constitution. [inaudible conversations] >> good morning theom u.s. senate committee on commerce and science and transportation will come to order we are having a nomination a hearing of the washington to be an administrator at the faa welcome and congratulations on your nomination. and at least one or two of your colleagues want to be

here as well to do an introduction so you are very fortunate to have them and we will call on the minimum and it. we are expect the arrival of the ranking member i will start and keep going the commerce committee is meeting bill washington to bef the administrator of the faa. the safety mission starts at the top with the administrator and i hope to hear from mr. washington about his vision that the faa is the gold standard in aviation safety. three years ago congress spoke clearly on needed reforms but the aircraft certification process. ia worked with senator worker who was the chair of the committee at that time. today we need a clear commitment that this is fully

implemented that mandating safety management systemss holding manufacturers accountable are adhered to. want to especially thank the families from the 737 man tragedies help to craft the legislation. the faadede leadership mandates expands international as well. it must be a strong safety voice and raise the global safety bar on pilot training and human factors. the faa administrator must also lead a large complex thorganization. the safety class different lines of business day in and sday out with the continuous safety oversight. >> and then to continue on the

faa reauthorization bill the administration must have it. if new challenges from the immobility platform and manufacturing and we also must build up the national airspace system which is already the busiest and most complex is new and meeting that 2050 targets net zero carbon amos emissions procure here today to explain how you and your leadership i'm pleased that our colleagues and the committee will be here to say a few words he represent a great career.

with the command sergeant major to be the first african-american to serve as the faa c administrator. to teach mr. washington and the department of defense awarded that service medal for exceptional service as a country. mr. washington joined the district and earned his way to the top of that transit agency. and with the first and only two.2 transit public-private partnership and was names to

your of metro county metropolitan authority and oversaw a bus network and managed budget of $9 million to oversee 10000 employees. managing approximate 20 billion in infrastructure between the l.a. national airport and to be comes to us denver international airport the third busiest in the world i did have to look that up and it is true. we move a lot of people to the airport. there manages one.3 billion operating budget with an all-time passenger traffic record 70 million passengers travel to the terminals of 18 percent over 2021

surpassing pre- covid numbers so organization like the american public transport association and many other organizations including many labor organizations also support your l nomination. again, congratulations thank you for being here and having a chance to discuss the future of the faa to ranking member senator cruz for hisor opening statement. >> facing enormous challenges we must modernize the airspace while safely integrating interests and to keep the reputation as a gold standard for safety while dealing with far too many close calls and operating the air traffic control system that must safely move roughly 2 million passengerss a day to meet its mission the faa needs a senate

confirmed leader with decades of experience in aviation to make sure the flying public is safe the agency's primary obligation it is so important that congress mandated the faa administrator must have experience in the field directly related to aviation. the nominee before us how long and honorable career inbu the military that does not have any experience this is a position he is not qualified for. i am disappointed the administration has chosen to treat a critical c safety position they treat it as a patronage job as a result of the white house playing politics with the public

safety i expect will hear some members of this committee gloss over last of aviation safety experience by saying he has strong management of the transit agency. the democrat city agency he has run upset by mismanagement and wasteful spending. and then try to add a $200,000 on it to the l.a. metro employee jim. with the 50000-dollar version and proposes lavish spending and broke down and caught fire due to lackf of many.

the denver real college oversee my mr. washington ran at the 2 billion-dollar plus deficit up over 30 years behind schedule other officials spent $100,000 on a junket to africa to support denver airport and delayed overbudget projects are things you want to change at the faa not continue. also his record suggest virtue signaling with safety and modernizationse and l.a. metro ceo said in terms of mobility we look through the lens of equity. at the denver airport spending hemillions of dollars with a

special quote hall of equity to change the contract bidding process to place a heavier emphasis onn so-called equity and social cultural merits. safety, not political posturing it needs to be paramount at the faa. i also have serious concerns regarding outstanding allegations of misconduct going back to mr. washington's time named in multiple search warrants an ongoing criminal corrupt investigation and was the subject of multiple whistleblower complaints. one whistleblower who expose details of a politically connected contracting scheme claims to be retaliated against mr. washington. l.a. metro settled the claims for more than half a million dollars.

mr. washington was named in a discrimination retaliation lawsuit by a former denver airport employee. and then suggesting to be less than fully transparent raising concerns how to collaborate as we work to reauthorize the faa. finally mr. washington as a retired member of the military needs a waiver from the house and senate to be eligible to serve since federal law explicitly requires the faa administrator be a civilian and retired members do not qualify. on five occasions congress has passed legislative waiver so retired military personnel conserve at the faa we would do the same for mr. washington if his job marriage or had experience in aviation safety. but it doesn't and now illegal

cloud will hang over every single faaaa action. i said it is very important in this day and age safety must always be our top priority. we consider the nomination and ongoing case of whistleblower retaliation and after that it is clear to me he is not the right person for the safety culture we need today at the faa the word spoken of a former faa nominee by the chairwoman of this committee in 2019 about steve dixon who had 40 years of aviation experience. >> in my opening statementme with a former house colleaguer calling you a strong leader to

decades of senior leadership. will turn to our colleagues. >> thank you madame chair. we need the faa administrator who knows how to get things done and to manage that complex bureaucracy and with the reality of modern air travel. someone to give us confidence the next time we get on a flight and we assurance we get what we are going safely and i think about howot everything works again. that is still washington. coming from humble beginnings and then achieve a range of command sergeant major to make

things done to motivate troops and then the beginning of the relationship with colorado and the dedication to service all of these traits in more when he led the transportation district which was by far the largest transit agency in the state putting the transit system back onac track and came in when the fast-track program was overbudget and three quarters was completed are under construction. he exited the home of l.a. county metropolitan authority

the third-largest serving 220 million passengers annually another multibillion-dollar expansionlt which was offset by challenges and he got that sorted out now the ceo of dia the last couple of years a third busiest airport in the world. transformed the airports once aging infrastructure. the great project will expand from 70 million passengers to 100 million per year. his program vision 100 would support the transition. by the end of this decade. phil recognizes to modernize runways and launched center of equity of aviation the first of the kind to make sure we can grow a diverse workforce and a small business pipeline

that does deliver the combined mission of transportation at the safest possible levels. he has not hesitated to act decisively again and again when a crisis strikes we had the winter storms of 2222 devastate air travel all across the country damage the economy and immediately launched a rigorous after action review against dia and major fenders this review will identify the causes and to prevent future incidents from happening again that's the decisive action we needd to see in the faa to fit the mold of several past administrators as questions were raised as previous administrators of president clinton with the

massachusetts department of public works showing them in the bush administration was administrator of the ntsb before coming to the faa. and then to have a couple of senior roles before coming to lead the faa to break the mold in many ways not an airline industry insider using the role as a position for the industry to t police itself the challenges facing the faa are those with aos large complex bureaucracy badly in need of modernization and in that respect no novice but the ceo of the third busiest airport in the world and to imagine a workforce 35000 employees compared to 45000 and then got

back on track and then not to mention the experience with those leadership skills and to be recognized for and building a reputation coming into organization filled the challenges toll transform and take on the big complex problems the person we want in the federal management system. and then looking at the record and then to lead that critical agency to see where he can lead the faa with the bold vision. >> thank you for having me and ranking member cruz to

introduce the privilege where privilege to be here with my colleague president biden's nominee to lead the faa we have known him almost 20 years going back to the days when john was mayor of denver and he graciously endured me as his chief of staff mabel both work closely together who had recently joined the retail transportation district that took him from from the south side of chicago after 24 years in the u.s. army thank you for sharing your dad with us to serve colorado and the country already offered an excellent overview of experience with

the transportation authority and to share observations of those specific qualifications at this critical juncture so they'll faa has long set the standard for safety but recent incidents have shaken the public's, confidence so this is the perfect w time for a leader like phil washington to bring a proven record he turned around trend —- transit in l.a. county and i have no doubt he will do the same in the faa i understand some members of this committee have argued he lacks direct experience in aviation we just heard that argument.

i am surprised because as we have heard he is currently running the third busiest airport on planet earth. he literally spends every day as a liaison of 25 airlines managing 30000 employees and navigating local state federal aviation policieshe spearheading the most vicious overhaul of the third busiest airport since colorado first built the airport almost 30 years ago i point out to the chairwoman we are very proud that dia is the youngest airport in america at just 30 years old we need to build or build airports. building 39 new gates designing a runway all the traveling public to make its

way through the airport with the strategic plan for dia to prepare the airport 100 million passengers per year through the expanded workforce infrastructure in the surface network. so despite suggestions to the contrary is comparable to previous nominees likeph john garvey both of whom the senate confirmed was a strong bipartisan support instead of focusing on bills the obvious qualifications are has been attempt in recent months to distract and impugn his character i will not dignify that with my remarks by would you say the past 20 years have left me only with the highest regard for his integrity and leadership as of the people of denver and colorado do as well don't take my word for it the

mayor of denver exactly the hearing before he asked them to leave aac had a background check he not only cleared the review the city council confirmed him unanimously and they don't agree on anything by the way. we can tell you from experience that you don't get a lot of unanimous votes from the city council and i see no reason why his historic nomination should not receive a unanimous vote from this committee any fair assessment of his career and character with the enemy with integrity and drive of every institution to make an estate outstanding administrator and i wholeheartedly endorse the nomination thank you madame m chair. >> thank you for being a part of today's hearing and

endorsing with the work experience now feel free to introduce any family or guests with you and make your opening statement. >> chair cantwell and members of ther committee is an honor to appear before you today as the president's nominee for the faa administrator thank you to that transportation secretary for filling me in this important roleac if confirmed i look forward ton working with each of you to strengthen our world-class aviation system and make it ever been. i appreciate the generous introductions from the senators and i am honored today to have my denver mayor here. othank you to my family and my

only son is here. also thank you to the current acting administrator. as a man going from humble beginnings on the south side of chicago i am honored and humbled by this nomination. if confirmed i pledge i will work diligently to support the team at the faa. i grew up poor as an only son with the family of six children. my mother wasod a single parent working 12 hours a day to put food on the table for all of us. she took me to listen and learn from the great faith and civic leaders who visited the city of chicago in the sixties and seventies this is where i realized my purpose and desire to serve people and be a public servant. i began my public service journey 45 years ago i am

listed in the u.s. army to serve my country. ultimately served 25 years earning the highest military listed rank. during my military career i motivated men and women from every corner of the great and by honorably retired 22 years ago. as a military veteran and leader of three large transportation organizations my ride transportation safety knowledge and real-world leadership provide a unique perspective of how aviation and all modes of transportation should integrate into a seamless system. while serving as ceo led the effort to connect to dia as ceo of l.a. metro i lead the planning and implementation for the construction milestones for two million-dollar automated

people mover and that electric train system connects l.a. metrorail another facilities with airport to operating 24/7 with 30 million passengers annually resulting in 117,000 fewer vehicles traveled per day i also led the completion of the 15 million-dollar metrolink rail's decision to connect more with the airport reducing traffic congestion on residential road overseeing the massive projects with a great deal of experience managing large complex and challenging projects andje organizationsni. my experience as ceo of the third busiest airport in the world translates well to the faa. . . . .

