The Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape: Federal Perspectives on Securing the Nation’s Infrastructure

Finally, many of the recommendations in the National Academy of Science study are consistent with the FAA’s cybersecurity strategic objectives, and many others align with broader ongoing FAA workforce development, diversity, and recruitment efforts. As technology and systems continue to evolve to meet the aviation challenges of tomorrow, so must our workforce. The FAA recognizes that a diverse pool of talent is critical to finding the right people for the right job at the right time. We also recognize that competitiveness in cybersecurity hiring and retention is important in order to attract and retain top talent. The FAA will use all of its federal recruiting, hiring and retention capabilities to continue building and to maintain the FAA cybersecurity workforce.

Conclusion

Chair DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, and Members of the Committee, the FAA’s cybersecurity responsibilities and our strategy to implement those responsibilities has expanded and evolved significantly over the years. Our efforts to address cybersecurity challenges have benefited from congressional oversight, our own initiatives, and our cooperative efforts with other executive branch agencies. As the technology of the aviation ecosystem evolves, we expect that cybersecurity will continue to be a growing challenge and a significant aspect of both aviation safety and the efficient use of airspace. We look forward to keeping Congress informed of our progress on all aspects of cybersecurity. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

1https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/05/17/2021-10460/improving-the-nations-cybersecurity.

2Pub. Law No. 114-190, § 2111.

3Pub. Law No. 115-254, § 509.

4https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-86.pdf.

5Pub. Law No. 115-254, § 549.

Implementation of Aviation Safety Reforms

STATEMENT OF
STEPHEN M. DICKSON, ADMINISTRATOR
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

HEARING BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE
 COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION:

Implementation of Aviation Safety Reforms

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

Good morning Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and Members of the committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today to discuss the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approach to aviation safety oversight and our activities to implement changes to strengthen the aircraft certification process. Certifying aviation products is a critical aspect of the FAA’s safety mission. We are committed to improving the certification process, including our oversight of functions delegated to aircraft designers and manufacturers. We have undertaken a number of initiatives to address this goal, as well as to comprehensively implement the requirements of the bipartisan Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act (“Act”).

Before we begin to discuss the specifics of certification reform implementation, on behalf of the United States Department of Transportation and everyone at the FAA, I would like to recognize, as we have before, the families of the victims of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents and extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to them. It has been 3 years since the Lion Air accident, and we have made significant progress on addressing the findings and recommendations that resulted from the numerous investigations and independent reviews of both accidents involving the Boeing 737 MAX. We will continue to prioritize our work to improve aviation safety to make sure this never happens again.

As mentioned, our efforts to implement certification reform are well underway. I want to thank Congress for enacting this landmark aviation safety legislation and for this committee’s continued leadership on aviation safety matters. The Act has more than one hundred unique requirements that we are implementing in a holistic, systematic, transparent, and efficient manner to improve aircraft certification and safety oversight. The FAA is working diligently to implement the requirements while also ensuring that we are approaching our efforts as systemically and effectively as possible.  Specific agency actions taken to implement the requirements of the Act are discussed more fully below; however, I also wish to note that, in general, our approach to aircraft certification and safety oversight has changed.  The FAA’s relationship with manufacturers is evolving. We are prioritizing oversight of manufacturers and working to focus that oversight on safety critical areas. We are delegating fewer responsibilities and demanding more transparency from them, and evaluating key assumptions prior to delegating functions in certain areas.    While we continue to value their technical expertise, we are also committed to enforcing the highest safety standards for the manufacturers that we regulate. Our work to fully implement the Act is still in the early stages, and we are carrying it out with the urgency that it requires.  The discussion below provides an overview of some of our accomplishments to date.   

• Safety Management Systems. To ensure a holistic and proactive assessment and mitigation of hazards, and to support further improvement in safety performance, we continue to work with industry to increase transparency, strengthen risk management practices, and improve feedback channels between industry and the FAA.  We believe that enhancing and promoting the use of safety management systems (SMS)—where safety issues are actively looked for and identified, and then the root cause is addressed—is integral to achieving this objective, and we have taken a number of steps toward increasing the use of SMS  in the design and manufacturing environment. As required by the Act, we have initiated a rulemaking that contemplates requiring aircraft manufacturers that hold both a type certificate and a production certificate to adopt SMS, consistent with international standards and practices.^[1] As part of this rulemaking, we will also evaluate potential SMS requirements for repair stations, certificate holders that conduct common carriage operations under part 135, and certain air tour operators under part 91.[2] We also created guidance for the development of voluntary SMS programs and are working closely with industry to encourage participation in voluntary SMS programs to further enhance safety across the entire aviation system. Currently, four design and manufacturing organizations have voluntarily adopted SMS with six others in progress. Boeing also established an SMS under the FAA’s Voluntary SMS program as part of the settlement agreement. The voluntary programs have enabled the FAA to gain valuable experience on oversight of SMS for design and manufacturing organizations, and the lessons learned will help inform FAA’s SMS rulemaking and policy development.
• System Safety and Human Factors.  We are working on several initiatives to ensure system safety assessments and human factors assumptions are incorporated into the FAA’s aviation safety policy and oversight. We have initiated a rulemaking to standardize regulations and guidance for conducting system safety assessments on transport category airplanes.[3]  In addition, the expert safety review panel that we established pursuant to the Act is meeting regularly to review the assumptions relied upon in aircraft design and certification of transport category aircraft—including assumptions regarding pilot response times.  We are also developing new guidance for industry on the submission of safety critical information. There are several interrelated provisions regarding human factors and human systems integration. To address these, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen the foundation of aviation human factors safety research and to bolster the technical expertise within the Aviation Safety (AVS) organization. This includes developing a human factors education and training program, doubling the number of human factors staff within AVS, and realigning the hiring of technical advisors with the necessary technical expertise involved in critical safety decisions.  
• Global Collaboration. To further international harmonization and collaboration with respect to aircraft type certification and continued operational safety, the FAA established the Changed Product Rule International Authority Working Group and held the first meeting in July 2021. This working group will develop recommendations for international policy and guidance to ensure proposed changes to an aircraft are evaluated from an integrated whole aircraft system perspective. The FAA is working closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other international stakeholders to influence and adjust the maintenance and pilot training requirements for U.S. products operating under the oversight of another civil aviation authority. In addition, FAA representatives have presented at and attended several webinars, work group meetings, and seminars, including a presentation at the 2021 Zhuhai International Flight Training and Safety seminar on topics of competency based pilot training and automation dependency. The FAA plans to continue this global engagement into the future, including seeking new opportunities to collaborate with civil aviation authorities and other international stakeholders to foster improvements in international safety standards and practices for aircraft design and certification, pilot training, and operational safety management.  Additionally, to fulfill the requirement to ensure that pilot operational evaluations for aircraft type certifications utilize pilots from air carriers that are expected to operate such aircraft, the FAA has already begun to incorporate air carrier pilots into such evaluations. 
• Data.  We are actively expanding our oversight capabilities by advancing data collection and analytics tools to share safety data within the FAA and between industry stakeholders and international partners. These efforts include technological enhancements to the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system to integrate new data sources and methods for safety analysis, which will improve data quality and accessibility to support risk-based decision-making. In addition, the FAA’s new contract with the Transportation Research Board, established pursuant to the Act in June 2021, will aid the agency’s effort to conduct annual analysis and reporting on current and emerging safety trends in aviation.  As the aviation landscape continues to evolve, it will be increasingly necessary to bolster the FAA’s use of safety data and collaboration with industry to identify potential hazards and safety problems and to solve these problems before they give rise to an accident or incident.
• Integration of Certification and Oversight.  The Act requires the FAA to convene an interdisciplinary integrated project team upon the agency’s receipt of every application for a new type certificate for a transport category airplane. The FAA previously commissioned the Integrated Program Management team comprised of subject matter experts from Flight Standards and the Aircraft Certification Service to assess current practices and policies and make recommendations for improving FAA oversight through the integration of design and operations. The best practices identified from this process are being applied to ongoing certification projects, and we intend to enhance the current procedures to incorporate additional requirements contained in the Act.  The FAA is also revising our current Technical Advisory Board (TAB) process to use the TAB in all new and amended type certification projects. We anticipate implementing this policy next spring. The Act also directs FAA to establish an executive council to oversee the FAA Compliance Program. This program provides a framework for how the agency returns a regulated entity to compliance through comprehensive safety data sharing between the FAA and regulated entities. Pursuant to the Act’s requirements, we established the FAA Compliance Program Executive Council to monitor the operation and effectiveness of the Compliance Program, and held the first meeting in August 2021. We also updated the Compliance Program order to reflect the implementation of the Executive Council and the Compliance Program Steering Committee.[4]
• Culture of Safety and Excellence. The FAA is committed to fostering a just safety culture, while providing transparency to improve safety, operational excellence, and efficiency. These efforts include promoting voluntary safety reporting, increasing workforce competencies, and attracting talented staff. In April 2021, we implemented the Voluntary Safety Reporting Program (VSRP) to provide a mechanism for employees to voluntarily report potential hazards and safety concerns without fear of reprisal or other repercussions.[5] Preliminary data on VSRP usage indicates that employees are comfortable using the system and they are regularly using it to raise safety concerns. An added bonus of VSRP is that it promotes collaboration between employees and management for proactively addressing safety concerns and developing corrective action recommendations. To assess the effectiveness of these efforts and to meet the requirements of the Act, we will conduct annual internal safety culture assessments that include surveys of AVS employees in order to evaluate the safety culture and the implementation of VSRP programs. 
• Accountability. A critical part of fostering a just safety culture is ensuring that we hold our people to the highest safety standards. In response to requirements in the Act, we have taken a critical look at our own internal oversight processes and taken steps to enhance accountability. This includes re-designating the Office of Investigations to the new Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility and establishing investigative processes that are based on best practices identified from similar offices at other federal agencies and from the FAA’s experience, expertise, and other sources. Although our work is not yet done, we believe that incorporating these best practices will improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency of the FAA’s investigative process.
• Delegation.  The Act requires the FAA to institute extensive and meaningful changes to the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program and our oversight of that program. To address these legislative requirements, we expect to implement significant changes to our policies and procedures for delegating certification authority to private entities. These changes include policy requiring FAA approval of individual ODA unit members for certain ODA types, and policy aimed at preventing interference with ODA unit members in performance of their duties.  We are also standing up an expert panel to conduct a review of ODAs for transport category airplanes and make recommendations to the FAA based on that review. Additionally, as required under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, we previously established the ODA Office to provide oversight and to ensure consistency of the FAA’s audit functions under the ODA program. In April 2021, the FAA realigned the ODA Office to report directly to the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety. This reporting structure reflects the FAA’s priority to oversee, standardize, and ensure consistency in the ODA system, as well as to facilitate many of the ODA reform requirements contained in the Act. To that end, the ODA Office anticipates adding more employees in Fiscal Year 2022, and hiring has already begun. The additional staff will allow the office to perform more outreach, identify best practices, and implement measures to maintain consistent oversight.
• Certification and Continued Operational Safety Processes. Ensuring the safety of aviation products through certification is an important function of the FAA, and we are continuously taking steps to enhance the type certification process. This includes revising guidance and criteria used for determining significant changes to best ensure that proposed changes to an aircraft are evaluated from a whole aircraft-level perspective, including human interface elements. We have also commissioned external reviews to evaluate our Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Model and type certification process. To address the Act’s requirements to establish an appeal and issue resolution processes for certification decisions, we are developing an implementing order.
• Innovation.  Aviation is incredibly dynamic, and it is imperative for the FAA to take steps to accelerate and expand the deployment of new technologies in order to reduce barriers and actively promote innovation that enhances the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System. We recently established and staffed the Center for Emerging Concepts and Innovation to support certification of new aircraft and technologies by providing pre-application engagement with companies to identify a preliminary path to compliance. We are also taking steps to foster enhanced coordination across the FAA on emerging products and concepts.

