The Senator’s full exchange with the witnesses can be found here
Washington, DC – Today, Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) questioned representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s full committee hearing titled “FAA Reauthorization One Year Later: Aviation Safety, Air Traffic, and Next Generation Technology.”
During her line of questioning, Blunt Rochester focused on the impact that workforce issues at our airports are having on American travelers, including at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
To watch the full hearing, click here.
Senator Blunt Rochester: “I have to say, most of my colleagues have noted that we are at a critical juncture for aviation safety for the sake of our families, our constituents, the flying public, and we must ensure that the FAA is equipped with every tool necessary to meet the mission to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world. We know that we have seen some recent catastrophic incidents and near misses, and they have only underscored the urgency of strengthening oversight, improving coordination, and updating equipment, including the FAA’s IT systems. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that there are other significant variables that drive this crisis, like the lack of a robust and well-supported aviation workforce.
“I just left another hearing where one of the nominees said that their son is now an air traffic controller. And that was some good news to hear. And as the former Secretary of Labor in the state of Delaware, I was also the head of state personnel, and I know that a well-prepared workforce is really the lifeblood of any organization. So, I was pleased to see the inclusion of the aviation workforce development provisions in the reauthorization, and I wanted to just ask some questions about workforce planning.
“We know that we have an issue beyond air traffic controllers and aviation safety inspectors, and I was curious if you could talk a little bit about your workforce planning. I know in your testimony it says, ‘We are reviewing our hiring, training, and placement processes as well as the FAA academy withdrawals and failures to ensure our selection methods effectively identify candidates best suited for the controller profession.’ So, could you talk to me about what you’re seeing in terms of people who are retiring, resigning – where are your shortfalls, where are those areas where you really need the help?”
Mr. McIntosh: “Thank you for the question…As far as recruitment for our best and our brightest – right now our academy success rate is not where we would like it to be. We would like it to be much, much higher. Because quite honestly if we’re washing out 35% or 30% we need to do better because we need more of those people in the field facilities to do that so I believe what you’re referring to is what we call an Air Traffic Skills Assessment and that basically judges somebody’s ability, cognitive skills and ability to multitask, be an air traffic controller. And we want to review that as a test to make sure it’s identifying the right candidates that would have a high probability of success to be an air traffic controller. It does take some time to hire, select, and go through the medical process and the security process. Even though Secretary Duffy has done some things to speed that along, we still want to make sure that those selections have a higher rate of success. If we were able to gain another 2 or 300 of those candidates and put them in the air traffic system, that would help with some of our staffing shortfalls.
“And speaking with a lot of my friends who are my age, we actually went through training together at field facilities, and they still love the job. They love being an air traffic controller. Their big thing right now is we need more staffing because they’re getting tired. And I think we owe them a better quality of life. I do feel that the new CRWG numbers that, with the help or our partnership with NATCA that we’ve implemented, is definitely going to help that. And we’re also waiting for the Transportation Research Board to provide their recommendations for our staffing model, and when that’s implemented, we’ll be in a better place. But the good news is with the new CRWG numbers, that’s going to bridge that shortfall, and we’re putting enough people in the pipeline to actually give those controllers and those managers that better quality of life that I’m speaking to.”
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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.