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March 20, 2009
HOUSE LEADERS QUESTION FAA CERTIFICATION POLICY CHANGES
PASS Testifies at Subcommittee Hearing Regarding Policy and Modernization
On March 17, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Aviation Subcommittee Chair Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) sent a letter to the Department of Transportation Inspector General (IG) requesting an investigation into the FAA's changes to its certification policy. For years, the criteria established by FAA policy have stated that all National Airspace System (NAS) systems, subsystems and services directly affecting the flying public will be certified. However, in a drastic change to the policy effective September 2007, the agency altered the criteria to state that only FAA-owned systems, subsystems and services will be certified. With this change, the FAA is actually prohibiting certification of systems it does not own regardless of their criticality to the safety of the NAS. The first system impacted by this change is one of the cornerstones of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system.
"We are concerned that these changes [to the certification program] have the potential to reduce the FAA's visibility into the quality and performance of key systems," said the two chairmen in the letter to the IG. Oberstar and Costello have requested that the IG conduct an assessment of the changes to the certification program and determine the implications of allowing private contractors overall responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of aviation systems.
"PASS commends Chairs Oberstar and Costello for their recognition of and swift action on this critical issue," said PASS National President Tom Brantley. "PASS believes that the FAA is attempting to eliminate inherently governmental functions in order to justify handing over the NAS to private contractors. We will continue to work with members of Congress and the IG in order to ensure a thorough investigation."
The chairmen's letter came on the eve of a hearing before the House Aviation Subcommittee on the FAA's progress in modernizing the air traffic control system. During opening statements, Oberstar and Costello reiterated their questions regarding the changes to the certification policy. Oberstar, after noting that "the Bush Administration appeared to delegate an enormous amount of responsibility to the private sector for the development and implementation of NextGen," expressed concern that "potential over-reliance on contractors could lead to the FAA's loss of objectivity, impinging on its ability to adequately evaluate how the system is performing and how the public is being served."
"In the past, I have stated that the FAA cannot let over reliance on its contractors compromise its objectivity with regard to contractor's performance or the protection of consumers," added Costello. "Given that major NextGen acquisitions, such as ADS-B, will not be owned or operated by the FAA, I am particularly concerned that this policy change could potentially weaken the government's oversight of key systems."
PASS testified at the hearing and expressed concerns over the certification changes in addition to commenting on several key issues that have the potential to impact the successful implementation of NextGen, including involvement of stakeholders in modernization efforts and the staffing and training of the FAA technical workforce. "PASS and the employees we represent welcome modernization of the system and advancements in technology, as long as it is accomplished in a manner that preserves the safety and integrity of the system," stated Brantley. A copy of PASS's testimony in addition to the letter to the IG from Oberstar and Costello is available on the PASS website at www.passnational.org.
FY 2009 OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS ACT BECOMES LAW
On March 11, President Barack Obama signed into law the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-8; H.R. 1105), which will fund the federal government through September 30. The massive spending package includes funding for government agencies that have been operating under a continuing resolution and funds the Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies at $108.7 billion, which includes FAA funding. The bill appropriates $9 billion for FAA operations, which is $44 million above the budget request and $302 million above the FY 2008 enacted levels. Within the operations account, the Air Transportation Organization (ATO) is funded at $7.1 billion, which is $20 million over the requested amount. The omnibus funds facilities and equipment (F&E) at $2.7 billion, which is $18.6 million above the budget request and $228 million above the FY 2008 enacted level. Highlights of the omnibus critical to PASS include the following items:
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The report directs the FAA to carefully monitor the size and capability of the FAA technical workforce and to maintain the staffing levels agreed upon by PASS and the FAA as being the minimum number of technicians needed to safety maintain the system.
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Within the amount appropriated to the ATO, $39 million is included for RNAV/RNP procedures. The report directs the FAA to include a section for performance-based navigation programs in future budget submissions and to provide semiannual reports on the number of procedures developed, average cost and steps taken to streamline the procedural approval process.
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The act provides $1.2 billion for aviation safety, which is an increase of $33.7 million over the budget request and $83 million over the FY 2008 enacted levels. The amount includes $16.9 million to annualize safety personnel in Flight Standards (FS) and Aircraft Certification (AIR) and no less than $10 million to increase aviation safety staff. Out of this amount, $8 million is directed for additional FS inspectors and $2 million for AIR inspectors and related staff. The report includes several items related to inspector staffing including:
- Directing the secretary to continue to provide an annual report on aviation safety employment data detailing inspector losses and gains from the beginning of FY 2009 until March 31, 2009
- Directing the FAA to establish a working group, including safety inspectors, to develop a benchmark to measure how much time inspectors spend in the field
- Requesting that the Inspector General (IG) examine the Air Transportation Oversight System (ATOS) and verify that ATOS field data is sent to FAA headquarters, describe the agency's analysis of that data and evaluate the effectiveness of the FAA's use of that data
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The report directs the FAA to conduct an analysis of the current air traffic control system compared to the planned Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and include with the FY 2010 budget a list of capabilities to be achieved by 2017 and their estimated costs. The act funds the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system at $300 million and states that the FAA is expected to be attentive to the operations and technical concerns raised by the IG.
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The omnibus also contains language regarding competitive sourcing including a new reprogramming notification requirement that prevents agencies from contracting out or privatizing any functions or activities currently performed by federal employees unless both Appropriations committees are notified 15 days in advance. In addition, the legislation includes guidelines on insourcing new and contracted out functions that would require agencies to develop plans for considering whether federal employees can do any new work and even perform work that contractors are currently doing. Agencies are required to finish these guidelines four months from the date of enactment.
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Also of interest to PASS members, the legislation includes a provision that stipulates a nonreduction in pay for federal employees, including FAA employees, serving in the uniformed services or National Guard. This section entitles an employee serving in uniformed services or the National Guard a salary equal to the amount of basic pay that would have been payable to the employee if he or she had not been called to service.
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