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, I want to assure you, and each member of the committee, that the FAA is fully committed to thorough and complete implementation  of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. As we continue this process, we remain committed to our transparent and accountable approach, which includes regular briefings on our progress with staff of the committees of jurisdiction, labor partners, industry stakeholders, and more. We will continue to assess our entire certification and oversight framework in light of past experience, industry growth, technological advancements, and innovation as we carry out our responsibilities for public safety. We approach all of this work with humility and do not take safety for granted. We are confident that we are making substantial and meaningful progress, and will continue to keep Congress apprised throughout this work.

^[1] RIN 2120-AL60, Safety Management System (SMS) for Parts 21, 91, 135 and 145 issued. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AL60

[2] The FAA is developing a final rule to require the use of SMS at airports certificated under Part 139. RIN 2120-AJ38, Airport Safety Management System. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AJ38

[3] RIN 2120-AJ99, System Safety Assessments for transport category airplanes issued.

https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AJ99

[4] Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Aviation Administration Compliance Program, Order 8000.373B, April 22, 2021, at http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/FAA_Order_8000.373B.pdf.

[5] Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Safety Voluntary Safety Reporting Program, Order 800.375, February 02, 2021, at http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/VS_8000.375.pdf.

Examining Minnesota’s Transit Priorities

Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation & Community Development
Written Testimony for FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez
10 a.m. CDT Tuesday, August 24, 2021 

Good morning. Chair [Tina] Smith and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to appear before you today here in the Twin Cities. 

This is a truly pivotal time for our nation’s public transportation systems. Thanks to your diligence and hard work, the Senate recently passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The legislation includes $550 billion in new federal investment in America’s roads and bridges, water infrastructure, resilience, internet and more. The transit industry will receive almost $90 billion in guaranteed funding -- the most significant federal support for transit in our nation’s history.

That proposed funding is not just an abstract number. It will improve people’s lives throughout the Nation. Here in Minnesota, 11 percent of trains and buses in the state are past their useful life. It’s clear the State of Minnesota would benefit greatly from the more than $818 million designated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to improve public transportation.

I can confidently say that this state has been a great partner in advancing public transportation. The Biden-Harris Administration is laser-focused on supporting good work in transit, like what we are seeing in Minnesota.

I want to take a moment to thank Chairman [Sherrod] Brown and members of this subcommittee for all you did to shepherd this vital infrastructure bill through the Senate these last few months. I know it was not easy!

With the passage of the infrastructure bill through the Senate, I am more optimistic than I have ever been. This level of Federal funding will touch lives in every corner of the country, including here in Minnesota. At long last, transit systems will have the resources to expand, modernize and offer 21st-century technology solutions and services that Americans deserve, and should expect … to help get them to jobs, school, and vital services… 

From right here in the Twin Cities region to smaller urban and rural communities throughout Minnesota. We will ensure safe and efficient transportation for everyone.

The legislation also includes funding dedicated to zero-emission vehicles – and funding to train transit workers who maintain and operate those vehicles – advancing the Administration’s climate and job creation goals. As we continue to switch from fossil fuels to electric or hydrogen, we will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that play such a big role in our planet’s rising temperatures. We will also build the manufacturing, power production and maintenance jobs of the future, like the ones here in Minnesota where they’re producing the transit fleet of the future right now. In doing all this, the Biden-Harris Administration will commit to the men and women who build transit and keep it running -- we will not leave working Americans behind while transit moves forward. 

This work is more important than ever, given the recent alarming report from the UN Panel on Climate Change, which declared our last decade the hottest in history and confirmed carbon dioxide is the leading contributor to climate change. In fact, according to the report, unless we sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and soon – global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, after which climate consequences will be even more severe. 

The folks here in Minnesota know all about this. This summer has been drier than any since the 1980’s. You have all walked outside to the haze of a sun blotted out by the smoke of wildfires. From coast to coast, while the skies might be smoky, the evidence is crystal clear – we have no more time to waste.

