Feel burdened with expensive effort of implementing changes that wont yield direct benefits for many years to come. This situation has led policymakers to question whether the current atc structure is best suited for the task at hand the longstanding difficulties of modernization on one reason to consider reform to the systems reliance on annual transportation appropriations and the vagaries of the political process make longterm planning for system capitalization management of the footprint difficult and probably more costly and the faa will always face challenges attracting and retaining the talent needed to drive major technological change when i must compete with cuttingedge businesses in the private sector. To address the challenges we must consider if theres a better way to deliver atc services for the traveling public and airspace users and im open to considering all ideas. Faa is a great record of safety regulators something that regulators something though continuous air Traffic Control services were moved out of the faa. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about what reform of our system might look like and how reform could serve the needs of all airspace users. To be sure the matters we discussed today are part of a larger effort on reauthorization where we will address a host of other important issues. Im looking forward to working with Ranking Member nelson is well a senators ailing camp on members of the committee to end such legislation. Lastly i want to stress their interest about atc modernization are not focused only on the current leadership team. As i mentioned before seems clear there are structural limitations that impeded success over the years principle is the key question is whether we were to build an air Traffic Control system from scratch today would we necessarily conform to the old strictures or strike a better path . I look forward to this discussion i want to turn to my colleague senator nelson the Ranking Member for his opening remarks. Thank you mr. Chairman and senator thune joins me to acknowledge the families of those lost on colvin air flight 3407. Your presence here is a reminder of how much is at stake with the safe operation of our Aviation System so thank you for being here. Obviously we have the busiest the most complex airspace in the world and thanks to the hard work and the dedication of the faa employees we have an agency that is providing the safest most efficient airspace in the world yet the negative impacts of the uncertainty of the funding and the sequestration have led to widespread concern about the funding of federal programs and the federal operations. If you take a meat cleaver approach instead of a scalpel approach the sequester forces irresponsible budget decisions in our domestic and defense programs. Some of you are going to suggest that the answer is to privatize the faa and air Traffic Control. The senator feels like we ought to get budget certainty and repeal sequestration. If we do not, the situation will worsen when additional budget cuts return in 2016. The faa has faced unpredictability for too long. The last faa bill took four years and involves 23 extensions and a partial faa shut down. Now the good news is that senator thune and i are working together and we are going to do Everything Possible to get this faa reauthorization going. In the past because of that uncertainty, because of that sequestration the faa has had to furlough employees, implement a hiring freeze, temporarily close their academy and hauled a lot of the work that ive had the privilege of seeing with the administrator on the Nextgen Programs. This has set the f. A. A. Back in its progress to advanced air Traffic Control modernization so the conversation about moving air Traffic Control into private notforprofit entities has an impact far beyond you witnesses here today. Take for example the department of defense. They share a responsibility for controlling airspace with the faa and they have for more than 65 years. Today, the department of defense controls about 20 of our airspace for civilians as well as the military. Faa and d. O. T. Coordinate activities to ensure our military can train warfighters test new concepts, equipment and defend the nation. Air defense right here in the continental u. S. No other country in the world has the defense assets of u. S. And we must ensure that our defense and jurists are not harmed by removing the government from air Traffic Control and i can tell you the department of defense has visited me and they dont want any of this privatization. Well, look at the airlines. Even the airlines are not in agreement. Let me quote from a letter from delta. Quote, rather than wasting months of collective energy only to find ourselves with a less efficient, less responsive more bureaucratic like costlier new Monopoly Service provider we should instead focus our efforts on achieving real reform in the next authorization that brings about tangible benefits for operators and more importantly for the traveling public end of quote. Thats delta. So since aviation is the backbone of our u. S. Economy we must prioritize air Traffic Control investments for the good of this country. