WASHINGTON, D.C. – In his opening statement at today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing titled “FAA Reauthorization One Year Later: Aviation Safety, Air Traffic, and Next Generation Technology,” Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) emphasized the urgent need to modernize the national airspace system following recent aviation tragedies. Nearly a year after the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 was signed into law, Sen. Cruz explained that the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) ongoing struggles to use better technology and hire sufficient air traffic controllers were symptoms of its current bureaucratic setup.

Sen. Cruz reaffirmed his commitment to helping the administration obtain resources to fix acute issues like those recently manifested at Newark International Airport. Sen. Cruz noted President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s recent announcement aimed at improving aviation technologies and attracting more air traffic controllers, and stressed the need for Congress and the administration to continue to pursue policies that will improve the reliability of the nation’s aviation infrastructure.

Additionally, Sen. Cruz highlighted how the arrival of air taxis and commercial drones will strain an already stressed system. While the 2024 law took meaningful steps to accelerate the safe integration of these new entrants into the nation’s skies, the Biden administration failed to meet statutory timelines, hindering the growth of the drone and advanced air mobility industry.  Ensuring all provisions are implemented in line with the statutory timelines and consistent with congressional intent is critical both for the U.S. economy and the safety of the nation’s airspace.

Here are Sen. Cruz’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“It's been nearly one year since the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 was signed into law.  I was proud to co-lead that effort in the Senate with Ranking Member Cantwell.

“As we’re seeing today with a major aviation tragedy, repeated staffing challenges, and technological failures, the 2024 Act was unfortunately quite prescient. It had an audit of all legacy pre-2000 ATC systems to assess operational risk, functionality, security, and compatibility with current and future technologies.

“An additional requirement ensures the FAA notifies Congress of unfunded priorities not in the budget request that are integral to the operation of the national airspace. It also directed the FAA and airports to adopt new runway technology to cut down on the high number of near-misses on airport runways.

“It's clear that there is a dire need to fix our troubled airspace. Last week, President Trump and Secretary Duffy proposed a major plan to replace vast segments of the national airspace system – radars, towers, telecommunications, and more.

“Secretary Duffy previously announced new policies to attract more air traffic controllers, improve their training, and incentivize good controllers to stay in the workforce longer. These upgrades are overdue, and I hope there will be bipartisan support for them.

“I am committed to helping Secretary Duffy get the resources he needs to address acute problems like replacing existing, unreliable copper lines with faster fiber at facilities managing the Newark airspace and any other areas, too.

“But the FAA’s multi-year failure to keep pace with technology and staffing needs underscores a larger problem when a bureaucracy has to fund and manage multi-year projects on behalf of private sector stakeholders like airlines and general aviation — all while acting as a safety regulator. The challenge of quickly and properly implementing new billion-dollar, mission-critical tech systems is about to become even more daunting with the arrival of air taxis and commercial drones.

“If you think the FAA as currently constructed is ready for this challenge, then you haven’t been paying attention over the last two decades. Congress and the administration must think boldly about how we can set the FAA up for long-term success. Both our economy’s productive capacity and the safety of the nation’s airspace depend on it.

“Regarding the arrival of air taxis and commercial drones, the 2024 law took meaningful steps to accelerate the safe integration of these new entrants into the nation’s skies. Most notably, the FAA bill required a rulemaking to enable drones to operate beyond visual line of sight, a huge priority for the growth of the drone industry.  The Biden administration, unfortunately, missed the bill’s deadline of September.   

“The bill also directed the establishment of a new Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies, a provision that I authored, which was recently announced to be in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and will be headed up by the Texas A&M System.  The Center will play an extremely important role for the advancement of new technologies, and I am thankful for the work Secretary Duffy and the FAA has played in moving it forward.

“Ensuring the 2024 law is implemented in line with the statutory timelines and consistent with congressional intent is of paramount importance to this committee, and I appreciate my colleagues’ commitment to maintaining robust oversight of the process.

“Finally, I want to express my continued condolences to the families of American Airlines Flight 5342.  Thank you for turning your tragedy into tireless advocacy.  I remain dedicated to ensuring something like it never happens again, and it is precisely why members of this Committee hear directly from the FAA about the steps it’s taking to create a safer and more efficient airspace.

“I look forward to hearing about the progress the administration is making on these critical issues.”

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