress we can maintain this new momentum, and ensure that the transportation laws protecting Americans are modernized alongside physical transportation infrastructure.
Thank you again, and I look forward to your questions.
Testimony of Secretary Pete Buttigieg
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development
April 20, 2023
Chairman Cole, Ranking Member Quigley, Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget request for the Department of Transportation, totaling $145 billion.
This budget will support the Department’s work in three major areas: running our agency operations effectively, building good projects well, and protecting the safety of everyone who interacts with each part of America’s transportation system.
I want to thank the Members on both sides of the aisle who have been true partners as we work to build a better, stronger, safer transportation system for the American people. Your leadership has helped to make the 2020s into an Infrastructure Decade for our country.
We are in a moment of both profound challenge and historic opportunity for U.S. transportation.
On one hand, our transportation systems are still experiencing the shockwaves of the pandemic, along with worsening climate impacts, and the consequences of decades of disinvestment.
Transportation-related industries have become more concentrated, often slashing staff and leaving the system less competitive and nimble. And when any part of the system strains or breaks, Americans bear the burden in ways that range from the frustrations of millions of airline passengers stranded during the holidays, to the fear and upheaval felt by the residents of East Palestine, Ohio after the Norfolk Southern train derailment there.
Yet this is also a moment of unrivaled opportunity and swift progress. Under President Biden’s leadership and thanks to action here in Congress, we have unprecedented funding to modernize and improve our national infrastructure. Shovels are hitting the ground on new projects all over the country. To date, we have announced over $200 billion for over 23,000 projects nationwide, and we are continuing to get funding to communities as swiftly as we responsibly can. To name just a few examples:
Already, we have started repairing 4,600 bridges, so trucks and commuters can get where they need to go without delay. We are helping States improve almost 70,000 miles of roads, which means safer rides and lower car maintenance costs for families. And we’ve awarded the first round of grants under our new Safe Streets and Roads for All program, delivering safety funding to big cities like Detroit, rural communities like Fayette County, Iowa, and Tribal lands like the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana. Every year, we see roughly as many traffic deaths in America as gun deaths. That’s why the President’s budget includes $3.1 billion for the Highway Safety Improvement Program, funding to save lives through much-needed projects, as well as advanced safety research initiatives.
When it comes to public transit, we have advanced projects across the country. This budget includes $4.45 billion for our popular Capital Investment Grants, which will help with major projects like the two light rail extensions in Phoenix and the Red Line extension in Chicago. And the budget would also give transit agencies the flexibility they need to use federal formula funding for operating expenses, as they adapt to new post-pandemic ridership patterns.
With regard to supply chains, we’ve strengthened ports around the country—from smaller ports like Helena, Arkansas and Kaskaskia, Illinois, to major ones in Portsmouth, Virginia and New York City. This work complements the nearer-term efforts that have helped cut the number of ships idling at American ports from over a hundred down to the single digits, and contributed to Pacific shipping rates coming down 80%. The President’s budget request includes $230 million for the Port Infrastructure Development Program to continue our important work.
When it comes to rail, we have made nearly $18 billion available to improve service and safety, advanced more than 70 major new rail projects nationwide, and proposed a new rule that would require a minimum of two crewmembers per train. Derailments may be down compared to decades past, but the status quo, in which there are still multiple derailments every single day in America, is not good enough. That’s why the President’s budget includes $273 million to support FRA safety personnel, expand our inspection capabilities, and increase stakeholder engagement. I’ve been heartened by the surge of bipartisan support for rail safety in recent months, and we are more than eager to work with anyone who’s serious about that commitment, which is why we strongly support the Railway Safety Act, and hope all those leaders who have spoken out on this issue will support it too.
Aside from getting money out the door for more good projects, we’re also using our regulatory and enforcement authorities to protect and advocate for the traveling public. On the aviation side, we’re getting airlines to honor the tickets they sell and compensate passengers fairly when there are issues. The cancellation rate has stayed well below 2% in the first few months of this year, compared to over 5% in January 2022, and 2.7% on average last year. But there’s still much more to do, as we’ve all seen. That’s why the President’s budget invests $24.8 billion to hire new air traffic controllers, improve safety and capacity at airports, and modernize critical systems like the Notice of Air Mission System.
In short, there’s a great deal of work underway, and a great deal yet to be done.
Our transportation system is at a turning point. We are finally in the process of renewing its physical foundations, but we are also grappling with serious vulnerabilities—especially in areas where federal oversight and regulation have been undermined—which pose very real dangers to workers, families, and communities.