The Federal Transit Administration’s Region 5 Administrator Kelley Brookins, who leads our work in Minnesota, is here with me today. Kelley and her team partner with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and 51 transit agencies throughout the state to fund public transportation serving all 87 Minnesota counties. As part of her work, she administers approximately $394 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan, which was signed by President Biden earlier this year. These funds are helping transit agencies across Minnesota continue to operate, despite significant losses in ridership and revenue due to COVID. Among the ARP funds apportioned to the state.:

• $23 million is going to Minnesota’s smaller cities, 
• $15.3 million is designated for rural transit, including tribal transit, and
• more than $700,000 dollars will support service for seniors and people with disabilities. 

We are supporting the travel needs of workers in Saint Cloud, helping college students at Mankato get to class, enabling members of the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians to get to doctor’s appointments, and much more. 

Here in the Twin Cities, the Metropolitan Council has made a commitment to expand transit -- with six new high-capacity lines on the way -- which will truly transform communities in the region by closing gaps in service and offering mobility options to more people in the community. Through our Capital Investment Grants Program, FTA has helped support the amazing successes seen by the Bus Rapid Transit program here in the Twin Cities. The Met Council is creating a BRT system that can be held up as a standard for other cities. As we move forward, FTA also looks forward to supporting the expansion of that program and the light rail. Currently in our pipeline, we are working with Met Council to develop: 

• Two bus rapid transit lines: the Orange Line and the Gold Line, and 
• Two light rail projects: the Green Line Southwest Extension and the Blue Line Bottineau Extension.  

When built, these projects will add 55 miles to the transit network and extend through a dozen communities, creating better connections to opportunities. Those opportunities will truly be open to everyone who calls the Twin Cities, and the suburbs, home. Equity is a critical issue to FTA, and to the Biden-Harris Administration, and it is why I am so proud to be working in transit. I’ve often said it is the great equalizer. Once those doors open and you step on board, everyone has the same opportunity to go where they need to go, to be who they want to be. These Bus Rapid Transit and light rail routes will serve otherwise underserved communities, where not everyone can afford a car. They will make sure that, regardless of how you travel, everyone has an equal shot at getting where they’re going. 

This truly bold transit expansion will support a region so important to the successful economic recovery of Minnesota. It will also give us a unique opportunity. Transit can be a tool that is so often lacking. It gives us the chance to address the inequities of our past. Sometimes, these mistakes, these inequities, were caused by blind neglect. Other times, it was a conscious choice to leave some people in the shadows. One of my goals at FTA is to ensure that transit brings a light of opportunity for those who have been denied it by our system for far too long.

Transit won’t just be changing lives here in the Twin Cities either. To the southeast, we look forward to seeing the City of Rochester launch its first bus rapid transit line, connecting downtown residents and visitors with the Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota-Rochester campus, and other important destinations. There is also a major transit-oriented development site planned along the route. 

FTA is proud to be a partner supporting critical transit projects in Minnesota. Thank you, Met Council CEO David Greenfield, Chair Charlie Zelle, and Metro Transit General Manager Wes Kooistra for your vision and leadership. We look forward to getting a first-hand look at the Orange Line, which is set to open later this year.

With that, I would again like to thank the Subcommittee for the opportunity to appear before you today, and I welcome your questions.

Pipeline Cybersecurity: Protecting Critical Infrastructure

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation 
Hearing on “Pipeline Cybersecurity: Protecting Critical Infrastructure” 

July 27, 2021

Testimony of U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today, and for your support of the Department of Transportation (DOT). I am honored to be here with TSA Administrator Pekoske to discuss the security of our nation’s pipeline system. 

The nexus between transportation infrastructure and national security centers on global competitiveness, climate change, and cybersecurity. As a nation, we need to take all three seriously. Today we will focus on the cybersecurity of a critical component of our national infrastructure: the pipelines that help to fuel and power our homes, our businesses, and our cars, trucks, and airplanes.
 
I.    Cybersecurity Risks that Threaten Transportation Safety

In recent years, advances in hardware, software, and computational capabilities have brought significant safety and efficiency benefits to our pipeline system.  However, these advances, along with the merging of digital and physical systems and the increased reliance on data, are introducing new cybersecurity risks to the integrity and availability of pipeline operations. We face persistent and increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.  And the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack starkly demonstrated how serious the consequences could be for a key part of our national economy and all the Americans who rely on it. These risks require proactive, coordinated, and agile responses. 

Today, I will speak with you about DOT’s role in pipeline and transportation cybersecurity; our collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Department of Energy, which was the designated lead for the Colonial response, other agencies, and the private sector; and the lessons learned from our response to the Colonial attack. 

II.     DOT’s Role and Modal Authorities

Depending on the mode of transportation, the level of public versus private ownership, and the authorities of our interagency partners, the Department of Transportation has different levels of authorities and responsibilities over cybersecurity. 

DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (or “PHMSA”) oversees pipeline safety. PHMSA protects the American people and the environment with the safe operation of nearly 3 million miles of pipelines, 17,000 underground storage tanks, and more than 160 Liquefied Natural Gas facilities, as well as the safe packaging and 1.2 million daily shipments of hazardous materials. Pipelines, the vast majority of which fall under private ownership, are a critical component of our energy transportation infrastructure and quite literally power the U.S. economy. 

PHMSA has over 550 employees and a budget of $288M. With respect to cybersecurity, PHMSA is pursuing the means to leverage its authorities to inspect and enforce three critical components of pipeline operations:

• Pipeline control room regulations, which are the “nerve centers” of pipeline system operations;
• Integrity management plan requirements; and 
• Emergency response plan regulations.

Through these authorities, PHMSA regulates–and will regulate—at the nexus between safe pipeline operations and cybersecurity.  We coordinate closely with DHS in the regulation of pipelines, particularly through the relationship between the Transportation Security Administration and PHMSA.  A Memorandum of Understanding recently updated as directed by Congress in the TSA Modernization Act of 2018 delineates the roles and responsibilities of PHMSA and TSA regarding the regulation of pipelines. The MOU promotes communications, efficiency, and a non-duplication of efforts between PHMSA and TSA.  

More broadly, many offices across DOT work together to manage cybersecurity risks across our transportation system. Our Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response engages with the National Security Council and interagency partners on a natural gas pipelines Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative and other work to tackle cyber threats from adversaries who seek to compromise critical systems that are essential to U.S. national and economic security. 

Our Policy office coordinates cybersecurity policy implementation across our nine Operating Administrations. Our Research and Technology office and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center support our Operating Administrations to conduct research on cybersecurity solutions and best practices as well as gaps that require new approaches. 

Finally, the Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) manages internal cybersecurity initiatives and has led our agency’s response to the Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity (EO 14028). In support of this Executive Order, the OCIO is recruiting for new cybersecurity talent, has begun deploying new capabilities, initiated a data sensitivity review, and has developed new proposals to encrypt and protect data. The OCIO is also collaborating with DOT Human Resources on management of DOT’s cybersecurity workforce. 

Through all these efforts, DOT continues work with our sister agencies, especially TSA and CISA, to invest in world class research and pursue initiatives to address cybersecurity threats, including risks to future transportation technologies and innovations.

III.    DOT’s Collaboration with Federal and Private Sector Partners

When it comes to pipeline cybersecurity, coordination, and collaboration among our Federal partners is critical.  Although DOT and TSA are the co-sector risk management agencies for transportation safety and security—including pipelines, CISA is the lead on cybersecurity risk across critical infrastructure. CISA provides alerts, warnings, advisories, guidance, and resources to help critical infrastructure owners and operators bolster their cyber defenses. 

DOT amplifies CISA’s outreach by further distributing their vital messages to sector stakeholders. DOT and DHS also encourage the stakeholders to adopt the voluntary National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, created through collaboration between industry and government. 

Protecting against malicious cyber actors requires the Federal Government to partner with the private sector, which owns, operates, and manufactures most of America’s pipeline systems. The private sector has a responsibility to adapt to the continuously evolving cyber threat environment, to build and operate products securely, and protect the security of critical infrastructure in partnership with the Federal Government. 