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you senator nelson. We have a great panel today led off by the honorable Michael Huerta followed by the honorable john engler former governor and the honorable byron dorgan policy analyst at fox and former ally of ours are made to decode also a former member of this committee and mr. Jeff smisek chairman president ceo of United Airlines mr. Paul rinaldi whose present of the air Traffic Controllers association and mr. Mr. Ed bolen who is ceo of the Business Association aviation association. A great time am i look forward to hearing from all of you and i will start on my left and youre right with the administrator. Mr. Huerta please proceed. Thank you chairman thune Ranking Member and members of the committee thank you for inviting me to speak today about the reauthorization of the faa. They have reauthorization provides us with the opportunity to propel our next to foster the kind of innovative climate that has long been the hallmark of our proud aviation heritage. This reauthorization is provided a form for many industry and government to openly discuss possible changes in the governing structure of the faa to help us create the Aviation System that will sustain our nations Economic Growth well into the future. We are open to having this discussion but we must all agree on the most important problems of reauthorization should fix. In our view is her budget and stability in the lack of flexibility to execute on our priorities. These challenges exist for the entire agency not just for the air Traffic Control system in the next gen organizations of some of suggested. In addition to finding agreement on the problem we are trying to solve the should agree on funding is to avoid unintended consequences. Our ability to deploy nextgen technologies and capabilities hinges on interdependencies and relationships within the agency. Next an is more than a installing technology in its and our air traffic facilities in aircraft that involves participation of Safety Organizations make sure technology is safe and the comptrollers and pilots know how to use it. We believe any decision about governance must take into account these issues so we may best serve our nation and the public. Some of our good for changing the faa has not delivered on airtraffic modernization. I would argue the faa has made major progress in modernizing our airspace system to nextgen. We completed the installation of the more powerful Technology Platform at their new highaltitude air Traffic Control system. The system will accommodate date applications of nextgen and handle the expected increase in air traffic. Lester refinish the coast to coast and solution of the adsb network that will enable satellites based air Traffic Control that on a parallel track your collaboration with industry would identify key priorities and implementing their nextgen air traffic procedures. We now have more of a satellitebased procedures and our skies than traditional radar base procedures. We have created new nextgen routes about some of our business busiest areas saving millions of dollars in fuel decreasing Carbon Emissions and cutting on delays. In addition to these improvements we have set clear priorities and delivering more benefits in the next three years years. These range from improved separation standards for heavy aircraft that are poor nation of traffic on the airport surface and streamlined clearances using data communications. And nextgen srd of that 1. 6 billion in benefits to airlines and the traveling public. In the next 15 years the changes we have already made to produce 11. 5 billion in benefits. We recognize however it is not enough to rely on him projected benefits. That is why we go back and study the benefits that certain improvements have provided to users. For example in atlanta we safely reduced wake separation standards to improve efficiency at the airport. Because of this change at Landis Jackson absent International Airport is increased number of planes that can land by up to 5 or five planes more per hour. Delta airlines is saving up to two minutes a taxi time per flight and these improvements are saving them to between 13 million to 18 million in operating costs annually. Clear where the criticisms of the faas implementation of nextgen and i would like to explain our prayers. Their theories about how to play technology in a complex operating environment. Some take the position they usually start from a wideranging vision and work back from there on developing a range of scenarios. Others suggest mapping out the entire picture and proceeding when you are sure of the endgame. Others say to take a more pragmatic approach and this is the path the faa has chosen. Based on close consultation with industry. This approach used by the office of management and budget matches investments with tangible benefits to airlines and passengers. We acknowledge it requires upfront investment but we are careful not to strand program in the middle of implementation. When dealing with widespread change in the dynamic airspace system there is no margin for error. The system must transport 750 million passengers every year with the highest levels of safety. Any technology we implement must be reliable and safe from the outset. To achieve this High Standard we must remain nimble and we must have flexibility. Our Aviation System is a valuable asset for the American Public. We should use the upcoming reauthorization to provide the faa with the tools necessary to meet the demands of the future and to minimize disruption to the progress we have made with nextgen in our work to integrate new users into our system. