FAA gets kudos, boos at Senate hearing

Senate Commerce Aviation Subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said Thursday she was "pleased" with the progress that the Federal Aviation Administration and airline industry officials are taking to address flight delays and congestion.

"It's bad out there; passengers are fed up," Hutchison said at a hearing.

On May 24, the full committee is set to mark up a bill introduced by Hutchison to provide limited antitrust immunity for airports to coordinate flight schedules, boost the salary cap for the FAA's chief operating officer and streamline environmental reviews in order to make infrastructure improvements at airports.

"My bill ... is a clear solution that will move the ball forward. Air traffic control is not a political issue, it's a technical issue," Hutchison said. "My hope is we will get this bill out of committee and be able to go to the floor very quickly."

Noting that her bill's "most important objective" is to build more capacity, Hutchison urged the FAA and the airlines to partner in finding more efficient uses of airspace, and applauded FAA Administrator Jane Garvey for her efforts in that area.

But Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., was less congenial, and fumed at Garvey over what he described as a culture of complacency on FAA's part with respect to updating air traffic control technologies.

"Nobody seems to be accountable to anyone," Burns said. "They just don't seem to give a damn."

Garvey defended her agency, but said she "take[s] seriously comments about accountability." Burns nonetheless warned that Congress might have "to step in and organize [things]. Them foot draggers just have to go--how you get rid of them, I don't know--but we'll find a way."