IV.    Colonial Pipeline Successful Response and Lessons Learned 

 When the Colonial Pipeline cybersecurity hack occurred on May 7, 2021, President Biden immediately directed a whole of government approach to respond to the attack. Under the leadership of Secretary Buttigieg, DOT acted quickly to facilitate the transport of fuel to affected regions, and to help get the pipeline system back up and running.

PHMSA engaged around the clock, monitored the safety of the pipeline, and worked with the pipeline company to help ensure a safe restart. With our support, within days, the Pipeline was able to move nearly a million barrels of fuel on a manual basis. 

Traditionally, PHMSA regulates safe pipeline operations, and TSA regulates cybersecurity.  However, as we saw with the Colonial Pipeline, cybersecurity can and does affect safe and reliable operations. In the wake of this incident, PHMSA is revisiting the scope of integrity management plan and emergency response plan requirements—to ensure they account for cybersecurity attack contingencies. 

PHMSA also continues to work closely with DHS and Federal partners, and shares information we receive through our inspection processes.

V.    Conclusion

The Colonial Pipeline cybersecurity incident spotlighted the importance of trusted and timely information sharing as well as public and private sector partnership in transportation cybersecurity. It also underscored that we need to keep learning and adapting quickly to meet increasingly complex and sophisticated cybersecurity challenges. DOT will continue to work across the Federal Government and with the private sector to advance the cybersecurity of the pipelines that fuel and sustain our nation. 

Our transportation infrastructure has long been a bedrock of our national security and economic prosperity.  At DOT, we look forward to working with this Committee and our agency and White House partners to strengthen and protect that infrastructure. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I will be happy to answer your questions.
 

Starships and Stripes Forever: An Examination of FAA’s Role in the Future of Spaceflight

STATEMENT OF
BRIGADIER GENERAL WAYNE R. MONTEITH, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE (RET.)
ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

BEFORE THE
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION
ON
COMMERCIAL SPACE REGULATION

June 16, 2021

Chair Larsen, Chair DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, Ranking Member Graves, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today to discuss the topic of commercial space regulation.  Commercial space activity is in the midst of a significant surge. The growth of the industry presents new challenges and opportunities as the technology evolves, and the number of industry participants expands.  The FAA is committed to keeping pace with the growth of commercial space transportation, while prioritizing safety and ensuring access for all users of the National Airspace System (NAS).

Commercial Space Overview

The FAA, through the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), licenses and permits the launch and reentry of commercial space vehicles consistent with public health and safety, safety of property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.  The mission AST carries out includes the responsibility to encourage, facilitate, and promote U.S. commercial space transportation.  These statutory objectives provide a framework that has resulted in an impressive safety record for a rapidly growing industry.  The FAA has licensed or permitted over 450 launches and reentries, none of which has led to any fatalities, serious injuries, or significant property damage to members of the public. 

The commercial space industry in the United States is dynamic, growing, and evolving.  To illustrate recent growth, during each of the fiscal years (FY) 2018 through 2020, the FAA licensed an average of over 30 launches/reentries of commercial space vehicles.  For FY 2021, we have already licensed 48 launches/reentries and expect significant growth in commercial launch activity beyond what we experienced over the last several years.  Or, put another way, a decade ago the FAA licensed just a single launch in 2011.  Five years ago, in 2016, the FAA licensed 11 launches, or about one per month.  This calendar year, the FAA is averaging more than one licensed launch per week.  As the industry continues to expand, the FAA has intensified its efforts to fulfill its commercial space mission, maintaining the highest level of safety without stifling industry growth. 

A Streamlined Commercial Space Regulatory Framework

In 2018, the FAA began its work to streamline launch and reentry regulations to create an environment that promotes economic growth, minimizes uncertainty, protects safety, security, and foreign policy interests, and facilitates American leadership in space commerce.  At that time, the existing commercial space regulatory framework was based largely on Federal launch standards that were developed in the 1990s or earlier, and were often overly prescriptive and a hindrance to innovation.  Further, the rules were neither streamlined, nor consolidated.  That regulatory structure may have satisfied the commercial space needs then, but the industry has changed substantially and continues to evolve.  After two and a half years of focused work, the FAA published a final rule on December 10, 2020, that consolidated, updated, and streamlined all launch and reentry regulations into a single performance-based part—14 CFR part 450—to better fit today's fast-evolving commercial space transportation industry.[1]  Part 450 includes regulations applicable to all launch and reentry vehicles, whether they have reusable components or not—a change from the prior framework.  The updated regulations align with the goals of creating an environment that does not hinder industry innovation and importantly, enhances safety objectives without prescribing specific solutions.  The commercial space industry provided extensive input during the public comment period for part 450, and we are pleased that initial reactions to the rule have been consistently positive.  Additionally, after the rule was released, the FAA held a 3-day workshop and offered one-on-one meetings with companies to familiarize them with the final rule.  Each operator who took advantage of these meetings conveyed that they were pleased with the final rule and appreciated our outreach efforts. 

While the launch and reentry regulations have been published for several months and became effective on March 21, 2021, our engagement with industry on the requirements of the rules continues.  AST has issued some advisory circulars to provide additional guidance on how to meet the requirements of part 450, and is developing more. We continue to engage with operators on specific aspects of part 450 compliance during pre-application consultations.  Many of the advisory circulars that we anticipate issuing will provide detailed guidance for the industry on recommended safety procedures and practices for minimizing hazards.  We expect that there will be launches licensed under part 450 in the near future. 

Other Regulatory Considerations

We are constantly analyzing the regulatory needs of the industry for both public safety reasons and to ensure that the commercial space regulatory framework is performance-based and does not inhibit the health and success of the industry.  In support of that effort, the FAA is revising the regulations applicable to orbital debris mitigation for launch and reentry operations.  As part of this work, we are evaluating appropriate national and international standards for orbital debris mitigation including evaluating the safety risks of uncontrolled reentries of space objects.  These evaluations will include considerations of the risks to both commercial aviation and people on the ground.     

Additionally, the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) has recommended that part 440—Financial Responsibility—be reviewed and considered for revision.  As part of our continuous review of the sufficiency of our commercial space regulations, we anticipate that a comprehensive analysis of this part would ensure that the right regulations with the right scope are in effect at the right time.  Such a review would help to ensure that the public has the appropriate protections and that industry has clarity and flexibility to achieve the regulatory performance objectives without unnecessary burdens. 

Part of AST’s responsibility is also to monitor commercial space transportation licensees to ensure they adhere to the conditions of their licenses and comply with the applicable regulatory and statutory requirements.  In this regard, the FAA has broad authority to suspend or revoke a license, and impose civil penalties if necessary.  The FAA takes our oversight responsibilities seriously to ensure licensees are in full compliance.

Office of Spaceports

Keeping up with an industry that is evolving rapidly is a challenge.  The pace at which the commercial space industry continues to change has resulted in an increase in both the complexity and the volume of the workload for AST.  Some of that complexity has required us to make structural changes to better execute our mission.  As this Committee knows, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 required us to identify within AST a centralized policy office to support launch and reentry sites and to generally support improvement of spaceports.  In response to that mandate, the Office of Spaceports was officially established in March 2020, and is functioning today.  AST is committed to removing barriers to competitiveness for spaceports and to helping ensure that the United States leads the world in space infrastructure.   The operation of the first non-Federal spaceport was licensed by the FAA in 1994, and there are currently 12 non-Federal spaceports across the United States licensed for launch or reentry operations.  A spaceport license is valid for 5 years and is renewable.  While the FAA considers many factors when reviewing an application for a spaceport license, two of the most important are public safety and environmental impact.  The FAA carries out a thorough and rigorous application review process to make sure we issue a license consistent with our mandate to protect public health and safety, safety of property, and the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States.

We recognize that spaceports have significant potential to become important economic hubs. For example, of the 47 FAA licensed launches this fiscal year, six have occurred at FAA licensed spaceports. As a result, the Office of Spaceports has taken action to share information on the capabilities of U.S. spaceports broadly. For example, in October 2020, we published a web-based spaceport directory outlining U.S. spaceport infrastructure and capabilities and the services provided by FAA licensed spaceports, Federal launch ranges, and private commercial spaceports.  This directory documents the capabilities of our nation’s network of spaceports for the commercial space transportation industry, as well as U.S. government space users, and may help to serve as a tool for the Office of Spaceports to identify future needs.