we engage with our partners. we worked as a team. returny care of travelers at my airport. the faa's across as an agency must protect the safest era of aviation, modernize its technology, lift employee morale while staffing up and maintaining its global leadership in aviation. yes, we need to reinforce we are the regulator for aircraft manufacturers, airlines and new entrants to the national airspace. yes, we just trust continuously safety is second nature for all faa employees. however to accomplish all these things we need top leadership of theen ffa but we need in last

several years. if confirmed all dry on a a carr expanding almost 45 years to be that leader. the safety of the traveling public will remain my top priority as it has been for me leaving the third largest airport in the world.. too large a transit agency and women in uniform. if confirmed i will be guided by the sacrifice and historic advocacy of the families of the 7:30 seven max perform the administrator role as i have performed every leadership role in my professional life. with accountability, transparency, respect, honesty, discipline innovativepl mindset. i will own long pension failure faa employees will begin their success. i will quicken the pace of public service on leave the faa better than i found it. my hope is that the committee

and the full senate will see the value of my leadership and multimodal transportation experience as it deliberates my confirmation. thank you for your consideration. i'm excited about the opportunity to serve and i am pleased to take your questions. >> thank you, thank you mr. washington. the issues of the faa that deal with air traffic t controllers. deal with the nexgen systems. deal with integration of new entrants you very good grasp of large organization like the airport every day. my sense is your history of being a manager of large organizations with thousands of employeesoo are the of moving of

bureaucracy to address the technology issues of today. that's clearly in the organization's challenge today. how you adapt to innovation and new technologies. but i do and to get you on the record as it relates to aviation safety bill that i mention that senator wicker and i passed out of committee after response to the mass accidents. the facts we feel industry and faa got to cozy. that they moved away from the delegated representative model in which the faa was really in charge. and somehow confuse the people on the ground as the level of oversight that was required. the employees making the certification were directly hired that they were able to communicate directly with the faa.

they were able to be removed from the faa. i want to know first and foremost do you support that focus? will you continue to fight and implement the oversight of anem aggressive faa holding manufacturers accountable for their work in engineering? quick senator, thank you for the question. absolutely yes. i think administrator dixon and acting administrator noland have done a great job of footstomping that we are the regulator. i will continue that. i will also continue implementation of the reform act and look to accelerate the outstanding things that have not been completed. so actually yes. >> one of the things that isn't completed and we may end up having this note mr. nolan back here to talk about this because he went to continue to make

progress is the legislation also called for integrated project leadership between nasa, the air force and the faa and make sure novel certification, technology is just emerging. on anyone some of the international organizations implementation of new technology and human factors is something we should be paying more attention too. what we do to make sure this particular mission some visco graybeards that fas populate with the right technical aviation expertise. that counter referencing are implemented so we really do have the best and brightest technology as we are going to the certification process. >> again thank you for the question, set it up at the faa has been doing and number of things aroundmb recruiting and

making sure compensation is adequate to bring folks in. i will continuee that. my track record of standing up various training facilities and various training programs will allow me too attract a great talent the faa. it's also important for us to go to every corner looking for talent for the denver international airport were doing just that to scale that up. what are your ideas on how to change this? >> a couple of things for time

but my military career. something called the transition assistance program in terms of the military. i am well familiar with those. these are programs that help soldiers get out of the military. i think that is an incredible source on a resource for great talent. i've been keyed into the tap program. i would start there. i'll start in our colleges. i would start in places around the country to show people a career pathway. it's one thing to tell a young person get into the aviation industry. it's quite another thing to show them what that means and show them the cradle to executive leadership pathway. that is what we have designed in the years in transportation. on the biggest challenges at the

faa doing the right talent and getting them there very quickly. senator cruz forgot thank you madam chair. mr. washington, you have emphasized your time at the denver airport, 20 months have you ever flown a plane? quick siggy for the question senator know i've never flown a plane. >> you are not a military pilot or commercial air pilot? >> no senator. >> of your work for an airline? >> no senator. >> of you ever worked as air traffic controller? >> no senatoror production ever worked for a company that manufactured airplanes? snow's are progressing their work for company that fixes airplanes? >> no senator. >> for 20 months you've been in charge of the denver airport. you are in charge off the airports buildings, correct? >> i'm in charge of everything that goes on at that airport. >> okay, i'm not sure that is exactly right.

you are in charge of parking at the airport, is that correct question coming parking spaces are there? >> thousand sprigs okay you're in charge of the shops in the restaurant how manyur restaurans at the denver airport? >> if anywhere from one or 50 -- 200 or so. >> in charge of coffee shops and clothing stores and newsstand. you're not in charge of the pilots, are you? >> no senator production are not in charge of the airplane mechanic, are you? x no senator pat. >> are not in charge of the air-traffic controllers are you? >> no senator. >> you know, i looked at prior faa administrators. you and i talked a couple of days ago i respect your military service. i look at prior faa administrators, current acting faa administrator billy nolan was commercial airline pilot pretty worked at multiple airlines he has certificates in aviation safety from three different institutions the u.s. army, safety center the u.s.

naval postgraduate school. it is under president biden. and mr. steve dixon are both biden and trump was an air force fighter pilot 40 years of aviation experience. acting administrator was an air force combat pilot, commercial airline pilot, senior faa official aviation industry executive. administrator randy babbitt was commercial airline pilot for 25 years served as the president of a labor union for pilots. those are all people who know something about aviationn safet. as i look at your record to see record you got experience with buses pretty got experience with trains, buses and trains in very different from planes. my understanding assisted ministration previously considered you for the board of amtrak. that could well have been a position you qualified for. you might have well received bipartisan support to serve in pothat role.

a lot of discussion quite rightly is focus on the horrific crashes of the 7:30 seven max that took three and 46 souls from us. he let me ask you, mr. washington, what is an angle of attack sensor? >> the angle of intent sensor is a sensor on the front of the roplane that controls the tilt d the outlook of the plane. >> how many aren't on a 7:30 seven max? >> i believe two. >> what systems are there if they are contradictory signals from the angle of attack sensor? >> what systems are there? >> i would say the mcas system. >> okay, the mcas system is responsible for the crashes at issue. what happened when you get a different reading from two

different sensors? >> he repeat that question senator? >> what happens when you get a>> different reading from two different angle of attack sensors? >> i think human reaction is to take over if that occurs. >> why did that not happen on the open air flights? >> senator i am not a pilot i don't know if i can answer that particular question. >> mr. washington, i believe you. but, at the end of the day that is the fundamental problem. for this administration to nominate someone is faa administrator who could not answer the question why were three and 46 people killed in horrific crashes that resulted in 7:30 seven max been grounded for a long time, is striking. by the lead mr. dixon after the fa recertified the 7:30 seven

maxie went and flew personal. let me be clear i knew and i talked about this. faa administrator is a specialized position. i am not qualified to be at faa administrator have no idea how to fly plane. note and their right mind put me in charge of aviation safety because i don't have that experience. i'll suspect most of this committee are in a similar position. the american people and think safety, when they think about i played this committee south esther airlines fed ex plate almost colliding at austin's airport, they want an faa administrator who knows why those planes crashed and knows how to fix it to keep them safe. with all respect, mr. washington, it gives no comfort to the flying public there pilot might be a transgendered which but does not actually know how to prevent the

plane from crashing into the ground and killing them. i believe your record is woefully lacking. in fact is zero aviation safetys experience. and is don't believe you have e votes for confirmation as you and i visited about earlier this week. >> hundred hickam looper. >> thank you madam chair. mr. washington, plan to switch the conversation. just for the record in my 20 yearss of knowing mr. washington working for them he has had a greater focus on safety and every one of his roles than anyone i have seen incomparable roles. it is something that is instinctual within him. it creates a culture around safety. i want to talk a little bit about rural air service now part rural communities depend on regional air service to grow their economies. to stay connected to the national airir network.

