Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Recommended
5:35
|
Up next
FAA Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau: ‘We’ve Prioritized Hiring For DCA’ Air Traffic Controllers Specifically
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
5:19
Dale Strong Presses FAA Administration Chris Rocheleau About Airport Infrastructure Funding Approval Timelines
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
6:01
Juan Ciscomani Asks FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau About The Ongoing Effort To Eliminate PFAS From Airports
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
5:03
Jim Clyburn Tells FAA Administration: The Money Being Requested 'Doesn’t Line Up' With The Work You Have To Do
Forbes Breaking News
6/6/2025
5:35
John Rutherford Presses FAA Administrator About DEI Hiring Processes At The ATCC: We Need ‘Merit-Based’ Hiring
Forbes Breaking News
6/4/2025
5:41
Norma Torres Warns: Near Misses At The FAA ‘Signal A Deeper Issue’ In ‘Consistent Safety Oversight’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
5:25
Tom Cole: Funding FAA Modernization And Safety Is Something GOP And Dems ‘Will Work Together On’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
4:29
Jim Clyburn Warns FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau: ‘America Is Losing The Confidence Of Our Partners’
Forbes Breaking News
6/6/2025
5:52
Steve Womack Asks FAA Administrator: How Hard Will It ‘Be For Us To Achieve The Overall Goals Of Modernization?’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
4:44
Pete Aguilar Asks DoD Official About The Process In Upgrading National Guard’s Aircraft Fleet
Forbes Breaking News
5/29/2025
5:23
Tony Gonzalez Presses FAA Administrator Rocheleau About UAS Drones ‘Falling Out Of The Sky’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
5:12
Fed Chair Jerome Powell Tells Ritchie Torres He Expects A 'Substantial Wave Of Price Increases'
Forbes Breaking News
5 days ago
4:41
‘I’m Here To Ask You Tough Questions’: Norma Torres Presses DOT Sec. Sean Duffy About Funding Cuts
Forbes Breaking News
5/14/2025
6:37
Pete Ricketts Asks Trump Nom About Streamlining Processes To Deliver On Infrastructure Projects
Forbes Breaking News
5/21/2025
5:01
Harold Rogers Demands A ‘New State-Of-The-Art Air Traffic Control System: ‘It’s Long Overdue’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
6:59
Chris Van Hollen Asks AG Pam Bondi Point Blank About A 'Very Disturbing' Whistleblower Complaint
Forbes Breaking News
6/26/2025
4:43
Mike Quigley Presses FAA Admin About Trump’s Federal Workforce Cuts Amidst Air Traffic Control Shortage
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
1:03
Pete Aguilar Warns: The House GOP Has Turned Off Dems’ Ability To Fight Against Trump’s Tariffs
Forbes Breaking News
4/30/2025
4:02
'You're Not Going To Make Public Any Of The Terms?': Chris Murphy Presses Hegseth On Qatar Plane Gift
Forbes Breaking News
6/16/2025
6:39
Stephanie Bice Presses DOT Secretary Duffy About The Air Traffic Controller Training Process
Forbes Breaking News
5/15/2025
2:27
Pete Aguilar Claims GOP Budget Reconciliation Bill Will ‘Inflict Pain On Millions Of Americans’
Forbes Breaking News
5/21/2025
5:03
Raul Ruiz Absolutely Hammers RFK Jr. Over MAHA Report: 'That's Lying And Dishonest'
Forbes Breaking News
6/24/2025
1:05
Tesla Tanks $68 Billion As Elon Musk Unveils 'America Party'—Investors Rattle Over Political Pivot, Trump Backlash Adds Fuel
Benzinga
today
1:03
Trump Proposed For Nobel Peace Prize By Netanyahu, Israeli PM Says Seeking Countries To Provide Palestinians Better Future
Benzinga
today
5:23
2025 Acura ADX: The $35,000 Gateway to Luxury SUV Driving | Cars & Bikes | Forbes
Forbes
yesterday
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Pete Aguilar Grills FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau About Delays In Airport Infrastructure Grant Approvals
Forbes Breaking News
Follow
6/5/2025
During Wednesday’s House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) questioned Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau about airport infrastructure project delays.
