babbitt thank you very much. senator rockefeller you have just arrived in which you want to make in the opening comments or would you like to begin questioning? i am happy to do for. >> i will put my statement in the record. i want to say to randy babbitt that i'm feeling very guilty because you called me a couple of times. i have been lost and something called the deepest weeds bob saha of health care nonstop and i want to apologize to you because i think you were doing a terrific job, so do you excepts my apology? >> absolutely. >> mr. chairman i will confer to you on questions and take my regular order. >> senator rockefeller thank you very much. let me begin asking about the issue of fatigue since you commented on it. you formed arc then they met july to september in dnl have some recommendations, but further analysis needs to be done. both the recommendations and further analysis that is underway, will it relate in any way to the issue of commuting or is commuting outside of the range of vision on this parti

babbitt. let me say first of all that we must take knowledge in the overall house save our aviation system is. we extend our highest priority. we will always do that. as it all know, the colgan flight 3407 is waiting on airlines and we learned a lot from the investigation but now we must act -- excuse eighing oit is weighing on our minds. it drags out. let me ask you, and know that we sent you a letter led by senator dorgan and senator rockefeller. we also signed a along with other members of this committee, senator snowe. really bipartisan. it said, how could we do this faster? that is the question. >> when we put the notice of proposed rulemaking, we're obligated to take comments. people have a comment window, but we have to observe. we then digest those comments pretty good example would-be a slowed down rule that is parallel to this one is the section for training pilots. we had 3000 pages of comments that we are obligated to digest, summarize, and incorporate if we could. i really do not

babbitt, thank you very much. senator rockefeller, which like to make any opening comments or begin questioning? >> i will put my statement in the record. i want to say to randy babbitt that you call to make a couple of times. i have been lost in the deepest weeds bog in health care. i think you're doing a terrific job. will you accept my apology? >> absolutely. >> mr. chairman, i will defer to you. >> senator rockefeller, thank you very much. let me begin asking about the issue of fatigue since you commented on that. informants arc and you know how -- you forms and arc and further analysis needs to be done. both the recommendations and further analysis that is under way, will relate in any way to the issue of commuting? or is commuting outside of the range of vision of this rule making tax >? >> they were briefed on the issue. all of the parties involved did not come up with any conclusions. instead, they said commuting was an issue. they felt it was outside of the boundaries of what they're looking at in terms o

babbitt as the administrator.has extensive experience and we have a chance to get to know one another. i am pleased at the action he has committed to taking. it is amazing when you think about it. the record that has been composed over the years in aviation in this country is astonishing. even one slip is one too many. we should never have that happen. runway safety and aircraft overruns' continue to be submitted -- significant problems. dod recently highlighted dangerous run with procedures at newark airport. these procedures were brought to the attention of the faa nearly two years ago by a new work air- traffic controllers that the faa is just now acting. why did it take the faa so long to act on safety concerns raised by a veteran air traffic controller? >> that is a very serious issue for us. since i have been the administrator, my chief counsel has created an office to completely revamp how we deal with the whistle-blowers. the most important point i want to make is when somebody raises a question and they h

babbitt. recently, dot inspector general report highlighted dangerous runway procedures at newark airport. these procedures were brought to the attention of the of fayed nearly two years ago by a new -- newark air traffic controller, but yet, the faa has just now proceeded to act. which we are pleased to see, but why did it take a day so long to act on safety concerns -- take the faa so long to act on safety concerns raised by the air traffic controller? >> that is a very serious issue for us. i think you should know that since i have been the administrator, my chief counsel has created an office to completely revamp how we deal with the whistle blowers. i guess the most important point i want to make is, when someone raises a question and a half to "blow it was a" to get the information to us, we have already had a breakdown. when people bring us things, we should be dealing with it. i want this handled differently. something went wrong. we had a failure to communicate, a failure of understan

and i appreciate the fact that administrator babbitt is now in the process of taking action.we're going to hear that from ms. gilligan. but this has to be a catalyst. this hearing has to be a catalyst for insisting at last, at long last after some 40 years or so, that we take a hard look at this and make the changes that are necessary. ms. gilligan. >> thank you, sir. chairman dorgan, and senator, members of the subcommit year, i'm pleased to be here today to discuss the f.a.a.'s efforts to mitigate pilot fatigue. as you know the agency his been involved in revising the current regulations on flute and duty time for some time. and we are all frustrated by the amount of time we've spent. but i can tell you that this time our efforts are different. administrator babbitt, himself a former commercial airline pilot, has made this a high-priority issue for the f.a.a. in june he chartered an aviation rulemaking committee comprised of labor, industry and f.a.a. representatives to develop recommendations for a rule based on the current science of fatigue and review of international ap