most of the country we have a network of these rural airports. the dot and the faa each have a role to ensure airline operators maintain air service in rural areas across the country buried in colorado this week and bees like pablo in alamosa, grand junction, cortez, you are down a long list. mr. washington can you discuss rural communities first banding for rural communities? >> thank you for the question senator. i definitely commit to work with rural airports. they serve a vital -- vitally important mode of mobility if you will for folks that live in those areas. we comment denver international

airport actuallynt deal with and provide assistance where we can with a rural airports in the state of colorado. so i would continue that as the administrator as well. there are special things in special arraignments around construction and getting grants funding out to the rural especially cold area airports so that they can build during the seasons where it is good for them to build. to answer your question, absolutely i would provide assistance. >> appreciate that. i would also like to present the challenge the problems facing faa are those of a managing a large complex organization. the type of organization you have made a career out of running successfully as a command sgt major rtd and the

l.a. metro and dia. if we were to ask pretty much anyone who traveled on the last year if they want another person from the airline industry in charge of faa they would probably said they didn't. i don't think the airlines should be regulating themselves. the systems failure the southwest meltdown extended delays and cancellations dear mrs. on runways are all management and policy issues. being a good pilot is not going to help you or anyone be the faa administered this country needs to solve these issues. being able to manage a large complex organization is. why don't you talk for just a moan about the complexity of di and how you synthesize 30,000 employees make sure the right people in charge and hold them accountable. >> thank you for the question senator. first of all safety is the

number one priority. we know, i know that is my top priority. iy. lean on a long record of leadership, management, oversight of billion-dollar projects and people. and so i think one of the first things is creating a vision for the organization. i think about creating a vision for the faa. i think about breaking down stovepipes. i think about providing professional development for the employees and i have to say i had someone ask me why do you provide all this professional development for folks and then they might leave. and my t response was suppose i don't provide it and they stay? that becomes a real issue. the way i handle 35000 is to

tell them what they can expect for me. when i walk into a job that's things i do. then they also tell them what i expect from them. so providing that vision, being visible, telling folks what to expect and we expect from them is the start of providing a very, very good culture within the organization. culture of ownership i call it. >> a lead the committee with this observation. when phil came on board at dia who are in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.d- air travel was dramatically rebounding at the same time the expansion was going fulll tilt. i think two points. one he was able to maintain the operational efficiencies in this challengingpo times. but almost more importantly he took a massive construction

project that was behind schedule and over budget and sorted it out in record time. if you look at y the investments this country's going to make, having someone who has repeated examples with difficult construction projects but having that person holding accountable entire investment were making in transportation is i think the right direction. >> thank you. >> think madam chairwoman sgt major washington, thank you. i have a great deal of respect for your service with united vistates military. i sayay that as a veteran who dd not do anything nearly what you are able to do as a command sgt major. you were nominated in july of 2022, is that correct? >> yes senator. sgt major i think it is fair to say that you would already be in office he would already be

confirmed if there had not been serious bipartisan questions about your qualifications and your fitness for office. it gives me no great pleasure to say that. i've been chairman of this committee i've been ranking member of this committee. i've been onn it for a long time for this is what's going on with your nomination is not my idea of a good time. but it is a responsibility that i think we have. at the time of your nomination you had had this ceo position for about a year. safety is the top priority of the faa. i think on both ends of the dais there have been serious questions about your expertise in that area and that is been pointed out in some of thosen areasns. on your resume at denver you cite specifically success in

construction. of renovation program and facilities. in the implementation of a career pathway. again, i don't think that qualifies you for this position. and in particular with what has been going on in the last few months with regard to these near misseseg. it is very, very troubling. there is something though that cruz said i am not sure i agree with. he saidn you might have been confirmed for the amtrak board had you been nominated for that. that maybe true but we still would've had to get better answers to investigations and allegations that are still out

thereor about public corruption. you've been involved in multiple corruption investigations, retaliating against a whistleblower that exposed corruption investigation relates to involvement with no-bid contracts awarded by l.a. metro to a nonprofit to operate a sexual harassment hotline. investigation found hotline cost the taxpayer more than $8000 per call. most of these calls were misdialed or spamming. the nonprofit awarded the contract was a close friend and campaign donor of an l.a. county supervisor. the investigation isti still pending and has been taken over and just recently by the california attorney general. and in addition you have been accused of discriminating and

retaliating against the whistleblower who received a $625,00000 settlement. i am note sure for any position with those being unresolved you would have been confirmed. and again it gives me no pleasure to say this. just two days ago a lawsuit was filed by the denver international airport former senior vice president parking benjamin horas left his post last year the lawsuit alleges discriminatory pay and personal practices at the airport. again there is a smatter that cruz mentioned about the search warrant including accusations of misconduct and seeking record of

your communications. this has not yet been resolved. as we meet today the california attorney general's office is stilla conducting this public corruption investigation. we need a very, very qualified person in charge of the faa immediately. for the life of me i do not understand why the president persists with this nomination. based on so many questions from the corruption aspect and also the qualification aspect. for that reason i do think the bipartisan opposition will continue. thank you madam chair. click senator shaw. >> thank youou chair cantwell pr the faa has been without a permanent administrative for nearly a year. this hatchet job instead of moving quickly to confirm the

president's nominee republicans and their allies have tried to delete mr. washington's confirmation by attacking and throwing everything they have to try to stop a qualified nominee. in doing so they are smearing a long time public servant, an army veteran. mr. washington has decades of experience overseeing a large, complex transportation organization pretty runs the denver international airport the world's third busiest airport but he ran l.a. metro are the largest transportation systems in the world pretty honorably serve this country for 24 years serving in that u.s. army tank a command before earning the rank of sgt major the highest noncommissioned officer rank and unless a soldier can achieve. he is facing a smear campaign for the people posing as nomination are trying to desperately turn every aspect of his career into a scandal. anyone who has been in leadership get suited. i was sued two months ago and they named every member of the congressional delegation.

legislature, someone actually threw summons over my fence and said you got f served. i do know that was a thing. back to my staff many of them said our lawyers, this is similar 17 individual defendants the entire board of directors the u.s. secretary of labor. that is not a serious lawsuit and should be called up for what it is. it is nonsense is immaterial to these proceedings it's a pretext for posting the nominees confirmations in this critical agency. because again, mr. washington is well-qualified for the job. during his time as ceo of the airport has seen nearly 20% increase in passengers could substantially contributed to by arrivals from h and l, every monday. and before becoming ceo there he spent six years ceo of l.a. metro running the transportation system in our country's largest metro area.

before that he spent six years as ceo of the denver regional transportation district overseeing a system that serves nearly 50 million writers annually. mr. washington is a skilled and dedicated public administrator with extensive record showing he knows transportation. ignoring this, punish him are fake scandals is absurd. mr. washington is exactly the kind of person we should want in public service. he has the experience needed to lead the faa and is ready to step intohi this role. so my question for you mr. washington is, can you tell me how your experience is going to enable you to be a good faa administrator? >> thank you for the question senator . i think denver international airport is of course the third largest safety is number one at all of our airports and it will

be for more for me at faa. and running denver international airport someone asked me the other day what do you do when you first get up in the morning as a ceo denver international airport? hike talked about reading might sit rep if you well. a sit rep is what is going on right then at that airport. it's always around safety. so it's also around tsa wait times it's not faa arrival times. it'sn everything about that airport we do those three times a day. and sot i believe what i am doig now and what i have done for the last 40 years to include my military career is directly transferable in terms of especially leadership. leadership is a real thing it is a real skill motivating people, inspiring people, getting people to do what they otherwise may not do is a real skill.

i think when we talk about faa we are talking about a different kind of organization that needs a different skill set to run it now in this day and time. and i think i bring that to the table. perhaps the table. quick give. quick terminal and thank you. mr. washington thank you for your presence here today. i represent the state in which aviation is hugely important. someone in the most components of how kansans earn a living. we are known as air capitol to remanufacture general aviation commercial, aircraft defense. your safety and navigation aids. certainly the faa and its administrator is among the most important federal agencies and individuals who have to our constituents and to the country in this case.

i represent the state in which air travel kansans who fly from kansas airports matter greatly to me so i recognize the value and importance of the airport large and small yesterday kansas city celebrated the opening of the new airport. we are excited about that. wichita has a new airport. but i represent as indicated earlier by those the senator from colorado importance of smaller regional airports essential air service with the exception the most dependent on thean air service programs to make certain the rural airports are able to remain available and open and we

forget the importance of aviation bring a patient to a physician to crop dusting the way we earn our living and kansas and agriculture the airplane matters greatly this is hugely important and i have invited every faa administrator to come to kansas and spent time with me and if confirmed i will make the request. the challenges the faa faces are tremendous and the leadership needs to be consistent and bold and different in the sense to have too many changes too many times and we need consistency. i would t be delighted to hear how you believe you can manage tthe magnitude of this job let me give you an example of tell me how you would handle this the aviation industry

recovering from the pandemic i experienced a tremendous backlog and supply chain problemstt. tdifficulty in getting answers from the faa and parts and materials from suppliers. throughout the pandemic the protection of the aviation supply chain has been important to me and senator cantwell in legislation the protectionur program so tell me how you would handle the magnitude of the problems when there is a crisis in this country and tell me about your experience that allows you to leadto an agency that has such consequences in the decision that it makes. >> thank you for the question. i guess i talk about stability bringing stability to the faa

is part of adjusting those issues. so what i would do is put together a tactical plan around materials around supply-chain parts and have that as a first priority for me. some of the issues we have seen around the country now our material cost increases and inflation tied into the availability of various materials. so putting a plan together to address that is one of the first things i would do. the other thing with the subsidies and the community with the essential air service we need to do better with those subsidies as well.

and that would be one of my priorities as well. so to put together a solid plan to address places like kansas would be something that would be one of my first priorities. >> i don't think is through any fault of your own we have not met until we sure can't a moment ago if you are interested i would make certain if you invite yourself to my office to have a conversation i would accept it. >> thank you madame chair you have been nominated for a very tough job. i just want to thank you for your willingness to take on this responsibility. you have the experience and the qualifications and the leadership qualities necessary to lead the faa during a challenging time. thank you for your willingness

to take on this very difficult test. the faa to transition from the cuse of the fas firefighting phones in the 2018 faa reauthorizationza i led the adoption of language that directed the faa no longer require the use of these phones part 139 airports assure president biden signed into law my legislation entitled preventing the act which allows airports to purchase the equipment they need to test the firefighting response without discharging toxic pfas chemicals michigan airports lead the way but the in the faa to fully transition from the use of 213 to affect the communities for further contamination. as an airport ceo in a

first-hand experience when it comes to pfas at airport so howard had experience shape your approach to theia substances in aviation? >> i agree it is an important issue. in denver we started our own voluntary cleanup. i know not everyone can do that. but we want to start for the benefit of everyone at our airport including employees. my understanding is the new performance requirements for the firefighting phone was issued this year by dod. we would work with dod and if confirmed i would have a special relationship with department of defense as a veteran working to develop a transition plan around pfas.