The Office of Spaceports is putting spaceports on the map.  Spaceports or “Space Launch Activity Areas” are denoted as rocket symbols on aeronautical sectional charts increasing aviator awareness of launch or reentry activities in their area.  The Office of Spaceports is also in the process of publishing additional instructional information about Space Launch Activity Areas in the FAA Airman’s Information Manual that will encourage aviators to check notices to airmen in these areas for additional launch or reentry specific information.  These efforts help to integrate space and aviation activities and increase overall safety of the NAS. 

The Office of Spaceports also facilitates FAA review and approval of space-related activities at FAA licensed spaceports to enable a stronger commercial space transportation industry.  These activities include rocket engine testing, flight corridor development for supersonic, hypersonic, and suborbital space activities, and beta testing of new space launch platforms for future use by the commercial space transportation industry.  Further, the Office of Spaceports works to facilitate commercial support for launches from Federal launch locations.  Finally, the Office of Spaceports is evaluating whether the FAA’s spaceport regulations (part 420 and 433) for launch and reentry sites should also be updated.

Integration of Commercial Space into the NAS

Of the many challenges AST faces, integration of commercial space into the NAS is a top priority.  Commercial space operations are currently treated as “special cases” in which air traffic controllers block off large sections of airspace for extended periods of time for a single launch.  Although this process is currently manageable, it is unsustainable in the long run given the expected growth in commercial space launches.  Moreover, the current process, while effective, is resource intensive and inefficient.  Launch teams voluntarily provide real-time information concerning the status of a launch or reentry vehicle either over the telephone or over an internet connection.  Under these limitations, launch teams can only support one mission at a time. 

In AST, we are actively working on solutions to address how commercial space will grow within the NAS alongside commercial and general aviation.  Our vision of spaceport operations is that they should be able to operate either co-located with airports or in close proximity to them.  To this end, we are working on multiple initiatives.  We worked with the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey to build the agency’s first dedicated commercial space integration lab for developing and prototyping technologies that will be leveraged towards enhancing commercial space operation awareness to better manage the NAS.  Additionally, AST continues its work with the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization on the Space Data Integrator technology.  This safety-based technology, which will automate the current manual processes, will enable the FAA to track a space mission’s progress as it flies through the airspace.  When deployed, this technology will enable the FAA to better manage the airspace that must be closed to other users and more quickly implement and release airspace restrictions as a mission progresses.  At the FAA, we recognize that our role is not just limited to the safety of the airspace—but to ensure equal access to it as well.  We are fully engaged in balancing the needs of all airspace users—including traditional manned aircraft, drones, commercial space transportation, and others.

Conclusion

In closing, the FAA is committed to effectively carrying out its responsibilities for public safety and the health of the commercial space transportation industry.  We will continue to assess our entire regulatory framework in light of the industry’s growth and look forward to working with Congress and industry to strike the appropriate balance.  This concludes my testimony, and I will be glad to answer any questions from the Committee.

[1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/10/2020-22042/streamlined-launch-and-reentry-license-requirements

President's FY2022 Budget Request for the Department of Transportation

TESTIMONY
THE HONORABLE PETER BUTTIGIEG
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

BEFORE THE
APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES
UNITED STATES SENATE

June 16, 2021

Chairman Schatz, Ranking Member Collins, and members of the Subcommittee: thank you for the opportunity to discuss the President’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget request for the Department of Transportation. I also want to thank the members of this subcommittee for your strong support of our Department and its programs, which help keep the American people safe every day.

The Department of Transportation plays a crucial role in maintaining and upgrading the infrastructure that powers our economy and keeps us moving. Yet, as we’ve seen in recent months, such as with the I-40 bridge shutdown, much of our infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. In some cases, we are relying on roads, bridges, railroads, ports, and waterway infrastructure built a century ago. In addition, our transportation infrastructure and systems are not sufficiently designed to mitigate or be resilient to the impacts of climate change. If we want to grow our economy, remain competitive, and address the climate crisis, we need to take swift and bold action.

At this moment of challenge and opportunity, President Biden’s first Fiscal Year 2022 budget request to Congress reflects that urgent need, as well as our values and priorities. The request includes $88 billion to support transportation priorities throughout the nation. These resources will enable the Department to continue funding its current portfolio of programs, while also revitalizing transit and rail, and making necessary improvements to our aviation infrastructure.

The President’s proposal also includes a funding request for the American Jobs Plan: a once-in-a-generation investment in repairing and transforming our infrastructure, which will create millions of good-paying jobs and keep our economy moving forward for decades to come.

It contains an additional $621 billion for long-overdue repairs and improvements for our highways, transit systems, rail, ports, aviation, and more. 

The details of the President’s budget request advance the vision of the American Jobs Plan, and underscore our commitment to key priorities: improving safety, building economic strength, addressing the climate crisis, advancing equity, and supporting innovation. 

Let me share some of the highlights of this budget request when it comes to transportation. 

As always, promoting safety for the hundreds of millions of Americans who rely on our transportation system is this Department’s “North Star.” And safety is embedded throughout this budget request.  

The President is requesting $18.5 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, including $17.4 million to strengthen Aviation Safety Oversight and begin addressing the requirements of the Aircraft Certification Safety and Accountability Act.

FAA will also receive $1 billion to improve the facilities that house the workforce and technology at the heart of our air traffic control system. Many of these facilities were built in the 1960s and are in dire need of replacement or repair. This funding will reduce the current backlog and help ensure our air traffic controllers have an efficient, modern workplace to carry out their mission of keeping the skies safe.

The budget also includes $246 million—over a $50 million increase—for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Programs. These programs help advance safety innovations to keep pace with the rapid development of vehicle electronics and automated driving systems. This funding will also help to mitigate carbon pollution, by enforcing the highest achievable fuel-economy standards and ensuring that alternative fuel vehicles are safe.

With respect to transit, the President’s request includes $2.5 billion for Capital Investment Grants—a $459 million increase—to accelerate existing transit projects and support new ones. These increases will help us advance cleaner vehicles, while creating jobs that benefit our economy.

The President’s budget includes $2.7 billion for Amtrak, representing a 35% increase. This support will accelerate track renewal, renovate aging stations, refresh the existing capital fleet, and help address maintenance backlogs throughout the system. Along with $625 million for a competitive new Passenger Rail Improvement, Modernization, and Expansion program—known as PRIME Grants—these investments will modernize passenger rail service and grow existing rail corridors throughout the country. 

To encourage innovative transportation projects that are tailored to fit local needs, the President’s request continues $1 billion in funding for the flexible and oversubscribed RAISE grants. This popular, competitive grant program provides much-needed federal funding to help localities that are working on innovative, modern infrastructure projects.

Finally, I want to mention the $110 million requested for a new “Thriving Communities” program that will establish a new office to help communities eliminate transportation barriers and improve access to jobs, schools, and businesses. This program aims to ensure that all Americans have access to fair, equitable, affordable transportation options.

These are just a few of the items in the President’s 2022 budget request, which, together with the American Jobs Plan, will help keep Americans safe and moving, make the necessary investments to tackle the climate crisis, and provide the foundation for economic prosperity. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today.  I look forward to answering your questions.

******

The American Jobs Plan: Infrastructure, Climate Change, and Investing in our Nation’s Future

Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing

“The American Jobs Plan: Infrastructure, Climate Change, and Investing in our Nation’s Future”

April 20, 2021

Testimony of U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

We are gathering at a moment in which our infrastructure situation calls both for urgent action and a long-term, strategic vision. As we speak, a climate crisis is already hurting Americans, and it will continue to get far worse if we don’t act. And in this moment, we need to add back millions of jobs to fully recover from the pandemic, even as we build a stronger foundation for the economic future. 

It is in this context that we see the American Jobs Plan as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet this consequential moment and win the future for the country we all serve.   