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and im happy to take your questions. Thank you administrator huerta. Are we live . Good morning mr. Chairman Committee Members thanks for the opportunity to testify this morning. The Business Roundtable members include leaders of Aerospace Companies and every one of our members relies on air transportation as customers of cargo on Passenger Airlines as the 20th century drew to a close u. S. Aviation set the standard for the Worlds Largest safest most technologically advanced system. Said we have lost their primitive position and their future leadership isnt dell. This airtraffic system remains the largest the world say this but not the most technologically advanced nor the worlds most costeffective. Our air Traffic Control system relies on the same technology groundbased radar and radio transmission is it in the 60s but almost all of the Surveillance Technology is still analog. Like any other stakeholders we are concerned about the halting pace of the modernization represented by the faas Nextgen Program. National academy report in this committee released this month clearly stated the problems. The original vision for nextgen is not what is being implemented today. Airlines are not motivated to spend money on equipment and training for nextgen. In modern innovative air Traffic Control system would offer tremendous benefits to the users of the airspace, more efficient bypass, reduce fuel consumption lower emissions and less noise pollution, global commercial leadership leading to expanded exports and increase services to Small Community airports. So what are the obstacles . Last year my seat mate here in faa administrator huerta offered one explanation in his speech at the arrow club of washington. Quote there something away the faa can implement nextgen recapitalize their aging infrastructure and continue to provide our current level of Services Without making serious tradeoffs something senator nelson referred to in his opening comments. Administrator huerta and i would agree i believe on this critical point the current Voting System clearly does not provide the needed resources but the deeper problem is the broken budget tori process itself which prevents the faa from pursuing stepbystep Technological Improvement that a standard elsewhere certainly in the business world. An example of what works look at at t and verizon. In the years the u. S. Government has been talking about nextgen four generations of Cellular Technology to 4g video about dr. To the faas funding of 20 billiondollar modernization effort by an annual and unpredictable cash flow. Most other transportation sectors issue longterm Revenue Bonds to finance Large Capital modernization but bonding is something the faa cannot do. States do it the private sector does it but the federal government does not. I convened at the roundtable and expert group to help study this issue including fa and Transportation Department officials and knowledgeable policy advisers. Their conclusion the status quo is simply too costly and too inefficient. They identified the necessary elements of alternative systems. Separation of air Traffic Control operator from regulator to improve transparency and accountability and to further increase safety. An organizational structure that accounts for multiple objectives for safety and access are valued along with cost efficiency. Governance of the air Traffic Control appointed by stakeholders. The revenue structure that enables air Traffic Control be fully selfsupporting without government Financial Support and free the federal budgetary process. To one in six x. Turns wage and benefit structures to protect employees prevent employees career expectations and preserve a collaborative culture. Over the last two decades most western countries have restructured the way air Traffic Control is funded and governed determining its a hightech Service Business part of Critical Infrastructure and infrastructure separating air Traffic Control into an entity independent of the rest of the faa is a manageable process. Tools and precedence exist for addressing the risks that come with any innovation and a thorough planning process is necessary. In the end i hope u. S. Senators responsible for the oversight of the faa used the reauthorization process to put america on a trajectory to a modern air Traffic Control system that is the Gold Standard for the world. Now is the time for decisive bipartisan efforts to restore americas Global Leadership. This is the roundtable looking forward to achieving these important goals. Thank you for the opportunity members. Thank you. Senator dorgan. Mr. Chairman thank you for inviting me back. I have served on this committee for 18 years and no doubt badgered hundreds of witnesses so are the past two years i and former transportation secretary jim brimley have cochaired a project at the Transportation Institute looking at the subject of air Traffic Control and the structure of air Traffic Control. I was a chairman of Aviation Panel the last time we worked on reauthorizing the faa and i put up a headline from moment where we finally succeeded and is set after five years of debate, 23 shortterm extensions and a partial Shutdown Congress approved the final version of the faa bill. My hope this ti