there are a number of airports doing this very well. so perhaps there is ap or two period exchange that can occur while we're waiting on that alternative as well. so what we're doing in denver and to scale that up to address the pfas program better than most airports around the country. >> last week asking the administrator about the efforts to integrate unmanned aerial systems into our national airspace. in my state of michigan looking to take advantage of the cutting-edge technology and economic opportunity resulting from that. there are major barriers to adoption with the slow implementation of the provisions be passed in the 2018 reauthorization 2 bill.

if confirmed with you commit to prioritizing efforts to ensure the us maintains good ialeadership in advanced aviation particularly unmanned aerial systems quick. >> thank you for the question. absolutely. that gets to what i think is the slow pace of rulemaking as well. one of my priorities is to streamline internal to faa we need to streamline the process and keep pace with unmanned aerial systems. >> f confirmed we work with

me to ensure that there is robust interagency coordination to counter you a s efforts? >> absolutely. i think andn i know the biden administration proposed legislation to expand authorities faa has been a partner and i will continue that path. >> thank you madame chair. >> thank you for holding this

important hearing today is difficult to think of a time in recent history when the faa has been confronted with more challenges with the faa reauthorization and the certification reform bill it's an increasingly complex national system which must accommodate the growth of egcommercial space activity and the integration of jones of drones managing on the challenges maintains the highest level of safety in the world's busiest with extensive aviation experience and then to further setback the modernization of the air traffic control system to jeopardize aviation safety recent travelce disruptions related to the failure of the system in januaryor underscore the need for action so as the committee begins work it is essential to ensure the strong capable leadership at the helm

i appreciate the opportunity to review mr. washington's qualification and appreciate you to be here on february 8 senator warner and i introduce the increasing competitiveness for the american drones act to establish a regulatory framework from beyond visual line of sight especially since many applications through the current process of language clear framework is critical and tend to work with the chair and the a ranking member to integrate this legislation in the faa reauthorization bill. if confirmed how will you work to create a beyond visual line of sight regulatory framework to streamline the process for uis? >> that would definitely be a

priority of mine. i know the faa is doing work around this right now. i will check on the progress of that but this is very important to keep pace with industry around this issue and also to make sure we have the workforce to set up the framework. i would make this a priority right now i listen to acting administrator nolan and i word want to accelerate that. i think we can do that. in los angeles i created what i call the office of extraordinary innovation to do just that and work with industry to make sure that we entertain and look to implement various innovative things and i think talk about

advanced air mobility that's a perfect example. we would move that forward and i commit to doing that. >> and i will just tell you in drafting this bill that we worked to address especially those operating at lower altitudes however i would say more work needs to be done at the agency with the stakeholders so i you will stay on top of it so from your perspective what should be done to ensure the existence beyond visual line of site operations of those that low altitude? >> i think one solution the faa itself is ready to

timplement that so internally if we are ready to take that on i want to make sure that we are. i want to sit down with industry and partnering sessions to understand the challenges from their perspective. and be ready to implement so i word bring them in and sit down immediately define the constraints and to move forward that way. >> and work with the stakeholder community to make sure they are addressed? >> let me go quickly. we considered it the reauthorization act of 2018 to bolster the nation's air traffic control system these upgrades such as dynamic

airspace management will allow the us to better utilize infrastructure to increase capacity and efficiency. there has been a lot of issues that airports across the country i know my time is up and those that should be prioritized to those that occurred. >> absolutely the installation of new technology is one thing but the integration of that technology is another and the training of the faa employees is another and think about the integration installation is done but i'm concerned about the integration of that technology to use to its full capacity. >> .

>> thank you madame chair and ranking member cruz thank you mr. washington for your corridor century with the backbone of the army and a strong one is what you need to be the faa administrator you need to stand up to pressures refrom manufacturers as well as an airline to reduce or circumvent critical aviation safety requirements they are written in blood when does the accidents happen to make sure whatever happens never happens again following the air crash in 2009 killing 50 congress requires all commercial airline pilots to complete

1500 flight hours rejecting all proposals to water down the key safety requirements and that believe that is not based on evidence and grounded in my own expertise as a pilot and as a former commander where i was in charge of the training of my soldiers we know how critical it experiences for safety we accept their only always be those to give into the temptation with a quick fix or an easy answer especially critical shortage bad as chair of the subcommittee it's my responsibility to stand up for a basic safety principle spent in the seat and in the air cannot be replaced the matter

how many hours you spend in a lecture hall or a stimulator experience and expertise cannot be faked this is earned through hours of hard work and education to real aircraft in the air if confirmed to lead faa will you commit to defending the 1500 hour rule we rejecting to water down a commonsense requirement that before we placed the lives of commercial passengers in the hands of a new pilot it must first gain at least 1500 hours of flight time. >> if d confirmed i will not deviate from the standard. i agree that that 1500-dollar rule should stay in place never have i believed in

lowering the standard. eoi believe in bringing people up to the standard and that is very important i would not deviate from the standard. >> simulators are important but they have a reset button it is not the same as being in a cockpit out there i know you have trained many a soldier in many types of simulators. >> my second question as we discussed last year every main concern to use that enforcement authority there are two issues with the boeing 737 max i find stunning but not in a good way. involving evidence coming to light as a criminal investigation and i have a graphic and an internal memo documenting plans to avoid

using the term outside of the company and instead describing a new function as the already speed trim system suggest a motive if we emphasize as a new function there may be greater certification training impact. even worse the memo says to downplay the significance is approved by the authorized representative which is an employee the faa specifically authorized to conduct certification work on behalf of the agency this is what i mean to have a strong backbone to the pressures of the industry yet faa never investigated this internal memo and i'm not aware of any civil enforcement action against responsible individuals asas you know ultimately led to two deadly crashes killing 246 people the

other issue is apparently they knew it was inoperable for more than 80 percent of the 737 max aircraft in direct violation the faa approved pipe design that polling did not inform the faa air carriers or max pilot for more than a year and only did so after the first deadly crash it was a factor in both crashes yet faa does not apparently to take any civil enforcement actions. and inspector general is now is inspecting the handling of the issues a fear speaks to a broader reluctance so will you commit to usingiv faa period enforcement authority as appropriate crack. >> thank you foror the question.

yes. i think i want to first acknowledge the families in advocating for holding boeing and faa accountable. so i would do what had already been conveyed to boeing and also reinforce to the workforce they was have the time to do with the need and that includes civil enforcement. >> thank you for being here today. i had some concerns with your nomination but first of all thank you for your service to our country to our military. we have a lot of veterans in our stay in north carolina we appreciate what you have done for you have been nominated to lead an agency with authority to regulate aircraft and

airspace. the us has the most complex airspace in the world and with over 200,000 registered aircraft and more than 1 million pilots and over 45000 flights per day. with recent issues under the biden administration with the flight disruptions on the notice to air emissions in the near miss incidents the new york and boston colleagues and i were concerned about several parts of your background and lack of aviation experience. there are many new regulations the faa has issued or is in process of developing. the faa is spending billions of dollars to modernize the national airspace system a key part is moving toward gps

navigation for pilots and as part of this transition the faa recent required airplanes to be equipped with a transponder can you quickly tell me what airspace requires a transponder? quickly please. >> i'm not sure i can answer that question right now. >> we will keep going. that's a pretty important part. so you have said your national security background and appreciate your military experience has prepared you for this rule the classified airspace meets and needs of air traffic and national security and the faa has designated special use airspace over dod -based critical to national security what are thesp six types of special use airspace that protect national security is

on the charts? quickly please. >> sorry i cannot answer the question. >> we'll keep going. >> since world war ii the faa has required the pilot to have a valid medical certificate and in recent years the faa has relax the standards to the introduction of the sport pilot specific on —- certificate as a great success with more than 70000 pilots the last six years have used basic to maintain the privileges so what are those operational limitations of the pilot flying under basic medic you for the question. i am not a pilot. >> so any idea what those restrictions are? >> some my think would be high blood pressure or.

>> it's like how many passengers per airplane or how many pounds in different categories in the altitude you can fly under 250 not that doesn't have anything to do with blood pressure. i heard you talk about aviation and safety to be a particular concern i appreciate that also concern for general aviation safety advocates involving an account for 25 percent of fatal aviation accidents at low speed and though altitude what causes it to stall? >> i'm not a pilot but i would mean on the career employees and those within the faa. >> so we mentioned just

recently the 737 max issues those surrounding the aircraft certification process two years ago passing a major reform package to addressri these concerns now to implement these laws beijing regulations to monitor compliance. what are the three aircraft certifications the faa requires as part of the manufacturing process? quickly please. three aircraft certification. >> again what i would say to that one of my first priorities would be to fully implement that certification act. >> what are the three types? >> that type certificate and airworthiness certificate. let's just keep going and see if we can get lucky.

so since january the us has narrowly averted three aviation disasters three separate occasions airplanes came dangerously close to colliding on runways new york jfk boston logan and bergstrom and the austin incident remind me of the accident the deadliest aviation accident in history wealthy incident includeded and involved two planes on a runway in dense fog the faa procedures manual i know you run a big airport but has separation standards for planes using the same runway tell me what the minimum separation business is for during the daytime quick. >> i don't want to guess on that.

