Chicago City Wire

On April 26, 2023 , U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), Ranking Member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee, questioned Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Billy Nolen about the impact of potential funding cuts and ongoing efforts to reduce airplane noise. As Co-chair of the Quiet Skies Caucus, Quigley expressed concern about the adverse health impacts airplane noise has on constituents in his district. Quigley also questioned Nolen about the ramifications of funding cuts for air traffic control staffing and air passenger safety. Quigley’s questions came during a hearing held by the THUD Subcommittee on the FY 2024 budget request for FAA.

For years, Quigley has been pressing the FAA to further examine ways to mitigate O'Hare Airport noise pollution. Specifically, he has pushed them to study whether the 65 Day-Night Average Sound level (DNL) threshold is the appropriate level for measuring aviation noise exposure and representative of the impact in communities around O'Hare and other airports. In the House's fiscal year 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, Quigley secured four provisions to combat aircraft noise.

Video of Quigley’s opening remarks at the hearing is available HERE. Video of Quigley’s questions for Acting Administrator Nolen is available HERE.

Quigley’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery are available below:

Thank you, Chairman and welcome Acting Administrator Nolen.

I want to first take the time to thank you for your service. Not only in your capacity as a pilot in the commercial aviation industry, but in your advocacy for aviation safety.

You have led the FAA under uncertain and difficult circumstances the last year and I appreciate your unrelenting commitment throughout.

Today we are here to examine how the fiscal year 2024 President’s budget request advances aviation safety and improves our national airspace system. 

Each day the FAA provides service to more than 45,000 flights, serving 2.9 million travelers daily. Chicago O’Hare, located in my district, sees more than 72 thousand passengers on average each day, with flights operating out of more than 190 gates and across 8 runways.

O’Hare is more than a place to connect business and leisure travelers to the world, it is an economic hub, helping move goods around the international marketplace.

O’Hare also houses 220 businesses which provide food, beverage and retail services to passengers and more than 40,000 workers.

Thousands of airports across the national airspace system, including O’Hare, are now starting to feel confident in their ongoing recovery from the devastating impacts of COVID-19.

Air travel is projected to increase by nearly 10 percent this year, which means aviation safety, workforce readiness, and airport infrastructure must be state of the art.

We must not forget the lives that were taken from the devastating Boeing MAX accidents, the recent grounding of the national airspace system, and near-misses on our airport runways.

And consumers too often have to bear the burden of flight cancellations, delays, and inconveniences of choice policies. 

While we have made advancements to our national airspace system through efforts like NextGen and aircraft certification, funding the sustainment and modernization of the Notice to Airmen System (or NO-TEM), and investing in navigation aids, more can and must be done.

Moving the needle on sustainable aviation fuel research, noise and emissions reduction, and technological improvements also require our attention and resources.

Central to these advancements is the need for a robust workforce. 

Every product and process within the national airspace system requires a person to certify, navigate, operate, or rapidly respond. 

This is especially true for our air traffic controllers, who we rely on to manage our airspace and keep travelers safe.

I support the budget request to hire and train an additional 1,800 controllers, which builds on the 1,500 new controllers we supported in the 2023 bill.

As the aviation industry rapidly changes, the FAA needs the support of Congress to keep pace and set the standards for global aviation.  This requires cooperation among many partners across the globe and a signal to the world that we are willing to invest in our own aviation system.

This Subcommittee has increased funding for the FAA over the past several years, and in a year where we hope to see a FAA reauthorization passed through Congress, it is critical we continue to provide critical investments.

It is our duty to continue to help the FAA modernize its air traffic control system, improve efficiency, transition legacy equipment into modern platforms, and develop a highly skilled workforce.

I believe that the budget before us does just that.

I look forward to learning more in-depth about the proposed solutions within the budget request and ways we can support the advancement of FAA.

Again, thank you for being here today and I look forward to hearing your testimony.

Original source can be found here.