The plan will improve more than 20,000 miles of roads and 10,000 bridges. It will strengthen aviation, ports, and waterways. It will address critical backlogs in rail and expand world-class passenger rail services, including high-speed rail. It has dedicated funds for projects that will have significant benefits to the regional or national economy but are too large or complex for existing funding programs. 

The American Jobs Plan will fix and modernize our transportation system so that our economy—and our country—can thrive. That means finally addressing the inequities of our past transportation, and by increasing access and equity in projects going forward. And that means tackling the climate crisis. 

In the United States, the transportation sector is the economy's single biggest contributor to greenhouse gases - which means it can and must be a big part of the solution to climate change. The American Jobs Plan will move us away from our over-reliance on fossil fuels and towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It will spark an electric vehicle revolution, building a network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers across the country—in urban and rural areas—and providing rebates to make electric vehicles affordable for more Americans. 

The plan will double federal funding for public transit, making it a more reliable and accessible option to more people. And by investing billions to make travel safer for all Americans, whether they move by car, public transit, foot, bike, wheelchair, or any other means, it will reduce congestion on the road and pollution in the air.

We draw inspiration from the New Deal’s infrastructure projects and President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System, but we cannot afford to rely on the original version of the roads, bridges, and airports they built all those years ago. The need for new investment is impossible to ignore. We see it in the sections of California’s Highway 1 that fell into the ocean; in the Gulf Coast flooding that halted rail service after Hurricane Harvey; and in the loss of subway service for millions of New Yorkers after Hurricane Sandy. We see it in the storms on our coasts, the floods in the Midwest, the wildfires in California and the deadly snowstorm in Texas. We must adapt.  Our proposed resilience investments would support projects across America that reinforce, upgrade or realign existing transportation infrastructure to better withstand extreme weather events and other effects of climate change.

I have heard it said that the American Jobs Plan should be about roads and bridges but should not address climate change. I would compare that to drawing up plans for a new restaurant with no consideration for health, safety, or cleanliness. The truth is that every infrastructure decision is already, inevitably a climate decision as well. Our choices on roads, bridges, and other infrastructure must recognize and reduce the very real threat that climate change poses to American lives and livelihoods.

This is also our opportunity to deliver equity where it has been denied in the past, which is why at least 40% of the benefits of the plan’s climate investments will flow to overburdened and underserved communities, who often bear a disproportionate burden of transportation pollution.

And yes, this is fundamentally an investment in our economy. The time has come to break the old, false framework of "climate versus jobs."

After all, American workers are going to do the work rebuilding roads, laying new cables and pipes, retrofitting buildings, installing electric vehicle chargers, and manufacturing the vehicles that will use those electric chargers. 

In fact, this is the biggest American jobs investment since World War II. It will support millions of new, prevailing wage jobs, the majority of which will be available to people without a college degree.

The American Jobs Plan is a chance to empower America's workers, secure our climate, and restore America's leadership position in an increasingly competitive world. It’s our chance to build a future where transportation inspires dreams and not dread, a source of opportunity rather than a constraint on the budgets and livelihoods of American workers and families.

American livelihoods rise or fall based on infrastructure choices that reverberate for decades. This plan is how the generations now in charge can make good on our responsibility to keep the American dream alive for the generation now coming of age and those to follow.

I look forward to working with members of the Committee to make that possible. Thank you again for the opportunity to appear today. I will be happy to answer your questions.

The Administration’s Priorities for Transportation Infrastructure

Testimony of Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation
Before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the Administration’s priorities for transportation infrastructure.  I am grateful for the committee’s longstanding leadership on this issue and for continuing this important conversation at today’s hearing.

I believe we have – at this moment – the best chance in any of our lifetimes to make a generational investment in infrastructure that will help us meet our country’s most pressing challenges today and create a stronger future for decades to come.

Our country is now emerging from a pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 535,000 Americans. Relief is on the way thanks to the President’s American Rescue Plan passed by Congress, but there is near universal recognition that a broader recovery will require a national commitment to fix and transform America’s infrastructure. 

There are good reasons why infrastructure has such strong bipartisan support.  Every citizen, regardless of political affiliation, shares the need for reliable roads, railways, and air transportation. We all live with the damage that has been caused by a history of disinvestment and the resulting unmet needs that are only growing by the day.

Across the country, we face a trillion-dollar backlog of needed repairs and improvements, with hundreds of billions of dollars in good projects already in the pipeline. We see other countries pulling ahead of us, with consequences for strategic and economic competition. By some measures, China spends more on infrastructure every year than the U.S. and Europe combined.  The infrastructure status quo is a threat to our collective future. We face an imperative to create resilient infrastructure and confront inequities that have devastated communities.

Right now, nearly 40,000 Americans die on our roads annually, millions live in communities isolated or divided by missing or misplaced infrastructure, and millions of Americans don’t have access to affordable transportation options to get around. Before the pandemic, commuting times were getting longer for average Americans while their housing and transportation costs soared. And, without action, it will only get worse.

In the United States, transportation is the leading contributor to climate change, contributing to a pattern of extreme weather events, which takes a severe toll on our infrastructure. Every dollar we spend rebuilding from a climate-driven disaster is a dollar we could have spent building a more competitive, modern, and resilient transportation system that produces significantly lower emissions.

It doesn’t have to be this way.  Wise transportation investments are key to making the American Dream accessible for all, leading our global competitors in innovation, getting people and goods where they need to be, creating good jobs – jobs that are union or pay prevailing wages – and tackling our climate crisis.

Just like those who summoned the will to build the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s and the interstate highway system in the 1950s, we too have the opportunity now to imagine—and create—a different future for America’s transportation. 

I know that expectations have been raised before when it comes to major moves in American infrastructure. But now, in this season, we can turn aspirations into action.

Now is the time to create millions of good jobs – for American workers, to help communities and businesses – big and small, rural and urban – to compete and win in the global economy. 

Now is the time – to clear the backlog and repair our highways, roads, bridges, maritime ports, and airports, to enhance freight and passenger rail, and to provide accessible public transit and mobility options for all.

Now is the time to redouble our commitment to transportation reliability and safety and ensure that families will no longer have to mourn tragic deaths that could have been prevented.

Now is the time to finally address major inequities—including those caused by highways that were built through Black and Brown communities, decades of disinvestment that left small towns and rural main streets stranded, and the disproportionate pollution burden from trucks, ports, and other facilities.

Now is the time to improve the air we breathe and tackle the climate crisis by moving the U.S. to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, building a national EV charging network, and investing in transit, transit-oriented development, sustainable aviation, and resilient infrastructure.

Taking my lead from President Biden and Vice President Harris, I stand ready to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to deliver an infrastructure package that meets this consequential moment and ensures a future worthy of our great nation. 

This is what Americans deserve.  And this is what we can deliver if we seize this moment together.

Thank you again for inviting me to be here today, and I look forward to your questions.

Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and Related Agencies

TESTIMONY
THE HONORABLE PETER BUTTIGIEG
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

BEFORE THE
APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 15, 2021

Chairman Price, Ranking Member Diaz-Balart, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today, and for your strong support of the Department of Transportation and its vital mission.

We find ourselves in a moment of enormous challenge as well as tremendous opportunity. In this context, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which is already helping defeat the pandemic and get people back on their feet.

But we still have much more work to do if America is going to win the future.

I’d like to start by discussing our FY 22 Budget Request, which funds vital priorities for the coming year, and then turn to American Jobs Plan, which is a generational investment in American competitiveness.

The President’s 2022 Budget requests $25.6 billion in discretionary funding for the Department. As you know, this amount represents only about 30 percent of the agency’s total resources. The planned mandatory spending will be released with the full budget in coming months. For now, let me share some highlights of this initial discretionary request, consistent with our priorities: safety, equity, addressing climate change, transformational investment, and economic strength.

The Capital Investment Grant Program has become increasingly popular throughout the country, supporting communities of all sizes as they work to build transit networks. Our discretionary request includes $2.5 billion for Capital Investment Grants.

$2.7 billion is requested for Amtrak, as well as $625 million to help modernize passenger rail service and expand existing rail corridors.