but that would be easy for me to find out. >> the faa is behind on integrating unmanned aircraft but are you familiar with the difference between the different parts with unmanned aerial standards like drones? >> yes. >> you know thehe difference between the parts? >> no. i cannot. >> your time is expired. >> the faaaa cannot afford to be led by someone who needs on-the-job training and for that reason i will be opposing your nomination. but thank you. >> mr. washington and with the trend of the u.s. army raising to the rank of command experiencejor the you havee to adapt to changing circumstances and i would assume making in the moment

decisions all the time and work with people around you and also been managing the third-biggest airport in the country i am a big fan of air for airports we have been voted the best airport in the country. so let's a talk about first of all how deviation workplace and i have done a lot of work to recruit workers in the private part of your service so talk out we build the aviation workforce. >> thank you for the question. it's very important to do the things i have been a part of for many many years and again showing a career pathway. i word scale that up for aviation.

the need is so great but especially aviation. we are building a center of equity and excellence that hasy a career pathway portion. so in addition and i think we need to do that not just for aviation but other modes as well. >> and the faa contract tower program provides critical air traffic control safety benefits to 266 smaller airports around like st. cloud minnesota. it's a good deal for taxpayers to support military readiness and national security operations.if is confirmed do you commit to ensuring rural airports have

the updated facilities they need to accommodate rising air traffic levels? >>ve absolutely i am committed to that it would love to work with you on that. >> passengers at airports experience advocate travel disruption due to the outage of the missions senator moran and i had a call with the acting administrator on this and i read legislation which has also bipartisan support to establish a task force for the resiliency of the system we know that's not the only thing that needs to be done for the nexgen air traffic control

that to make sure we work with all stakeholders that thisor transition works and we do a better job with stakeholders and to making redundancy of the systems a top priority as well. >> i think i will ask my remaining questions after the republican questions turn over to her so thank you madam chair. >> thank you. senator vance. >> thank you madam chair and mrg here. i want to ask just a threshold question here. so this is from the la metro equity platform this is a graphic that appears on the first page and i understand this is something the platform supported over and over again. i would love for you to explain what this means.

>> thank you for the question, senator. yes, we advocated and supported equity in a big way at la metro and every organization that i've been a part of i think it is crucial for us to understand diversity equity and inclusion so what you're looking at is equity with everyone on a level playing field if you will. and that is what we exposed at every organization i've been an especially the la metro. >> what do these boxes represent? equality here they have different sized boxes and just curious what this is supposed to mean. >> that is opportunity if you will, an opportunity and how you position people that may be less

fortunate for the same opportunities that other people might receive. >> i appreciate the explanation but i don't fully understand why equality and equity are different. i would assume equality of opportunity is something that we all believe in and agree with. i worry and some of your public comments some of the things you said you tend to take this focus of explicitly saying that colorblindness and looking for people without regards to skin color is somehow ended up insult discriminatory and i was hoping to elucidate that a little bit to try to understand it a little bit better but i would like to be honest and i'm not trying to be rude i don't fully understand what this is meant to convey and how it might influence some of your policies. in an effort i would want to ask a few questions here because the aviation industry is may be the single industry where aptitude

and/or safety matter more than almost anything else and i can't imagine even going under the knife i would probably choose having a safe pilot as more important than even going under the knife for the surgery. but i want to ask sort of how this criticism of colorblindness that you've had in some remarks in your career intersect with how you think about the standards for pilots that exist in the aviation industry. a few questions do you believe the white, black and latino airline pilots should be able to read, speak and understand english before becoming commercial airline pilots? >> yes, i do. >> thank you. do you believe white, black and latino airline pilots should have to hold a commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating as they currently have to do? >> yes, i do. >> great. do you believe white, black and latino pilots should have to have at least 1500 total flight time to receive a transport license?

>> yes, i do. >> thank you mr. washington. here's the reason why i ask those questions. because there is an inconsistency between some of the diversity equity and inclusion rhetoric on the one hand and the fact that we should hold everybody to equal standards no matter what. i have three young children, a 5-year-old, 3-year-old and 1-year-old. a couple grandparents live in san diego, california so they are on a flight a couple times a year at least. i'm totally supportive of what you might call a rooney rule. i believe if we take black or white citizens or anybody that doesn't have the same opportunity as anybody else it's great to make the extra effort to ensure they have the opportunity to become commercial airline pilots were federal administrators, whatever the case may be. but i worry about is some of the aviation industry, some of the experts and ideas centered around diversity and inclusion seem to take the idea that we

should relax the standards in an effort to promote certain groups of certain racial or gender categories. i think that is a terrible, terrible way to run an airline industry. i don't really care whether the pilots that i have, what their gender is or skin color is i just care about whether they can do the job, but i hope that you are committed to the same attitude because if we don't have safe airline pilots and we relax the standards for a certain skin color or gender it's going to be disastrous quite literally. thank you. >> senator cantwell has left to vote so i recognize myself for five minutes to question the witness. before i begin my questions, i do want to take a moment to express my condolences to the families who were killed in the fatal crash of a medical of a medical transport plate on friday. and i am so thankful for ourpo

first responders in the hard-working people my team has been in touch with our hearts go out to those families i would like to speak about concerns about the nominees qualifications to awhich he has been nominated travel and tourism is the black back bone as a gateway to everything that we have to offer is incredibly critical to have the faa administrator with deep experience was safe efficient air travel so i do look forward in the coming weeks to learning more about your record and if you're adequately prepared for the position number of important policy questions to ask. thank you for your service to this nation we are indebted to you and thank you and will

turn my questions to the airport obstruction analysis thr

and ground safety? >> thank you for the questions, senator. i would certainly want to work with you on that and i understand that the analysis the faa uses is primarily focused on the air traffic impacts versus the obstruction and as opposed to the security concerns i appreciate you bringing it to our attention and i would certainly want to work with you on that to get the details on the traffic impacts versus obstruction. >> i want to move to something that again is important. the international airport is kind of at the one end of the las vegas strip and nevada quickly emerged we are home to

the las vegas raters into the nba champion we hosted a draft for the next host of the super bowl this also makes us a target for bad actors when individuals are gathered about 65,000 and they've imposed temporary restrictions over stadium events congress codified of these these requirements. however this books leagues have reported violations so if confirmed it's of course impacting the safety of everyone there. how will you ensure federal policy not only continues for these long-standing protections for stadiums but keeps evolving with of these new threats as they continue to grow?

>> thank you for that question. i word want to work with you on that to understand exactly what the issues are. there is a lot of interest how drones would be integrated and be used at airports is confirmed i word certainly want to work closely with you on that under the reauthorization as well. >> the drones are increasingly growing. so drone used for critical infrastructure inspection there is bipartisan legislation i introduced was senator boseman implement for one —- blumenthal and allow

the cities and local i governments to purchase and operate small drones to go in and out of tunnels and take pictures and see things that might be more difficult for humans to get to so thinking technical assistance for some time would you commit to working with us have confirmed to have formal faa feedback so we can use this technology for safety for critical infrastructure quick. >> absolutely. >> we are committed to working with you. >> i will recognize senator schmidt. the biden administration recently announced equity czars in every department has been authorized in any shape or form but implement initiatives with thosese equitable outcomes this really

isn't about opportunity for all americans but mandating outcomes and virtues signaling do you intend if you are confirmed to have thisme equities are as a member of your senior staff at the faa quick. >> thank you for the question. i do think there is a role to play for equity organization i would definitely look at that. >> you will or will not quick. >> i thinkqu an equity person is necessary, yes. >> this state admission the most safest aerospace are seems to be with the current activities are so let me recap for you a couple of months and transportation aerospace news.

the first complete ground stop since 9/11 because of a complete meltdown of the system a train derailment east palestinian that is slowly poisoning in ohio community, several near misses of civiliania and cargo planes at a texas and california airport. i can keep going back you get the point what is the dot and faa focused on changing the name of the system to be more inclusive and putting time and effort into book projects at a time when they could be improving the antiquated system i will say right now those folks in missouri and more broadly the american people don't care one bit of people get a pat on the back and a conference hosted by consultants on the name change. they went pilot to have the safety information the best pilots in the roads of the

american public can travel efficiently and safely the prior record what you testify to today and then to into the safety and efficiency. and these projects are d left-wing advocate streams and mind-boggling quite frankly requiring all procurement proposals at the denver airport you have an equity plan and furthermore force those reviewing those proposals to look for de i the social merits in this is a yes or no question do you intend to make faa staffers if confirmed look at the social contracts if confirmed? > safety will always be my number one priority. >> you did this in denver but do you require these merits to be considered?

>> that is one of the factors. >> that has nothing to do a safety. >> safety is the number onest priority. >> last year you want to do center for equity sent excellence center built would have a hall of equity for training sessions using families in denver or across the country are interested in spending millions of dollars for halls of equity quick. the question.or i think families in denver interested in safety at her airports and i deliver that on a daily basis

during the 24 year career in the united states army, he

achieved the rank of command. no one understands safety better than the command i have no doubt that he understands exactly what his job will be. he served as the chief of operations in the logistics division and rules that require superlative divulge in its and commitments. mr. washington has an exceptional track record of

delivering major infrastructure projects on time and under budget in denver and los angeles is a command sergeant major would. mr. washington, as a dedicated public servant, leader, safely and on time. there's far too much at stake to play politics with this nomination with skyrocketing cancellations and including one at the airport monday this week. you need a permanent faa administrator. as somebody knows what they are doing. mr. washington is the right person for this job at this time. i'm going to turn to climate change from runways in london to

southwest airlines holiday meltdowns, climate change is significantly impacting the aviation system. mr. washington, do you agree it poses new challenges for airlines, airports and the faa? >> yes, i do. >> there's a report a few weeks ago that burlington vermont 7 degrees fahrenheit warmer than 1970. you translate that across the country in the years to come its it's fundamentally and the risks posed to the infrastructure. just this morning we saw new brookings research that found airports are under dire threats from climate change and i'd like to enter disconcerting research into >> i would like to enter this concerning research into the record concerning that study

madame chair and that's why i'm working on legislation to improve the resiliency of the aviation system at the airports i look forward to working with myat colleagues on that issue. airport service workers those individuals are the unsung heroes of the aviation system but often overlooked and underpaid airports would not function if we don't share attendance of baggage handlers and ramp agents and ticket agents did not do their jobs so to ensure that airports work not the pilots walking through in the beautiful uniforms just the people thatre show up at 4:00 a.m. who make sure the airports function all day long.

