The U.S. mid-term congressional elections this November will determine which party controls Congress during the next year’s FAA reauthorization process. Republicans are bullish on retaking both the House of Representatives and Senate, while Democrats are fighting hard to protect their razor-thin majorities.
That’s the big picture. Of the 536 total congressional seats (including D.C.’s non-voting delegate…more on her below), 470 are up for election, including a special election to fill the remaining four years of retiring Sen. Jim Inhofe’s (R-Okla.) term, but not including the one to fill the final weeks of what would have been Vice President Kamala Harris’ (D-Calif.) term as a senator. While each one of those seats matters, there are some that matter more to aerospace professionals than others: members of aviation committees and subcommittees.
These senators and representatives will have a direct impact on the language that becomes the next FAA reauthorization. No matter which party comes out on top in terms of overall majority, there will be new committee leaders. Their priorities and influences will drive industry policy for the next decade, so they deserve our focus.
Specifically, the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee will write the reauthorization bill. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) has chaired T&I since 2019 and will retire this year. Three current members are vying for the gavel in the wake of his departure.
If the Republicans capture the House, Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) is a shoo-in to be the next T&I chairman. Graves holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, is currently the senior Republican on T&I and has been involved in aviation most of his life.
“Growing up, my brother and I would pump gas, wash planes, or do whatever work we could find around the airfield, and we were always mooching a ride in one of the airplanes. That’s what started me on my way to becoming a professional pilot with an ATP,” Graves told the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in 2020.
As a pilot, Graves understands the importance of regulatory oversight, but also understands regulations need to serve safety – not political – purposes. He and his staff worked across the aisle with Democrats to significantly improve the contract maintenance bill passed by the T&I Committee this summer. He’s also a champion for aviation workforce development. He earned the 2019 ARSA Legislative Leadership Award by being one of the lead sponsors of the maintenance technician grant program created at the association’s urging during the last FAA reauthorization.
The two members vying to be the senior Democrat on T&I, and chairman if their party holds the House, are Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).
Larsen’s northwest Washington district abuts the Seattle area, making aviation issues important. According to his online bio, “The Pacific Northwest is the aerospace capital of the world, and I will work hard to make sure the United States invests in our aviation future. Aviation means jobs in Northwest Washington. Anything I can do to support the growth and safety of air travel will bring good jobs to our communities.”
As chairman of T&I’s aviation subcommittee, Larsen has put those words into action. He’s been a champion for aviation workforce development programs and has led annual efforts to secure full funding for the new maintenance technician grant program. Larsen has served as an honest broker on repair station issues and clearly understands the impact that the maintenance industry has in his home state. Despite being a senior Democrat on the T&I Committee, Larsen did not cosponsor Chairman DeFazio’s anti-repair station bill. During the pandemic, he was also one of the champions of legislation to protect aviation jobs. In recognition of his leadership, Larsen received ARSA’s Legislative Leadership Award in 2022.
Norton has served in Congress for 30 years and is the chair of T&I’s highways and transit subcommittee. As D.C.’s congressional delegate, she does not have a vote on the House floor and would be the first delegate to chair a congressional committee. Given that there are no repair stations in Washington, D.C., it has been difficult to break through with Norton on maintenance issues; she was an original sponsor of DeFazio’s bill. She also leads the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus, which works to address aircraft noise issues. With reauthorization looming, her recent experience steering a major authorization bill, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law approved last year, through the legislative process works in her favor.
We’ll find out which one of these three – Graves, Larsen, Norton – takes the top spot in T&I by the time the new Congress convenes in January. If the Republicans re-take the house majority, it will be Graves. If the Democrats hold on, their Steering and Policy Committee on the House side will make the final determination between Larsen and Norton. No matter who comes out on top, the industry should be ready to work with them to promote commonsense aviation safety policy.
Christian A. Klein is the managing member of Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, P.L.C. overseeing the firm’s policy advocacy practice. He represents trade associations as a registered federal lobbyist and provides strategic communications and legal counsel services to clients. He is executive vice president of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association. Klein is a member of the University of Virginia’s adjunct faculty.