The President’s budget continues the successful and oversubscribed BUILD competitive grant program, with $1 billion requested for these innovative projects. Just recently, we made the FY 2021 funding available, renaming the program as Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) to reflect our current priorities.

Finally, $110 million is requested for a new “Thriving Communities” program to help eliminate transportation barriers and increase access to jobs, businesses, and schools.

This budget request supports many needed and important investments, and it aligns well with our longer-term goals.

But it is only part of the administration’s vision for this moment.

If America simply returns to where we were before the pandemic, we will not win the future. Even before COVID, our infrastructure had fallen to thirteenth globally with a trillion dollar backlog of needed repairs. Nor is our current transportation sector built for the realities of the climate crisis.

Building back better means restoring and improving the foundation that enables Americans to thrive: our American infrastructure.

Two weeks ago in Pittsburgh, President Biden laid out his vision for a once-in-a-century investment. The American Jobs Plan would provide a more than $2.25 trillion investment in American infrastructure, including $621 billion for transportation and resilience.

The plan includes $115 billion to modernize more than 20,000 miles of roads, and 10,000 bridges. It will double federal funding for public transit to provide affordable transportation options for more communities and reduce congestion and pollution for everyone. It includes $25 billion to improve aviation, $17 billion for ports and waterways, and $20 billion for road safety. It proposes $80 billion to address critical backlogs in rail and to expand world-class passenger rail services including high-speed rail.

It includes $174 billion to help spark the electric vehicle revolution, building a network of 500,000 charging stations, providing rebates to make electric vehicles affordable for more Americans, and accelerating the conversion of our transportation system towards zero emissions.

We will rebuild our infrastructure in a way that not only is more resilient, but actually helps fight climate change. And 40% of the benefits of those climate and clean infrastructure investments will flow to communities that have been overburdened and underserved.

Now is the time to finally address major inequities—with $20 billion to reconnect neighborhoods cut off by past transportation decisions —and to increase access and equity in projects going forward.

The American Jobs Plan will modernize how we travel, how we move goods, and how we live. It will make transformative investments, turning “shovel worthy” ideas into “shovel ready” projects, and seeing them to completion.

It will support millions of new, good jobs, the majority of which will be available to Americans without a college degree.

America has delivered big infrastructure visions before, building the Erie Canal, the transcontinental railroad, and the Interstate Highway System.

Those projects shaped our country, succeeding partly because each of them challenged America to expand its concept of infrastructure and deliver a better future.

Now it’s our turn to build a safer, fairer, more prosperous America. If we meet this moment together, I believe we will one day look back with great pride on the decisions made in this critical season in the life of our country.

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear today. I will be happy to answer your questions, and I look forward to working with you.

*****

Examining the Federal Aviation Administration’s Oversight of Aircraft Certification

STATEMENT OF STEPHEN M. DICKSON
ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
EXAMINING THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION’S 
OVERSIGHT OF AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION

JUNE 17, 2020

Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Cantwell, and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for inviting me here today to speak with you about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) oversight of aircraft certification and to provide you with an update concerning the Boeing 737 MAX.  At the outset, on behalf of the United States Department of Transportation and everyone at the FAA, I would like to acknowledge, as we have before, the families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air accidents and extend, once again, our continued deepest sympathies and condolences to them.  These tragic accidents should not have happened, and thus underscore and reaffirm the seriousness with which we approach aviation safety every day. We want the families, and the world, to know that we continue to work tirelessly to see that the lessons learned from these accidents will result in a higher margin of safety for the aviation industry globally.
Before I continue to the focus of this hearing, I want to digress for a moment to address some of the challenges the aviation industry has faced during the ongoing public health emergency.  Aviation employees have worked diligently these past months — despite the risks to themselves — to safely transport supplies and passengers at a time when our nation has needed them.

Secretary Chao and the Department of Transportation have been clear that passengers should wear face coverings while traveling by air, for their own protection and the protection of those around them.   Face coverings are especially important in situations where social distancing is not feasible.  This comes as a health guideline from the agency responsible for public health, the CDC.

Of course, across the transportation system every mode is different.  But when it comes to air travel, the DOT and the FAA expect the traveling public to follow airline crew directions and policies, which are in place for passenger protection and the health of air crews, and to take very seriously the precautions recommended by the CDC and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).  As we move through the phases of reopening, the FAA will continue to support airlines and their front-line employees as they implement these CDC guidelines.  And we will continue to apply our aviation expertise to help lead efforts with other Federal agencies, with industry, and with our international partners to address public health risk in the air transportation system, both internationally and here in the United States.

I would also like to add that despite the public health challenges associated with COVID-19, our commitment to aviation safety has never wavered and our air transportation system remains safe, resilient, and flexible, thanks to the sustained focus and hard work of aviation professionals in the FAA and industry.

Status of the 737 MAX Return-to-Service

Safety is the core of the FAA’s mission and is our first priority.  We are working diligently so that accidents like the ones that occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia—resulting in the tragic loss of 346 lives—do not occur again.  The FAA continues to follow a thorough process for returning the 737 MAX to service.  As we have stated many times in the past, this process is not guided by a calendar or schedule.  Safety is the driving consideration.  I unequivocally support the dedicated professionals of the FAA in continuing to adhere to a data-driven, methodical analysis, review, and validation of the modified flight control systems and pilot training required to safely return the 737 MAX to commercial service. I have directed FAA employees to take the time needed to do that work.

With respect to our international partners, the FAA clearly understands its responsibilities as the aviation safety regulator for the State of Design for the 737 MAX.  Last fall, we met with more than 50 foreign civil aviation officials, all of whom have provided input to the FAA.  We have continued to have regular dialogue with them during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Each respective nation will make its own decision for clearing the 737 MAX for flight, however, we are also conducting and planning additional outreach activities to engage with our international partners, including providing support on return-to-service issues; maintaining transparency through communication and information sharing; and scheduling meetings for technical discussions.

As I have stated before, the FAA’s return-to-service decision on the 737 MAX will rest solely on the FAA’s analysis of the data to determine whether Boeing’s proposed software updates and pilot training address the known issues for grounding the aircraft.  The FAA fully controls the approval process for the flight control systems and is not delegating anything to Boeing.  The FAA will even retain authority to issue airworthiness certificates and export certificates of airworthiness for all new 737 MAX airplanes manufactured since the grounding.  When the 737 MAX is returned to service, it will be because the safety issues have been addressed and pilots have received all of the training they need to safely operate the aircraft.

Actions that must still take place before the aircraft will return to service include a certification flight test and completion of work by the Joint Operations Evaluation Board (JOEB), which includes the FAA and our international partners from Canada, Europe, and Brazil.  The JOEB will evaluate pilot training needs using line pilots of various experience levels from both U.S. carriers as well as international carriers.  The FAA’s Flight Standardization Board for the Boeing 737 will issue a report addressing the findings of the JOEB, and the report will be made available for public review and comment.  Additionally, the FAA will review all final design documentation, which also will be reviewed by the multi-agency Technical Advisory Board (TAB), made up of FAA Chief Scientists and experts from the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.

The FAA will issue a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community providing notice of pending significant safety actions and will publish an Airworthiness Directive advising operators of required corrective actions.  I will not sign off on the aircraft until all FAA technical reviews are complete, I fly it myself using my experience as an Air Force and commercial pilot, and I am satisfied that I would put my own family on it without a second thought.

Oversight of Aircraft Certification

Safety is a journey, not a destination—a journey we undertake each and every day with humility.  Today’s unprecedented U.S. safety record was built on the willingness of aviation professionals to embrace hard lessons and to proactively seek continuous improvement.  The FAA both welcomes and recognizes the importance of scrutiny of our processes and procedures.  In addition to this Committee’s work and other congressional reviews, several independent reviews have been initiated to look at different aspects of the 737 MAX certification and the FAA’s certification and delegation processes generally.

The unprecedented Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR), commissioned by the FAA, was the first review to be completed and entailed the participation of nine other civil aviation authorities joining the FAA to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the certification of the automated flight control system on the 737 MAX.  The JATR was chaired by former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Christopher Hart and was comprised of a team of experts from the FAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the aviation authorities of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.  Never before have 10 authorities come together to conduct this type of review.  The JATR provided its unvarnished and independent review and we appreciated their recommendations when they were released this past fall.