In recent years, Congress has proven that it can deliver—on a bipartisan basis—the kind of transformative infrastructure law that evaded our predecessors for decades. Now we need to bring that same bipartisan dedication to sustain those investments in America, and ensure they reach every person and every community, from the largest cities to the most rural communities.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
STATEMENT OF KEVIN WELSH
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
HEARING BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
ADVANCING NEXT GENERATION AVIATION TECHNOLOGIES
MARCH 29, 2023
Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Cruz, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here today to discuss the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) work related to advancing next generation aviation technologies. My name is Kevin Welsh, and I am the executive director of the FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy. My office conducts research, develops policy, and collaborates across the U.S. government, with the aviation community, and internationally to address the environmental impacts of aviation. The FAA’s core mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world. This mission also includes addressing the environmental impacts of aviation, such as climate change, local air quality, and noise. As laid out in the National Aeronautics Science and Technology Priorities and U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan, this administration is committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation sector by 2050. To achieve this, we are working with industry and other important aviation stakeholders to develop new technologies, enable increased production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), increase the energy efficiency of air traffic operations, and conduct research and develop tools to support the FAA’s mission. Our work in these areas not only helps address environmental impacts, but can also reduce costs, such as through reduced fuel burn, and supports job growth and economic development.
TECHNOLOGY
Improvements in aircraft technology have long played a central role in reducing aviation’s environmental impact. Continued FAA investment in aircraft technology research and development is focused on accelerating the development and introduction of new aircraft technologies that reduce emissions and noise while improving fuel efficiency. For example, the FAA, aircraft manufacturers, and airlines collectively work toward further reducing aircraft noise and emissions at the source through efforts like the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions, and Noise (CLEEN) Program, which began in 2010. The FAA’s CLEEN program provides funding to develop and accelerate the introduction of technologies that will reduce noise, emissions, and fuel burn. CLEEN is implemented in 5-year phases, and we are currently in the third phase of the program. Funding for the CLEEN program, including the industry cost share component, has exceeded $500 million since its inception. Cumulatively, CLEEN Phases I and II are estimated to save the aviation industry 36 billion gallons of fuel through 2050, reducing CO2 emissions by 420 million metric tons over this period. These fuel savings would reduce airline costs by over 90 billion dollars at current jet fuel prices. These savings would also benefit passengers. These CO2 reductions are equivalent to removing three million cars from the road from 2020 to 2050. These technologies, as well as the use of SAF, will also dramatically reduce nitrogen oxide and soot emissions from aircraft operations. Technologies from Phases I and II are estimated to eliminate over 997 kilotons of nitrogen oxide emissions during landing and takeoff through 2050. Phase III will continue to target further reductions in aviation noise, emissions, and fuel burn.
A few examples of the accomplishments from the FAA’s investments in the CLEEN program include:
- Under CLEEN Phases I and II, GE Aerospace has developed new low-emissions jet engine combustion systems. The enhanced “TAPS” combustion system is used in aircraft engines, reducing nitrogen oxide emissions for over 500 aircraft in service and over 5,000 on order. A further improved TAPS combustor was developed under CLEEN Phase II to reduce emissions for the forthcoming Boeing 777X aircraft.
- Under CLEEN Phase II, Boeing has developed and demonstrated advanced aircraft wings made of stronger and lighter-weight materials to support innovative development of current and future aircraft. This technology alone is expected to reduce fuel consumption by 3.5 percent.
- In addition to the technologies being developed by the CLEEN Program, our industry partners are using the knowledge gained through the program to enhance other systems. For example, Pratt & Whitney leveraged the CLEEN Program to demonstrate new engine fan technologies to further reduce fuel consumption and noise from their geared turbofan engines. This knowledge has also resulted in improvements to the design software that Pratt & Whitney uses to design all of their engines. As such, CLEEN has an impact that is far greater than the individual technologies that we are working to mature.
- Finally, data from CLEEN Program tests have contributed to the approval of a number of alternative jet fuels for safe use.
Through the FAA Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels & Environment, also known as the Aviation Sustainability Center, or “ASCENT,” work is also underway to develop innovative technological solutions to reduce noise, emissions, and fuel burn from subsonic and supersonic aircraft. ASCENT technology research is complementary to CLEEN, partnering with academia, rather than industry, to advance the state of the art knowledge broadly within the aviation community. Whereas CLEEN research focuses on a higher maturity for the technology and a direct path to product application, ASCENT research can cover a wider range of ideas and different maturity levels. Further, ASCENT is using its research efforts to develop analytical tools that can be used by industry to develop quieter, cleaner, and more efficient products. This research spans partnerships with sixteen universities, covering a breadth of technical areas, including noise reduction technologies, system-level modeling and design, propulsion-airframe integration, combustion, turbomachinery, and supersonics.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provided over $46 million for a new Low Emissions Technology grant program that the FAA calls “FAST-TECH.” The FAA will launch the program this year, which will support projects to develop, demonstrate, or apply low-emission aviation technologies. This grant program is expected to support projects that are designing, prototyping, and testing new low-emission aviation technologies, as well as projects enhancing technology testing and demonstration capabilities that will accelerate a broad range of low-emission aviation technologies. FAST-TECH will play a complementary role to CLEEN and ASCENT by providing a focus specifically on low-emission aviation technologies and building up not only individual technologies, but also testing capabilities to drive a new generation of low-emissions aircraft.
