{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://nehls.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-aviation-chairman-nehls-opening-statement-form-hearing-faa-administrator", "House Aviation Chairman Nehls Opening Statement form Hearing with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford", "2025-12-16", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "TX", "Troy E. Nehls", "N000026", "nehls.house.gov", "nehls", "https://nehls.house.gov/media", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. - Opening remarks,as prepared, of Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Troy E. Nehls (R-TX) from today\u2019s hearing entitled, \u201cThe State of American Aviation\u201d:\n\nI\u2019d like to start by thanking Administrator Bedford for being here today for his first Congressional hearing since becoming Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).\n\nAdditionally, I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t acknowledge the fatal accident that occurred right here in Washington, D.C. on January 29th of this year that needlessly claimed the lives of 67 souls. To the families here with us today, my commitment to you remains steadfast, and I can assure you that this subcommittee will continue to do everything in its capacity to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again.\n\nThat tragedy reinvigorated everyone in the aviation industry to come together to identify and address the deficiencies, lack of communication and coordination, and neglect that all played a role in this tragedy.\n\nWhile I eagerly await the results of the NTSB\u2019s final report before taking any substantive legislative action, I am encouraged that there was immediate corrective action taken to make permanent route changes and helicopter restrictions near DCA, adjustments to air traffic control staffing and arrival flow at DCA, and ADS-B Out requirements for most aircraft near DCA\u2019s Class Bravo Airspace to name a few.\n\nIn times like those, we are served with the stark reminder that aviation safety is a journey rather than a destination. Following that tragedy, the entire aviation industry coalesced around one phrase: \u201cair traffic control modernization.\u201d So, what is the state of American aviation?\n\nFrom my vantage point, the state of American aviation is busy. But busy is not a bad thing. In this instance, it\u2019s a good thing. With the promise of innovation and modernization around the corner, there is tremendous excitement around the state of American aviation. From initiatives to increase the throughput of air traffic controllers into the workforce to key rulemakings that will unleash American innovation, the Trump Administration has been busy. While they have a challenging task ahead of them, they have the support of this subcommittee.\n\nAdministrator Bedford, I believe that you are the man for the job. The task is unprecedented, but you have two documents that ought to serve as a roadmap.\n\nThe first is the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 which contained numerous provisions directing the Administration to phase out legacy systems in use across the National Airspace System (NAS) and operationalize key programs developed under the NextGen initiative.\n\nThe second is this Administration\u2019s Air Traffic Control Modernization Plan, for which Congress appropriated $12.5 billion dollars to carry out radar replacement and a total update of the FAA\u2019s telecommunications infrastructure.\n\nAdministrator Bedford, this subcommittee will be conducting oversight of that $12.5 billion to ensure we avoid the absolute disaster that was NextGen. The stakes are too high, and we simply can\u2019t afford to get this wrong. We owe it to the American people and to every single AA 5342 family.\n\nWith that, Administrator Bedford, thank you for being here today, and I look forward to hearing from you on the state of American aviation.", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://nehls.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-aviation-chairman-nehls-opening-statement-form-hearing-faa-administrator"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5257730265147984, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}