The FAA has also received recommendations from the NTSB and the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee’s (KNKT) accident report on Lion Air Flight 610. Earlier this year, the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority released an interim accident report on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, with recommendations.  Further, the Secretary of Transportation’s Special Committee to Review the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Process released its recommendations in January of this year.  The Special Committee was established to advise and provide recommendations to the Department on policy-level topics related to aircraft certification.

The FAA recently shared with Congress its Action Plan in response to the recommendations of the Special Committee.  The plan discusses in depth the FAA’s actions, both planned and underway, to address the recommendations.  Importantly, the FAA developed its plan not solely in response to the Special Committee recommendations, but also in the context of the other recommendations received from the JATR, NTSB, and KNKT, as well as FAA’s own findings. The actions described in the FAA’s Action Plan are responsive to all recommendations received and apply to the entirety of the FAA’s approach to aircraft certification.  The plan reflects the FAA’s commitment to improving our certification process domestically, and to improving aviation safety globally.  We believe that transparency, open and honest communication, and our willingness to improve our systems and processes are the keys to restoring public trust in the FAA and in the safety of the 737 MAX when it is returned to service.

Moving Forward

Beyond the 737 MAX, the FAA is committed to addressing issues regarding aircraft certification processes and aviation safety generally, not only in the United States, but internationally as well.  Over the years, the FAA has exercised a leadership role in the promotion and development of global aviation safety.  We have helped raise the bar on safety standards and practices worldwide working with the ICAO and other civil aviation authorities.  We have an opportunity to do even more.  We are committed to expanding our efforts with other authorities around the world and to fostering safety standards and policies at ICAO to help meet the public’s expectations of the highest possible levels of safety globally, even in areas the FAA does not regulate directly.  Without safety as a foundation, we cannot have a vibrant aviation industry in any country, much less between countries.  Our international air transportation network is a tightly woven fabric that is dependent on all of us making safety our core value.  To that end, at the 40th Session of the ICAO Assembly the U.S. presented a working paper, Pilot Training Improvements to Address Automation Dependency, with several of our international partners.  The paper was accepted and in May of this year we were able to get it included in an ICAO proposal on the establishment of a Personnel Training and Licensing Panel which will be considered in July.

In our continuing efforts to raise the bar for aviation safety across the globe, it will be important for the FAA and our international partners to foster improvements in standards and approaches not just for how aircraft are designed and produced, but also how they are maintained and operated.  We at the FAA are prepared to take the lead in this new phase of system safety.   As noted in our Action Plan responding to the recommendations of the Special Committee our actions will address specific areas of focus including, safety management systems, system safety, globalization, data, internal coordination between certification and flight standards teams, personnel, delegation, amended type certificates, innovation, and existing recommendations.  Our strategy to implement these action items will coalesce around several major themes discussed briefly below.

Holistic Approach

In the context of aircraft certification, a holistic approach means that an aircraft system includes the aircraft itself with all of its subsystems, including the flight crew.  The aircraft is not a collection of parts or systems, but should be viewed as a whole. A holistic approach to aircraft certification would not rely upon item-by-item reviews in isolation, but would take into account the interactions and interdependencies between all systems and the crew.  Such an approach would link all safety requirements for type certification to other aspects of safe operation including, for example, pilot training and operational performance.

Human Factors

Human factors considerations are an important part of the machine design process, which will need to take into account safety and performance levels of human users.  As aircraft systems become more complex and the level of automation increases, the integration of human factors into the design of aircraft will be increasingly important.   Human factors considerations must include trained and qualified personnel who will be responsible for operating and maintaining these increasingly safe and complex aircraft.

Workforce of the Future

In order to meet the safety needs of a rapidly evolving aerospace system, the FAA will need to recruit, hire, maintain, and retain a workforce with the necessary technical expertise, capabilities, and adaptability.  Our efforts must ensure that we are able to hire and retain the right people with the right skills and mindset, engaged at the right time, with systemic coordination between certification and operational suitability.

Information and Coordinated Data Flow

Ensuring a coordinated and flexible flow of information during any oversight process is critical.  In the context of aviation safety, the concept of sharing information cuts across many initiatives that the FAA continues to examine for potential expansion.  These include the following important categories, all of which are part of the broader information and data flow theme:

1. Safety Management Systems. Safety Management Systems (SMS) establish a commitment, in this case on the part of the manufacturer, to continually improving safety. SMS identifies and manages risk and provides safety assurance by continually evaluating risk controls and by creating a positive safety culture within a workforce. Integrating a safety management system into the processes for design and production, as well as operations, enables insight into the connections and interrelationship between systems.
2. Big Data. The FAA must continue leaning into our role as a data-driven, risk-based, decision-making oversight organization that prioritizes safety above all else.  We do that by breaking down silos between organizations and implementing programs like SMS supported by compliance programs and informed by data.  We look at the aviation ecosystem as a whole, including how all the parts interact: aircraft, weather, pilots, engineers, flight attendants, technicians, mechanics, dispatchers, air traffic controllers, safety inspectors, training programs, certification, passengers—everyone and everything in the operating environment.  This includes building upon the successes we have had collaborating with industry and implementing voluntary safety information sharing programs.  In the broader context of the overall importance of data to a safety regulator such as the FAA, we are examining the data we have, identifying data we may need, and looking for new methods to analyze and integrate data to increase safety.
3. Just Culture. In addition to the technical work required for truly integrated data, a key enabler of a data-driven safety organization is a healthy and robust reporting culture.  A good safety culture produces the data needed to understand what’s actually happening.  If we know about safety concerns and we know where threats are coming from and how errors are occurring, we can mitigate the risks and fix the processes that led to those errors.  A good safety culture demands that we infuse that safety data into all of our processes from top to bottom—in a continuous loop.  To be successful, a safety organization relies on a Just Culture that places great value on front-line employees and empowers those involved in the operation to raise and report safety concerns in a timely, systematic way, without fearing retaliation.  A Just Culture starts at the top.  It’s something leadership has to nurture, encourage, and support everywhere in the organization.  Employees have to see the results, see what the data is showing, and see how the organization is using analytic tools to identify concerns and errors and put actions in place to mitigate them.  Employees and organizations need to see results that come from leveraging safety data and technical expertise into a safer operation.

Initial Action

As we move ahead to implement these strategies, we have developed a budget request to address specific related needs.  For example, the FY 2021 President’s Budget requests funding to recruit additional specialized skilled employees, such as more human factors experts and software engineers.  The request would also fund a new system that tracks employee training, qualifications, and certifications to ensure our aviation safety workforce has the skills and knowledge required to execute our oversight functions.  This action addresses some of the findings of this committee’s investigatory work that has assisted in pointing out inconsistencies with our tracking systems.

Consistent with Congressional direction, the budget request will support our new office to oversee Organization Designation Authorization (ODA). While the ODA program has been in place since 2005, the creation of a single office supports standardized outcomes and improvements across the ODA program.  Further, the budget request will support improvements to voluntary information sharing programs such as Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) and the Aviation Safety Reporting Program. These programs are critical tools in the FAA’s toolbox, facilitating the collection of safety data that allows the FAA to identify trends and improve upon aviation safety.  Each of these requests provide a snapshot of our concerted effort to continually improve aviation safety.

Conclusion

Aviation’s hard lessons and the hard work in response to those lessons—from both government and industry—have paved the way to creating a global aviation system with an enviable safety record.  But as I mentioned earlier, safety is a journey, not a destination.  We have achieved unprecedented levels of safety in the United States.  Yet what we have done in the past and what we are doing now is not good enough for the future in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.  We must build on the lessons learned, and we must never allow ourselves to become complacent.

The United States has been, and will continue to be, the global leader in aviation safety.  We are confident that continuing to approach this task with a spirit of humility, openness, hard work, and transparency will bolster aviation safety worldwide.

This concludes my statement.  I will be glad to answer your questions.