Qualified-Pilot Members of Congress Battle Over Biden’s FAA Nominee
Although he has no aviation experience, lawmakers with aviation experience are commenting on the decision of President Joe Biden to nominate Phil Washington as head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Ted Budd, a senator from North Carolina who holds a pilot’s licence and is a member on the Commerce Committee, wrote a (pdf) to Biden Thursday urging him not to nominate Washington. Budd was joined in the meeting by Senator Mike Rounds (R.S.D.), and other Republican lawmakers with aviation qualifications. August Pfluger (R.Texas), Kevin Hern, Jack Bergman (R.Okla.), Jack Bergman(R.Mich.), Wesley Hunt [R.Texas], Mike Bost (R.Ill.), Scott Franklin (“R.Fla.”), Jake Ellzey (“R.Texas”) Scott Perry (R.Pa.), John James (“R.Mich.”) Rich McCormick “R.Ga.”) and Chris Stewart („R.“
“As pilots who have collectively logged tens of thousands of flight hours, including for some of us in the military, we write to urge you to withdraw the nomination of Phillip Washington to serve as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),” The Republican legislators wrote. “While Mr. Washington honorably served our nation in the Army, he did not serve in an aviation unit. He is not a pilot, has zero aviation safety experience, and is entirely unqualified to lead the federal agency responsible for keeping the flying public safe.”
Budd quizzed Washington about a variety of aviation regulations during a March 1 hearing. Budd claimed that he had asked Washington seven questions regarding aviation policy. However, the Biden nominee could not answer any of them.
“What are the operational limitations of a pilot flying under BasicMed,” Budd asked this question at one point.
“Well some of the restrictions I think would be high blood pressure,” Washington responded.
“It’s more like how many passengers per airplane, how many pounds in different categories and what altitude you can fly under, so—and then the amount of knots, it’s under 250 knots, so it does not have anything to do with blood pressure,” Budd responded.
Washington responded to Budd’s questions about different flight regulations. “Senator, I’m not a pilot, but I would lean on our career employees and our safety folks within the FAA.”
Washington’s nomination comes after several pilots of airlines have narrowly avoided collisions over the past weeks. In January, thousands of commercial flights were grounded across the United States due to an outage in FAA’s Notice to Air Missions System (NOTAM).
Duckworth Defends FAA Nominee
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D.Ill.), a Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the U.S. Army who was killed in an air crash in Iraq in 2004, has spoken out in support Biden’s nomination of Washington.
“As Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation, and as a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot who flew combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, I’m proud to support the nomination of Phil Washington to be the next Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration,” Duckworth stated this in a Friday press release.
Duckworth stated earlier this month that Washington had committed to maintaining a 1,500 hour flight time rule for commercial airline pilots.
“Mr. Washington has promised to defend critical aviation safety standards—and withstand pressure from industry special interests to cut corners and water down pilot requirements, such as cutting the 1,500-hour rule,” Duckworth’s Friday press release reads: “Simply put, Mr. Washington possesses the experience and leadership expertise to strengthen the FAA to meet the complex challenges facing our civil aviation system. At this seminal moment for FAA, we need a strong and principled leader who recognizes that restoring confidence in our civil aviation system will require more than ‘business as usual.'”
However, 49 U.S. Code § 106(c)(3) states that an FAA administrator must have experience in a field directly related to aviation.
Washington served as Denver International Airport’s CEO. This airport is third in terms of traffic and has approximately 35,000 employees.
Senator John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, has presented Washington’s absence of deep ties in the aviation industry industry as a positive sign that it is unlikely that he will be easily persuaded by industry insiders.
“I think Phil breaks the mold of past FAA Administrators in important ways. He’s not an airline industry insider using this role as a position for the industry to be policing itself,” Hickenlooper stated this when he introduced Washington’s nomination.
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