The FAA also continues to demonstrate international leadership on aviation and climate change, including our leadership in setting international environmental standards for aviation at the International Civil Aviation Organization. Adoption of international environmental standards not only advances environmental protection globally, but also helps to set a level playing field and facilitates the export of Unites States-developed and manufactured aerospace technology.
SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL
SAF presents the most promising near-to-medium-term tool to dramatically reduce aviation emissions and will be critical to longer-term efforts to decarbonize aviation. Creation of good jobs is a priority for this administration, and SAF production is expected to enhance the creation of jobs related to agricultural production, municipal solid waste reduction, fuel refining, and engineering. Over the last 15 years, the FAA has led efforts to support SAF development through testing, analysis, and coordination across government, academia, and the private sector. The FAA supports SAF development through a robust research program that spans the breadth of fuel testing and qualification to environmental and economic analysis. Through ASCENT, the FAA advances new research on SAF production and supply chain analysis and enables streamlined fuel approval via ASTM International. Since 2006, the FAA has partnered with industry to support broad engagement of SAF stakeholders through the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative. Additionally, under the CLEEN Program, the FAA partners with industry to support critical SAF testing to ensure safety and performance. This administration is broadly committed to the development of SAF. In September 2021, the Departments of Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture entered into a memorandum of understanding launching a government-wide Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge (the SAF Grand Challenge). The objective of this effort is to reduce the cost, enhance the sustainability, and expand the production and use of SAF that achieves a minimum of 50 percent reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas compared to conventional fuel to meet a goal of supplying 3 billion gallons of SAF by 2030 (approximately 10 percent of projected jet fuel use) and sufficient SAF to meet 100 percent of domestic aviation fuel demand by 2050. The FAA is coordinating closely and collaborating with the other agencies on the SAF Grand Challenge to effectively use resources and accelerate the increased production of SAF. At the FAA we are, among other things, coordinating SAF testing and analysis, working with standards organizations to ensure the safety and sustainability of SAF, providing international technical leadership, and seeking opportunities to support the development of infrastructure to connect SAF producers with aviation users.
Finally, in addition to the FAST-TECH grant funding noted earlier, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also provided $244.5M to support the development of a new SAF- focused grant program that the FAA calls Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition via SAF (“FAST-SAF”). The program aims to support rapid SAF deployment, focusing on domestic projects that enable SAF production, transportation, storage, and blending. The objectives of this grant program are in line with the goals of the Administration’s SAF Grand Challenge, with a primary focus on enabling the rapid scale-up of the domestic production of SAF that provides significant lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions.
CERTIFICATION OF NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES
An important aspect of the quest to reduce aviation emissions and noise is the development of new technologies to power aircraft, such as hydrogen or electric propulsion systems. As the FAA works to certify aircraft that seek to use these technologies, safety will always be the agency’s first priority. As a mechanism to help facilitate the safe introduction of new, innovative products, including new propulsion technologies, the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Service established a structure and process to facilitate the introduction of new technology through early engagement with companies to identify policy and certification issues and to develop strategies to address them early in the application process for type certification.
Although current regulations may not have been drafted with these technologies in mind, our regulatory framework has the flexibility necessary to certify them. Where necessary, FAA technical specialists are developing performance-based requirements to address novel or unusual design features that current requirements do not address. In addition to applying the extensive technical knowledge and experience of our own specialists, the FAA is also leveraging the work of NASA, industry standards committees, research organizations, and other industry working groups to broaden our understanding of the technical issues that new technologies like electric and hydrogen propulsion systems pose.
As the technology matures and the FAA and industry gain experience in the certification of these new technologies, we expect the regulatory structure to evolve. In the meantime, however, current processes are effective in ensuring the technologies meet the expected level of safety.
CONCLUSION
The FAA will continue to support the development and deployment of innovative technologies, SAF, and other new energy sources to reduce aviation’s environmental impact, ensure continued global leadership in innovation and aviation, and support continued economic growth and job creation. We are focused on continuing to pursue and support cutting-edge research and development, and establishing and maintaining close partnerships within government, industry, and academia, as the safest and most efficient airspace system in the world evolves to meet the needs of the future. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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