Category
🗞
News
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Thank you Administrator. I wanted to ask I understand and I know there have been
00:07
questions about staffing Administrator. I understand the FAA has continued
00:11
processing airport applications for federal grants but review times have
00:17
increased as the agency loses staffing expertise at its headquarters and
00:21
district offices. This is troublesome for many airports as these airports work to
00:27
keep their construction projects on schedule as you as you understand. How
00:32
has DOGE's efforts to downsize the FAA impacted the agency's grant review time
00:38
and processing to date? Thank you for the question. I I don't believe that any DOGE
00:46
activities which have not directly related to any FAA activities have had
00:51
any impacts on the grant specifically. I would say that when we first came in
00:56
there was a backlog a serious backlog of grant announcements that we had to
01:00
work through. I would say that as I look at kind of my sheet here we're looking at
01:05
1.7 billion here and getting out in over 465 grants. So we have we've kind of got
01:12
our momentum going back but it with respect to DOGE specifically I would say
01:17
there were no impacts. You don't you don't think a loss of headcount has had any
01:21
effort in in the timing and the delays of implementing the grants? I don't believe
01:29
there was a loss in headcount that impacted grants just to be specific to the
01:33
question. We could we could run through the headcount losses that you that you've
01:37
had but you're so you're saying at the district level or at the HQ level you
01:42
don't believe any of the loss of headcount has had a direct impact on
01:46
processing and implementing grants? No sir I think the delay has been related to
01:52
kind of the backlog and us working through it. I don't believe it had to do
01:55
with any change in the staffing. How is the downsizing impacted the FAA's ability
02:03
to approve airport projects in a timely manner? So I think I think the opportunity
02:11
really is to go from what we'll call traditional or paper-based types of
02:15
processing and using a more streamlined process. One of the things we're looking
02:19
at specific to airport grants is the use of AI much like we do in the safety realm
02:24
now we're looking at processing grants and using categorical exclusions for
02:29
instance when we talk about specific projects as it relates to environmental
02:32
issues. So we're we're we're using a number of different tools that we have
02:36
today that we probably didn't have a year ago to in order to expedite that but I go
02:40
again I go back to it is not about the change in the workforce specifically it's
02:45
more along the lines of building out a more efficient process going forward.
02:49
And we'd love to be partners in building an efficient process I think that's what
02:53
the chairman and the ranking member have have indicated they are they are
02:58
focused on and they we want to be willing partners here. I think what's
03:01
frustrating is when actions happen or grants don't get out and we just see the
03:07
impacts and results not just of safety concerns but of actual dollars getting
03:14
out on the streets back homes closer to our district. But since you mentioned
03:19
projects since we're talking about projects the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024
03:26
included provisions to speed up airport infrastructure projects by reducing
03:30
regulatory overreach and land use approvals. You talked about categorical exemptions and
03:35
streamlining the process for approving these projects with local user fees. Can
03:40
you give an update on the FAA's progress and simplifying airport land use
03:44
approvals and launching fully streamlined passenger facility charge approval process?
03:48
Yeah again I appreciate that question simply because we have because of what
03:54
will what we described earlier is kind of backlogs we have looked at the
03:58
opportunity in addition to what reauthorization has directed for our our staff
04:05
to be able to kind of look for like opportunities whether it's on the west
04:10
coast or the east coast and be able to streamline that specific to environmental
04:15
issue that is obviously a little bit more challenging but one of the ways we are
04:18
doing that is in fact using the categorical exclusions to expedite the
04:23
projects out there because I understand getting that money out there
04:25
particularly in a in a important building season is it is as critical to the
04:31
local communities. When will the locals see that see that benefit when will they see
04:35
the the projects and when I see when will they see the delays cease? I think the
04:42
delays have have begun to decrease significantly and I think they will
04:47
continue to see more money coming out again in the next few weeks we're going to
04:50
see hundreds of millions of dollars coming out to through those grants. I've got a
04:55
local issue we'll put a we'll put it into the record for you to get back to us on
05:00
San Bernardino International Airport as a federal contract tower and we've had
05:05
some some language that we secured in the RIOTH and we'd love your attention to
05:10
this and your help with this we'll send it to the record as well. Thank you Mr.