do you agree that airport service workers are critical to the operation and reliability of the aviation system? >> . >> i introduced a good jobs for good airports act to ensure the service workers are paid a living wage and benefits it's time we read pay the sacrifices of service workers we give a lot of federal money to airports across the country toco make sure goes down to these workers. >> they are women and they are not wealthy at all. we have to make sure that they get the resources they need to take care of their family at the same research sources they d.take care of ours. we need youou on the job right now you spent your whole life getting ready for this job to be a superior faa

administrator. >> thank you senator. >> . >> thank you mr. washington thank you for your many years of military service i congratulate you. on march 102022 skywest filed a 90 day notice on the intent to terminate service of 29 essential air service communities. at the time the basket had three communities served by skywest. essential air service is critical for our rural communities. how will you ensure communities will be served when regional carrier struggle to find pilots if you are orconfirmed? >> that would be one of my top

priorities i would want to work with you and your office on that the faa has done work around eas and the grants that are subsidized in that area and i would continue that work. >> will faa commit to continue issuing the orders to ensure carriers meet their contractualhe obligations to provide service to rural communities? >> skywest has supplied for a charter to better serve these communities but there is a backlog at faa do you know the average time for the faa to process the application and what would you do as administrator to address that quick. >> one of the things i want to look at is all of the timeless to process things like

that, rulemaking all across the board we can improve upon that in terms of rulemaking it takes far too long even internally from what i have seen i would make that a priority to move those along. >> these applications i referenced, it is vital to get those out not just the carrier knows what is going on but the small rural communities where essential air service is exactly that, essential air service to serve not just people in the community but commerce to keep rural america vital and strong this has to be a priority and has to be addressed. >> i agree with that. >> with post pandemic travel

we have seen an increase many haveve experienced flight cancellations and delays we usually see ach bunch of finger-pointing between airlines and air traffic control does faa have the staffing shortage for air traffic controllers? >> is one of the things i want to look at. one of the questions i have is what goes into the staffing model to determine what the headcount is. is it staffed to traffic or budget? what is input into the model determines of what is that out. so i want to understand what is input into the model. i don't know that now but that will be one of the first things that i take a look at.

i talked to air traffic controllers at my airport. there is a huge ramp up time regarding the on-the-job training for that airport it's the same thing with ground transportation you ramp up according to the service you want on the street and the same with controllers as well. >> last year faa opened the application only one time for the general public to apply for the air traffic control training areas. do you think it should be open more often? what type of changes do you k specifically suggest for that quick. >> looking at continuous. >> training as well or are we reaching a critical mass?

>> yes we need to do both we need to have a continuous recruitment and we need to look at training year-round. >> i appreciate the time. thank you for being here and for your service. the state of new mexico as a destination too many to get to the mountains and fall in love with new mexico. there are programs that there like essential air service that provides critical connection to the rural communities as well and many of the state visitors are coming up and many are for family reasons or even national security reasons to

nsa department of energy laboratories or military installations but on my way back home i spent a good amount of time at denver international d sometimes i think i spend too much time there. but it helps to get me home. but runways don't freeze over. so what i want to ask is so many airlines have not brought back flights to pre- pandemic levels but the increase service to but then those others in the region are experiencing.u

>> thank you for the question i would definitely like to work with you on that and in denver theve airport was built for 50 million passengers we have 70 million right now lookingth at 100 million in the next five to eight years it is a factor of making sure you acan accommodate it is not the faa primary job. there was a mention of africa earlier but that was a proactive way the airport team has to do that themselves to asell the region with tourism and all those things we love to work with you on that.

>> i look forward to learning from you so one area where some article that i read disturb me greatly our parents of young children and horrific stories where children got too hot or overheated from heatstroke because those planes give very hot if you're stuck on the tarmac while the 2010 delay rule helped immensely but there still concerns i have about occupant safety. if confirm do you commit with

so with this question that i have is around the commercial space industry for explosive growth in the coming years including spaceport america in new mexico. the faa and space transportation are critical inf the support of this new era of space exploration and while it has increased funding for process of lysing permits permits, i continue to hear the lack of personal employer training to meet the rising commercial space and recent operations. if confirmed, can you commit to prioritizing hire additional employees at faa, review this all in support of space commercial travel? >> thank you for the question senator. i can commit to making sure we have the resources in place to meet the challenge around commercial space.

so i commit to that. >> i appreciate that. i imagine there'll be a bipartisan effort to work closely with you on that space as well. i hope to work closely with my friends and colleagues from my neighbor to the east in texas as most other places around the united states. madam chair thank you for this hearing, for this time and again mr. washington i look forward to your confirmation. quick senator young. >> welcome mr. washington. click sir, really appreciate your military service. someone who wore the uniform for a bit of time myself i really have great respect for what you accomplish in the military. i have to tell you, as we look at your nomination to serve in this capacity i am quite concerned about your lack of aviation and aviation safety experience. this administration has been on

watch we've seen her first nationwide ground stop since 911. this was due to problems with the faa's very own system. you've been nominated to lead. at multiple near misses and recent months. the faa's own website states the faa's mission is to provide the safest arrow system in the world, and the world. when that someone that can ensure it fulfills that mission. the most efficient safest arrow system in the world. as you know, federal law requires the faa administrator the position you have been nominated for most among other things have experience in the field directly, directly related to aviation. i'm looking at your resume, it is right here. it is really impressive.

so let the world know the man before this committee is really impressive and honorable record of service without blemishes to my knowledge. but it is thin by my reading as it pertains to this direct aviation experience. spent a lot of time in the u.s. army. your career was to focus per your resume at logistics, hr, training and operations. you are not an army pilot. you did not work in aviation units. your very first roughly 40 years ago your very first assignment as an enlisted soldier was air defense artillery unit. i worked with unmanned aerial vehicle squadron but i was in the u.s. marine corps. that certainly did not qualify me, and my mind to be faa administrator.

and recent years you spent a few years as ceo of elliott metro transport authority. but they oversaw rail and bus transit. no mention here at least of aviation responsibilities. then for the rough lasley 18 months ceo of denver international airport. i visited with ceos of airports they vary in expertise accomplishment and efficiency. i know so much of that job involves ensuring the tenants in that shopping area with multiple purposes in addition to aviation remain happy. and the customers going in and out are happy. so 18 months, maybe there's been an 18 month marination and

aviation's achievements ceo of denver airport. i'm going to give you an opportunity as so often does not happen in these hearings to explain concisely if you will why you are qualify for this job, sir? >> thank you for the question senator. i think about a few things, and running ground transportation unit is on a train operator either. but i was named the best transportation -- my transportation ceo in this country. i think about traits like leadership. i think about traits like managing pretty think about traits like convening people to get things done. i think about what i call adaptive leadership. we cannot think about doing things the old way. so i think a fresh perspective

is needed obviously safety is number one and leaning and trusting and directing our safety experts is part of the job. but my broad transportation knowledgera and real-world leadership experience of those military and transportation infrastructure systems served me well. >> i have no doubt in many respects you are a plug-and-play leader and manager to correctly and accurately identify i want to validate that for what it's worth. statute early the position requires having experience in the field that is directly

related to aviation words have meaning and statutes have meaning and it's unclear at prthis point will give you an opportunity to elaborate on what you just said it's unclear what your background as laid out is correctly related to aviation thank you very much. >> mr. washington welcome to the committee and thank you for both your service to this nation and the military and your continued commitment to public service. i want to talk about the pilot workforce and shortages and opportunities that may be presented to us right now. i understand that less than

10 percent of licensed pilots are women. the women in aviation advisory board released a report last year that included a recommendation that congress provide additional financial tools for careers in aviation. in pursuit of that goal i've been working on legislation to raise the level of federal student loan availability for those who wish to become pilots and i plan to introduce that measure in coming weeks. i'm wondering if you believe additional financial tools like student loansik could help women and underrepresented groups into the aviation workforce? given your recognition in 2017 for advancing women in transportation more generally, how do you plan to continue y that work as administrator of the faa quick. >> thank you for the

question. it has been a huge priority and passion of mine six years in los angeles 49 percent of the promotions during that time was for women. we set up the women and girls governing council to understand how women travel and ways to improve the system as it relates to the traveling of women so this has been really huge for me. i feel like i can bring a different perspective to the aviation mode of how to attract women and people of color i do think it's very that the workforce looks like the people that we serve and i will do that and

look forward to working with your office as well. >> i also believe that our nations military veterans will play a vital role in the aviation workforce and i will be reintroducing a bipartisan bill called the american aviator act which would authorize grant funding through the faa to support training opportunities for veterans who are not already military pilots who wish to become pilots in their civilian careers. given your recognition as well as your background as a a noncommissioned officer, how do you plan to use those decades leadership frankly to advance a career of other militaryth veterans? >> thank you for the question i would be a walking billboard for veterans to come into

aviation i mentioned transit assistance programs that every military base and these are for veterans that are leaving service and to focus on them and those programs. pilots are one thing but i also thinkng about mechanics and those skills sets to keep the aircraft in the air i would be huge and that as a huge priority. >> you are ceo of the third busiest airport in the country. not the world. >> the world. >> okay. you know the role the airports play to access national airspace i want to talk about

smaller airports for a second i represent the state of wisconsin and would you be able to share your perspective of the role that small and middle -sized airports including most of what we have in the state make sure we're there able to serve all of our communities because i worry about that when i hear airlines leaving the smaller airports are cutting down service significantly. >> they play a critical role in connecting to the national system and they play a critical role to connect small communities i have heard the issue of out cold weather and funding after the constructionng season has ended so i will look for ways the faa can be flexible and supportive and

small airport locales. >> i went to commend you mr. washington and the career that you have hair on dust you have had that is quite an accomplishment and something that the faa will need we're in the aviation crisis the chinese spy balloon and some of the near misses including the flight of jet blue from nashville to boston and escaped a near miss.

and really concerned why secretary buttigieg prioritized environmental justice and climate change in the 2023 budget framework. and it seems that but i want to go back so you do you think that is worse or all the personnel time that went into that and all the documents that had to be entered do you feel that was inappropriate use at a time so look at the

flying public with the air cargo. >> thank you for the question safety would always be my number one priority and i have reiterated that. >> but that's him a question was inappropriate? there is a time and place fore everything. >> i was not a part of that decision so i hesitate. >> but it is a priority and

those who build that equity and inclusion that's one of the airports for guiding principles. and then to incorporate ddi policy with the procurement but these new practices identify the best partners yes

or no are airports racist and is the faa racist? >> i don't believe they are. >> thank you for that. is confirmed do you plan so i have a plan now and i would a look.take >> i need a yes or no. do you know on the average how long. >> i do not have that information. >> do you believe that extending that de i provision will require additional rules to a process that is already a very long and convoluted process? >> i do not.