babbitt, one of the things we have not discussed is safety and totality.e towers are in the condition they should be. when i look at the schedules and i see newark liberty has standard staffing their 26 + 8 to trainees and kennedy has 37 full-time and 24 full-time and eight trainees. i think one of the questions i would like to review when mr. babbitt is here is whether they doing in contemplation of the retirements and including the staffing levels right now? the other thing, mr. barimo, i do think $20,000 per year is acceptable for someone who has the responsibilities of the pilots? >> senator, what i would say is seniority is keying in the airline industry. what that means is salaries are negotiated between the union and the company and generally favors the more senior pilots. what we're talking about is a pay scale that store is fairly low and ends a fairly high. there are ways to level that out to have pilots coming in better less and pilates out the senior and earn a little less and there are ways to do that with a negotiated element of a pilot's lif

and i appreciate the fact that administrator babbitt is now in the process of taking action.oing to hear that from ms. gilligan. but this has to be a catalyst. this hearing has to be a catalyst for insisting at last, at long last after some 40 years or so, that we take a hard look at this and make the changes that are necessary. ms. gilligan. >> thank you, sir. chairman dorgan, and senator, members of the subcommit year, i'm pleased to be here today to discuss the f.a.a.'s efforts to mitigate pilot fatigue. as you know the agency his been involved in revising the current regulations on flute and duty time for some time. and we are all frustrated by the amount of time we've spent. but i can tell you that this time our efforts are different. administrator babbitt, himself a former commercial airline pilot, has made this a high-priority issue for the f.a.a. in june he chartered an aviation rulemaking committee comprised of labor, industry and f.a.a. representatives to develop recommendations for a rule based on the current science of fatigue and review of international approache

the faa administrator babbitt associate minister he begins to administer those rules by the end of next. and given the history on this issue i think it's important to complete that work that was begun by soliciting the recommendations of an aviator rulemaking commission. another false start and there've been several would really be unacceptable. i hope this hearing will bring some renewed focus to the issue of pilot fatigue, flights, and duty time rules. also the issue of commuting and i hope that we can take steps to remove a fatigue as a fact or an aviation safety. .. string is not the right word, but being a great deal of attention, there is no room for mistakes in takeoffs and landings so there's a lot of attention in the cockpit and attention to the way airplanes are being slowness of that also creates fatigue. i think this hearing can be a catalyst and hopefully will be helpful to the faa and the ntsb in trying, once again, to put all the spotlights on the same spot when it comes to this issue of fatigue in the cockpit. mr. lautenberg, let me calling you for opening statement and

babbitt and joshua b. howard. and i would love to see them on booktv. this book is about one of the titles of the american revolution and it is a wonderful read in history. >> host: why was it a critical battle? >> caller: well, the independent had reached an point where the americans were pretty much down to their last straw and a wonderful general by the name of nathaniel greene went south and develop a strategy that lured the british away from charleston in their supply and when he finally brought them far enough away he turned on them and delivered a series of blues in which guilford courthouse was one. and the end result was the british wound up at yorktown and the americans were free. >> host: hey, thank you for that call. this is james on our independent line. >> caller: good morning. >> host: good morning. >> caller: i'm reading a book called the invention of the jewish people and the book kind of goes after the miss of the monolithic group of people who were moved from their homeland and he points out that most jews are actually converts to jud

. >> it is very important babbitt is a new administrator of a great deal of promise and he knows the industry and has been in the air command a airplanes and i have high hopes for some excellent work coming out of the faa that includes your work and others but it is essential we consider these things tata urgent are dire as a captain indicated and important to be scions space-bar after all of these years and after the many, many years and lives have been lost to get this done. i will be a burr under the saddle but really keep pushing because we need to get this done. i appreciate we have gone longer but i appreciate the four of you have come to testify who have the administrator here next week and begin to reach a conclusion on some of the issues. i hope ms. gilligan all right to the administrator i also hope to talk to some length about commuting in addition to the other fatigue issues. i thank you very much. this hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] they want us toight states that domestic abuse ise e problems in bitterly, bitterly know, one ofi

with congress right after the first of the year the in response to the concerns that we raised about babbittna victims? >> that did not come up. there have been some special steps in the case of katrina. there have been some commitments that have been made with respect to katrina and while it did not come up. we think that the committee leadership in new orleans and the gulf coast is very assertive in pushing forward in pushing the census to take additional steps. the commitments there, we will hold our fees to the fire and make sure that those commitments are honored. >> one of the things that were unified in that meeting was the necessity to invoke and commit additional resources to this effort. all of the things that we are all talking about, all of the things that we are concerned about has to do with resources. if you have the political will, put up the money. we have many many illustrations. this is in particular if you are dealing with things like katrina, things like this happening to african americans. barbara lee, the oversight chairman of the census are committed to finding additi