NextGen ATC part of Obama's proposed infrastructure investment

US President Barack Obama said restoring runways and implementing a satellite-based ATC system are key components of his "comprehensive infrastructure plan" unveiled Monday that includes "a $50 billion upfront investment" to quickly spur projects.

"We're going to restore 150 miles of runways," Obama said during a speech in Milwaukee. "And we're going to advance a next-generation air traffic control system to reduce travel time and delays for American travelers."

A White House statement providing background on the president's plan said the administration is proposing "a robust investment" in the development of FAA's NextGen ATC system, which Congress has not yet determined how to fund. It added that "a more accurate satellite-based surveillance system" will be the "backbone of a broader effort to reduce delays for passengers, increase fuel efficiency for carriers, and cut airport noise for those who live and work near airports."

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in March that "there is an interest" at high levels of the administration in using federal money to equip aircraft with NextGen technology (ATW Daily News, March 10). Most US airlines' reluctance to spend on equipage has cast doubt on how fast and effectively NextGen can be deployed (ATW Daily News, April 30). While the White House made no specific pledge Monday regarding aircraft equipage, it said funds invested as part of the infrastructure plan "will help both the FAA and airlines to install new technologies."

Obama, whose plan also calls for rebuilding highways and repairing/constructing rail lines, proposed the establishment of a "permanent infrastructure bank" that the White House said would be used to "leverage private and state and local capital to invest in the projects that are most critical to our economic progress." The president said the bank would reform the "haphazard, patchwork way of doing business" currently used to allocate federal infrastructure spending.

The ranking Republican on the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. John Mica (Fla.), on Tuesday signaled his opposition to the Obama plan, pointing out that much of the funding earmarked for infrastructure in the US government's massive 2009 stimulus legislation has yet to be spent. "Moving some of the tens of billions of infrastructure dollars that continue to sit idle should be an administration priority," he said. Funding for NextGen was not included in the 2009 stimulus.

US Aerospace Industries Assn. stated that it "strongly supports President Obama's proposals…particularly the effort to modernize the nation's air traffic control system." President and CEO Marion Blakey commented, "AIA has long championed the inclusion of NextGen acceleration in any economic stimulus package."

Photo: US President Barack Obama. Courtesy, White House.