[inaudible] so thank you madame chairman and mr. washington. >> thank you thank you madame chair and mr. washington that given all the challenges in the focus everybody wants in terms of safety, i like so many others have a deep

respect for your service in the committee is remarkable in terms of achievement. i want you to take the opportunity and to pull from the deep well of experience that you cannot have on-the-job training was something so important. take a few minutes to address the then i will talk about alaska but i think safety is more than just one individual. it takes and organization. can we build a safety culture within an organization?

i have done that and every organization i have been in so the question in my mind is can i build that culture and rebuild that culture within faa based on everything that i have done and how i have led men and women in this country and i think a the answer is yes. >> have you ever been to alaska? >> yes sir. >> in the army? >> yes sir. >> if confirmed i would like to get your commitment to come to alaska very early to see the unique challenges that we have. can i get you to commit to me on that?

>>te absolutely. >> i will give you the dynamics in terms of aviation. we have 586,000 square miles of land mass. sorry senator cruz. [laughter] but almost well over two.4 million square miles of your space is the area the faa covers focusing on domestic issues but the faa and alaska is the entity that makes every flight in america going to asia get there safely so men and women do amazing work. overa has had the faa of alaska in

their guiding hands. it is really important i just wanted to shout out to them. we are also a state less road miles than connecticut and we are 120 times bigger. over 250 community's and my state are not connected by roads, that is a whole another issue. they are connected by air or both if they are on a river. so let me go into a couple issues that relate to that. because we fly so much in 2020 the ntsb produced a report that in the most recent tenure. there's an accident rate for aviation alaska 2.35 times higher than in the rest of the country. so, this is a challenge of air. whether mountains, remote

communities. it's also very much a challenge of a lack of aviation infrastructure. i work for the last faa administrator to launch the faa alaska aviation safety initiative. can you commit to me if you are confirmed to continue the progress we have made? but we have a long way to go on the issue of alaska safety which as i mentioned we have the worst rates of accidents in the country by far. >> yes senator. it is the ethically look forward to working with you. >> one final question 5a weather reporting forecast, air to ground comms are needed for his floral committees better and safer access for the faa until i passed a law committee essentially mandating them do

it, had not funded new automated weather observances and locations in alaska that most airports in the lower 48 yet since the 1990s. again we are an afterthought. can i get your commitment if you are confirmed to work with me on significantly updating the basic aviation weather infrastructure that most states in the lower 48 take for granted we have to beg for it to make sure my constituents can fly safely the way everybody else does in this country. >> i commit to that senator. >> thank you, thank you madam chair pre- >> thank you, senator sullivan. i like to share your concerns about making sure the air transportation is the transportation system of alaska. i appreciate that. senator welch for. >> i think if i were you i would consider this hearing a success pretty just got an invitation to

alaska i have never been there. you are up for senate confirmation. [laughter] well i can always aspire. mr. washington, one of the things of your many responsibility would be the implementation of the department of transportation ambitious u.s. aviation climate action plan which has as a goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the aviation sector by 2050. obviously electric aviation has to be a part of that conversation. can you comment on your commitment to that and how you would implement it? >> i am committed to that i'm committed to the administration's 2050 push for that. there are a number of ways that we can get started on that. ing faa has not started

on that. i think we can beat 2050 and i would make that one of my priorities. the denver international airport we are doing just that bigger blogging abandon oil wells. we have a huge solar array larger than most airports. we are doing a number of sustainability problem. absolute commit to that. >> use the electric airplanes prior to that? we have abated technology. vermont is doing extremely wonderful work with ev aviation. >> i do. i see ev as a huge part of that. and i think we need to get started now on making sure the airports have the infrastructure

that these vehicles can actually land. no one talks about the facilities needed at the airport to make sure we can accommodate them. >> elaborate a little bit on that that is very good insight. we might have the vehicles but we might not be able to recharge them. yes i think there's a number of things involved with it. there is something called giga hubs that massive ev charging facilities that's being talked about right now. it's a matter fact we are ahead of the curve on that. denver international airport to install that, to install installation in conjunction with the rental car facility we want to build as well. >> thank you. small airports in vermont the biggest airport we have is a small airport, burlington. it is 100 times larger than any

of the other airports but those are essential. we also have an airport that we share in lebanon, new hampshire that serves both local vermont and local new hampshire. can you tell me how you're going to maintain or improve our confidence in the viability and sustainability of our small airports? quick so think of the smaller airports and midsize airports are very, very critical to again connecting rural communities. i think we can look at some of the same things were going at larger airports, maybe at a smaller scale. i think there are many ways we can take advantage of new technology and maybe even pilots and those at smaller airports. >> on budget said that about rural airports. the models the airlines are using really leave rural america on the side which i think is

really bad. what i'm hearing you say is you appreciate the absolute essential importance of the small airports to rural vermont but to rule america. >> yes sir. >> tell me what tools you would have to help us maintain service in our rural communities? >> i think there are various things like pilot training we can have it smaller airports. there are things like emergency medical operations that we can have it smaller airports to make them even more useful for the faa and the airlines. those are the kind of things i would look at to make it more viable. i understand they mentioned earlier the construction season we have to be concerned about when we put out a ip money and that sort of thing. but i think there's

opportunities. >> thank you very much and i yield back madam chair. >> thank you, thank you madam chair thank you for mr. washington for being here with us today. we have seen a number of troubling events that i'm sure this is been gone over in the commercial operations on one we saw on monday. i have obviously think everybody has certainly share the concerns over potential disaster here. if you think the work force policies contributing factor faa? would you commit to have them return our testimony from weeks ago so that's not occurring right now. >> i want to understand what the direction of the administration is around them. i do think the critical nature of faa we need folks there. folks are already there the

safety critical positions and they have been there through the pandemic. we need to not forget about them who have been there every airport in the country. i want just sent understand exactly the faa is on that i know want to look very closely i'm a traditionalist in that respect in terms of five days a week. >> thank you server. let me ask you this you meant the denver airport for two years now. how often do you go to the airport control tower to see what's going on? looks quite often senator. >> is that once a week? >> not once a week but quite often throughout the year. >> have you been in a rural air traffic control tower to see the differences? >> i have not senator. >> i would think in light of what the senator from vermont was talk about i'm from a small state as well the mountain state, challenging for aviation.

these smaller towers are exceedingly important to the overall safety of her air traveling public. let me ask you about for repair stations. there is an uptick in the utilization of foreign repair stations for airline maintenance. congress mandated the stations are supposed to have the same standards as our domestic repair facilities. obviously you would know how important that is. but in reality they are not. some have gone years without inspection. many do not even have drug or alcohol testing requirements. how you see the role of foreign repair stations and light with the faa? >> thank you for the question senator. it's very, very critical. you mentioned faa inspections being overdue. i would want to look at that

time find out why that is so i make sure we get up to date on those. it's very, very critical that we satisfied the mandate in that area. >> i think obviously i would wholeheartedly agree with that. even if that would mean hiring extra inspectors to fulfill that obligation. i think that is exceedingly important as well. >> there has been some of the pushback on your nomination you are well aware i think you address it in your statement is you are not a pilot for you have not had aviation experience. the last confirmed faa administrator had extensive pilot and airline experience. what is the one thing you would say to sort of knock that down as a requirement for the job? >> thank you senator.

leadership i think is the top attribute i would point to. i think if you can lead people, you could motivate your experts whether they are pilots, safety technicians. i think leadership is a key piece of not just faa but the key piece of everything we do including the united states senate. >> i'm sure a lot of the leadership skills you have were formulated in your long service in our military. i as an american and very grateful for your service thank you for that and thank you for being here with us today pray thank you. >> and sinema. >> thank you mr. washington for your years of public service including 24 years of service

and the u.s. army. the aviation challenge demonstrate our nations aviation system need steady leadership we've had leadership many important positions for too long. we do need a senate confirmed administrator birdwell's vitally important to have these positions filled in my role as senator i want to ensure we have the right people in these positions as you know the faa is a 24 billion-dollar budget, to oversee the most complex in the world. to work the infrastructure law passing faa reauthorization bill the next administer how the responsibility to see these are implemented effectively. mr. washington the first criteria i used provide is to determine whether or not they have the requisite experience to perform the goal for which they have been nominated. i recognize your significant expense of the u.s. army and your experience public transit

agencies. you have comparatively less experience working in aviation have become the sea of denver international airport in june of 2021. aviation experience is important for this position as you know the federal law lifting the requirements for the administer since the nominee must have experience in the field directly relates aviation. but you could describe to me or aviation experience have a provide to the background been effective faa administrator? >> thank you for the question senator. i put to a number things. the first thing a point to is my current role you mentioned it's 20 months or 24 months i think that is relevant understanding the massive airport that we have. that is one. i think all the things we have been talking about today, safety, understanding infrastructure delivery methods.