05:12
Chairman. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Joyce. Thank you Chairman. Mr.
05:17
Mr. Oshio thank you for being here today. I'd like to follow up on my
05:21
distinguished colleague Mr. Aguiar's comments there and
Recommended
5:35
|
Up next
FAA Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau: ‘We’ve Prioritized Hiring For DCA’ Air Traffic Controllers Specifically
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
5:19
Dale Strong Presses FAA Administration Chris Rocheleau About Airport Infrastructure Funding Approval Timelines
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
6:01
Juan Ciscomani Asks FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau About The Ongoing Effort To Eliminate PFAS From Airports
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
5:03
Jim Clyburn Tells FAA Administration: The Money Being Requested 'Doesn’t Line Up' With The Work You Have To Do
Forbes Breaking News
6/6/2025
5:35
John Rutherford Presses FAA Administrator About DEI Hiring Processes At The ATCC: We Need ‘Merit-Based’ Hiring
Forbes Breaking News
6/4/2025
5:41
Norma Torres Warns: Near Misses At The FAA ‘Signal A Deeper Issue’ In ‘Consistent Safety Oversight’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
5:25
Tom Cole: Funding FAA Modernization And Safety Is Something GOP And Dems ‘Will Work Together On’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
4:29
Jim Clyburn Warns FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau: ‘America Is Losing The Confidence Of Our Partners’
Forbes Breaking News
6/6/2025
5:52
Steve Womack Asks FAA Administrator: How Hard Will It ‘Be For Us To Achieve The Overall Goals Of Modernization?’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
4:44
Pete Aguilar Asks DoD Official About The Process In Upgrading National Guard’s Aircraft Fleet
Forbes Breaking News
5/29/2025
5:23
Tony Gonzalez Presses FAA Administrator Rocheleau About UAS Drones ‘Falling Out Of The Sky’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
5:12
Fed Chair Jerome Powell Tells Ritchie Torres He Expects A 'Substantial Wave Of Price Increases'
Forbes Breaking News
5 days ago
4:41
‘I’m Here To Ask You Tough Questions’: Norma Torres Presses DOT Sec. Sean Duffy About Funding Cuts
Forbes Breaking News
5/14/2025
6:37
Pete Ricketts Asks Trump Nom About Streamlining Processes To Deliver On Infrastructure Projects
Forbes Breaking News
5/21/2025
5:01
Harold Rogers Demands A ‘New State-Of-The-Art Air Traffic Control System: ‘It’s Long Overdue’
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
6:59
Chris Van Hollen Asks AG Pam Bondi Point Blank About A 'Very Disturbing' Whistleblower Complaint
Forbes Breaking News
6/26/2025
4:43
Mike Quigley Presses FAA Admin About Trump’s Federal Workforce Cuts Amidst Air Traffic Control Shortage
Forbes Breaking News
6/5/2025
1:03
Pete Aguilar Warns: The House GOP Has Turned Off Dems’ Ability To Fight Against Trump’s Tariffs
Forbes Breaking News
4/30/2025
4:02
'You're Not Going To Make Public Any Of The Terms?': Chris Murphy Presses Hegseth On Qatar Plane Gift
Forbes Breaking News
6/16/2025
6:39
Stephanie Bice Presses DOT Secretary Duffy About The Air Traffic Controller Training Process
Forbes Breaking News
5/15/2025
2:27
Pete Aguilar Claims GOP Budget Reconciliation Bill Will ‘Inflict Pain On Millions Of Americans’
Forbes Breaking News
5/21/2025
5:03
Raul Ruiz Absolutely Hammers RFK Jr. Over MAHA Report: 'That's Lying And Dishonest'
Forbes Breaking News
6/24/2025
1:05
Tesla Tanks $68 Billion As Elon Musk Unveils 'America Party'—Investors Rattle Over Political Pivot, Trump Backlash Adds Fuel
Benzinga
today
1:03
Trump Proposed For Nobel Peace Prize By Netanyahu, Israeli PM Says Seeking Countries To Provide Palestinians Better Future
Benzinga
today
5:23
2025 Acura ADX: The $35,000 Gateway to Luxury SUV Driving | Cars & Bikes | Forbes
Forbes
yesterday