On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing to explore the Administration’s proposal to separate air traffic control operations from the FAA and move it to a private, nonprofit organization.
Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao was the hearing’s only witness. Chairman John Thune (R-SD) did not take a position on the proposal, but cautioned that many small, rural airports have expressed concerns about user fees set by the new organization being set too high and threaten air service and negatively impact general aviation in and out of rural communities. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) expressed his opposition to the proposal saying that he believed Congress was a better overseer of the national airspace than a 13-member board proposed under the Administration’s plan. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) also expressed concerns about the proposal saying “this is a tough sell in states like my state of Mississippi, where small airports are concerned.” Secretary Chao did not add any new details to the Administration’s plan, leaving questions like how much the air traffic control assets are worth, how much a new entity would be able to borrow, and whether the government would be providing guarantees on its debt.