understanding massive projects because we are going to have to build more airports, more airport infrastructure as more people actually fly. i think about the decision-making we have to make. i think about the leadership piece. think about the airport perspective that i bring to the table i think about the understanding of government and how to lead folks. think about the convening ability that i have with the department of defense. all of these issues i think are relevant to the experience that is needed. >> thank you for this committee held a hearing last week to examine the assistant which explains technical issues in january, that disruption resulted in the first round stop

of air travel since the september 11 attacks in turn flights were canceled over 10,000 flights were delayed by that disrupted air travel for tens of thousands of travelers. course after to update in 2012 here we are 10 years later only have to do this one project per the faa told us these are expected to be completed until the year 2030. eighteen years after congress has directed these changes. this is one symptom of our slow progress on modernizing her air traffic control. we've spent lots of money but are not seen sufficient benefits of the system faa needs and minister to help improve her air traffic control and if confirmed to the road what approach would it take to address these concerns? >> thanks for the question senator.

some of the challenges the faa has is the direct correlation to small things impacting big things. the fact that the file was deleted leads directly to safety, a safety issue. my work in the modernizing systems in the united states army and in transportation organizations will help with that. speaking of modernization of ig systems. one of my assignments was a noncommissioned officer in charge of the information management systems for all of u.s. army europe. on so i think these small things that impact really big things are the things we are going to experience in the aviation field going forward. >> thank you chair cantwell. >> thank you, senator warnock are you ready?

you just walked in when we give you a second period. >> thank you so much madam chair. many of you have heard about the 4p's of georgia poultry, peanuts, pecans, and peaches. i like to add a fifth, planes. with respect to my colleagues from north carolina, and ohio and elsewhere i would like to state georgia is the nation's most important aviation states. george is home after all to the world's busiest airport in atlanta hartsfield the top export in aerospace products. which also happens to be the state's largest industry. we are proud of that in georgia it's an industry that's responsible for economic impact of over $57 billion.

mr. washington, she of aviation industry is originally been plagued with a series of high-profile disruptions and dangerous near misses including the no temp system outage. southwest quality meltdown that made christmas not so happy for a lot of folks. close calls on runways in new york, texas, california. each of these threaten the safety and economic viability of the aviation industry the success of which many georgians and americans rely on so heavily. if confirmed as faa administrator how will you ensure the smooth and safe operation of airlines across the country? >> think your question senator. running the third busiest not the first but the third busiest airport in the world i can tell you i am acutely aware of the disruptions. these are serious events.

when this occurred during the disruption i immediately called her after action reviews during this the disruption. and my whole career has evolved around safety. so i think we to speed up the redundancy issues. i think we need to look at the other redundancy issues from the other systems as well to make sure we do not have one point of failure for these very systems. i agree with what the interim called a safety stand down may be just a week ago. i think that is needed. this would obviously be one of my huge priorities. >> and tell me a little bit about the safety of course is very important.

but the other issues to raise our consumer protection and how you make customers whole with these kind of things occur. tell me about your thoughts around that and what will you do to improve consumer protections for air travelers making the experience more predictable, enjoyable to users of the aviation space, consumers don't feel they been taken for a ride they do not pay for. >> thank you for the question senator. that responsibility of course lies in the secretary's office. but i would work with him and the secretary's office to make sure consumer protections were covered. i spend every day at my airport in denver talking directly with travelers. i mentioned in my opening

statement that as the disruption occurred during the holiday card. people did not ask me did i have direct aviation experience they asked me where their luggage was. i will always be on the watch for consumer protection issues and work with the secretary's office on that. >> will bit of time i have remaining want to switch topics altogether introduce aviation emissions reduction opportunity act. on the sustainable skies act to establish and grant program a tax credit to support production adoption of sustainable aviation fuel. and other low emission aviation technology for this is important to reduce harmful air pollution and move our aviation industry toward a more environmentally friendly future. i'm glad critical provisions or both of my bills were included in the inflation reduction act.

most important step the widespread adoption sustainable aviation fuels there still much more to be done. if confirmed how he worked to reduce the emissions of the aviation sector along with the president's goal of net zero emissions by 2050? >> on me just say senator, could be huge game changer. we are on the front lines at denver international airport and other airports are doing really good things to our point to san francisco the ceo out there is doing great things. i would want to ramp up to administer the grants that are out there. consistent with the inflation reduction act. and i noticed the national defense authorization act which includes pilot programs is out there as well. coupled and partnered with dod agencies. i note some airports including seattle is moving towards that,

we are too. we will see who gets there first in terms of the pilot program approved by dod. >> thank you so much. look forward to work with faa administrator to promote and expand sustainable aviation fuels, thank you madam chair for. >> thank you very much i think we've heard from just about everybody we are going to hear from. cruz has a follow-up question. depending on time we got to get to a vote, or ask myself then we won't wrap it up. cruz frequent sinking madam chair mr. washington first round of questioning had a lot of discussions about your lack of experience with aviation safety. there is a nether concern that's front and center for this committee. you're the first nominee i can recall who is currently entangled in an ongoing public corruption investigation right

now while your nomination is pending. this investigation alleged pay to play contracting skin that resulted in l.a. metro giving a 30,000 dollars in no-bid contracts to politically connected charity called peace over violence or pov to run a sexual harassment hotline that is hardly ever used. whistleblower has alleged among other things that we are the l.a. metro ceo you push forward these questionable contracts in order to stay in the good graces of a powerful politician on the l.a. metro board. last december he told the "new york times" quote when i pursued the job in denver for the airport much thanks the credit of the denver city council they looked into all this and debunked it all so i would ask congress to do the same. mr. washington do you still want congress to look into these allegations? >> have nothing to hide senator. >> okay good we are looking into them. even they say the denver city council debunked it all the l.a.

sheriff's office determined these allegations had merit. in fact last september the sheriff's office executed a criminal search warrant at elliott metro headquarters based on these allegations. you were named in that search warrant not what once, not twice, but numerous times a search form authorizes a sheriff's office to seize e-mails and other communication between you and other individuals involved in the investigation. but that is not all. the search warrant also includes specific allegations that you personally engaged in misconduct. for example here on page 24 of the search warrant the warrant says a witness stated that quote although there's no legitimate reason for metro to outsource such a service to pov in a sole-source contract the contract was pushed forward by ceo philip washington in order to remain in good graces with

supervisor she looked cool. as a reminder pov is a charity that received a 30,000 dollars in a no-bid contract to run a hotline for l.a. metro that is hardly ever used. sheila is a powerful politician on l.a. metro's board was long time friends with the head of pov. california attorney general's office is now leading the investigation into this public corruption scheme. washington have you spoken with the attorney general's office about the investigation? parks know i have not senator. >> the committee staff did last week. we reached out to inquire the status of the investigation for the attorney general's office said there is an ongoing criminal investigation into this matter under staff that in particular you have a quote material involvement in the

case. in the investigation is months away from being completed. that's bad enough but more meds in the distaff the attorney general's office told us that at that time they were not aware anyone from the white house, the fbi or the senate had contacted them about the ongoing public investigation for you have material involvement. that is remarkable for anderson the charwoman has subsequently spoken with the california attorney general office. but at the time nobody had talked to them to the ag's office. that is remarkable it's more than a little troubling. i think it is fair to say california sheriff's, the l.a. sheriff and the california attorney general are not republicans they are not right wing republicans with an ax to grind. the fact this case is ongoing is

truly remarkable this committee is considering confirming a nominee in the middle of an ongoing investigation for public corruption. i am hard-pressed to think of anything more damaging to the faa the not only confirming someone who is not qualified, has no experience in aviation safety but secondly doing so while a public corruption cases ongoing, which according to the terms of the search warrant implicates you directly. if it so happened you ended up indicted as a result of this ongoing investigation, i do not know if that will happen or not the investigation needs to conclude, what sort of damage would it do to the faa to have the administrator indicted on public corruption? >> a couple of things senator byrd. >> please respond. >> thank you, thank you. that particular contract was

initially before i arrived at metro. there has been no findings of wrongdoing by me. i stand by the work that was done in this contract. conclusion the search warrant is wrong but says these are the allegations of the search warrant that philip washington pushed it forward for. >> that is wrong that is false. i never talked with anyone about that. this was done with a delegation of authority to my department heads. but the allegations are false. i talked to no one you mentioned former supervisor sheila i never talked about the contract for. >> the ag investigation is not concluded, is that correct? >> no one has talked to from the ag office. no one is going from the sheriff's office.

no one is contact me about this case at all. >> thank you. >> thank you. mr. washington one of things it keeps coming up in this discussion has been the southwest airlines outage. on the fact that literally thousands of people were stranded over several days without any idea of what was going to happen next, for me one of my constituents that was most prominent was the high school basketball coach and his wife the kids there down in vegas at a tournament literally for four days during christmas had to figure out what to do next. so every day it was a challenge. they thought they had a pretty good they actually went had a place and had the kids there and they celebrated christmas together. i turned out to be a bonding experience for them but several times don't back to the airport to find many other people just sleeping on the floor of the airport trying to figure out what was going to happen next.

so in the hearing we had, one of the things the southwest pilots brought up as they thought southwest lost operational control. that meant the operation of what was in airlines flight for the pilots were, where the pilots needed to be basically did not know. one of things the faa administrator if confirmed can take action against enforcement of the fact they did not have -- they had loss of control. what i'm interested in knowing i think everybody in this hearing you're getting adrift here that nobody wants an industry person who's too cozy with industry. people want a new day at the faa and they want the faa to make sure they are thinking about consumers, and as you mentioned several times, safety.

so if confirmed would you make sure you take aggressive action on making sure either fines or their certificate, things of that nature were looked at? in this case which i get southwest to own up to the fact that they need to fix the system so that it does not happen again. [inaudible conversations]

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