mr. bill shuster, thank them for his tremendous interest and of all in this issue and the faa authorization bill. mr. chairman. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to start by saying welcome to our panel is just a who is interested in hearing your testimony and your views on this issue. i sure mr. lobiondo's views on safety. safety is in the sky simply paramount. that has to be first and foremost so we in congress are very interested in uas. in the last that we directed the faa to save integrate that into our airspace by september 2015. the uas industry cannot develop unless it's proven safe, and based on the opening statements by the chairman and the ranking member, republicans democrats are united in our views about the priority and importance of safety. we also understand the uas are an exciting technology with the potential to transform parts of our economy. i'm intrigued by how uas might improve our mode of transportation. for example, uas might be used for certain kind of bridge inspections without closing lanes for traffic stopping before requiring workers requiring to climb up to hid

mr. shuster, the subcommittee chair, mr. hunter, our ranking member, mr. garamendi, and our staffs as well for the tremendous work that has gone in to producing this legislation. under chairman shuster's leadership, our transportation and infrastructure committee is indeed going to-- is demonstrating once again today what bipartisanship can do and the productive manner in which we can work for the american people. and what is often described as a dysfunctional city. i know that in the years ahead the transportation and infrastructure committee will step up to the plate and do its work again, especially in addressing a major transportation bill next year and a major aviation bill that is on its agenda. i guess it's fitting, mr. speaker, that the last bill that senator rockefeller and myself are in part being managed by west virginians, both of us will be leaving this congress. west virginia is the great seafaring state that it is. but i do salute senator rockefeller as well for his tremendous leadership as firm of the senate commerce committee, for his leade

mr. shuster. i want. i want to thank our distinguished panel of witnesses today. associate administrator for aviation safety, essentially all things ua s. assistant inspector general for aviation audits with us department of transportation office of the inspector general. dir. of civil aviation issues for the us government accountability office. president of airline pilot association, head of business development, you are recognized. >> thank you. the opportunity to appear before the subcommittee. the safe and efficient integration into the national airspace system. in announcing a strategic initiative identified integration of ua s and commercial space operation working hard to meet those mandates. congress mandated the secretary of transportation consult with government partners to develop a comprehensive plan and five-year roadmap. both documents both documents of been published and outline the path ahead. these documents set out a phased approach must be carried out thoughtfully. consistent with congressional direction we announced six ua s sites to aid in int

mr. shuster in said "where your -- said "why are you, a republican, traveling with jim oberstar?" he said that we were joined at the hip and we reached a common ground for the better of the country. not everyone has the best the ideas. if you find common ground, you reach good ideas, good policy that is workable for the country. throughout 20007 and 2008 we passed significant legislation reauthorizing amtrak for example. mr. mica came from one perceptive. i came from another. he had an idea of engaging the private sector. i didn't think that would be workable. but as we talked, as we looked each other in the eye, there was a trust between us. he is not setting a trap for me and i am not setting a trap for him. we were being open and honest to see what we could do for the greater public good. we achieved authorization for amtrak that eventually, the following year, 2008, president bush signed into law. i can say that for the state loan fund, the faa authorization bill we passed in 2007, and then again in 2009. a host of other measures putting the posfirst photovoltaic system in the

mr. shuster. want to thank our distinguished panel of witnesses today. ur first panel will include the associate administrator for aviation safety for the federal aviation administration. essentially all things uas. mr. matthew hampton, assistant inspector general for aviation audits for the u.s. department of transportation office of inspector general. dr. gerald dillingham, director of civil aviation issues for the u.s. government accountability office. captain lee moak, who is president of airline pilots association. mr. jesse kallman. head of business development and regulatory affairs for airware. dr. nicholas roy and, miss gillan, you are recognized. we welcome your remarks. >> thank you, chairman, for the opportunity to appear before the subcommittee to discuss unmanned aircraft systems. in the faa modernization and reform act, congressman day-to-dayed the safe and efficient integration of the uas into the national air space system. the administrator in announcing his initiative identified integration of uas and commercial space operations as one o

mr. chairman. i echo the comments of chairman lobiondo and chairman shuster, both from a safety perspective as well as an opportunity for economic growth. the briefing materials that we were provided by the committee cite that this -- that uas systems will have a $200 billion impact and provide jobs up to 2025. my questions should be viewed through that lens. i'd like to start with associate administrator gilligan. one thing i say with uas is more efficiency in rural areas, like the one i represent, viewing farmland and precision agricult agriculture. and make sure we have proper drainage and better production, better environmental impact. so one thing that can hamper this is a requirement. if the rule required a pilot's license in order for a farmer to operate a uav, can you confirm the small uas rule would require a farmer to get a pilot's license in order to use one. >> unfortunately sir, because we're in rule making i'm not able to talk about what's contained in the rule. we're mindful, however, of the -- how easily uas could be applied to agricultural operations. of course we also have a very

mr. chairman. i echo the comments of chairman lobiondo and chairman shuster, both from a safety perspective as well as an opportunity for economic growth. the briefing materials that we were provided by the committee cite that this -- that uas systems will have an $82 billion economic impact and perhaps provide up to 100,000 jobs by the year 2025. my questions should be viewed through that lens. i'd like to start with associate administrator gilligan. one thing i say with uas is more efficiency in rural areas, like the one i represent, viewing farmland and precision agriculture. and make sure we have proper drainage and better production, better environmental impact. so one thing that can hamper this is a requirement. if the rule required a pilot's license in order for a farmer to operate a uav, can you confirm the small uas rule would require a farmer to get a pilot's license in order to use one. >> unfortunately, sir, because we're in rule making i'm not able to talk about what's contained in the rule. we're mindful, however, of the -- how easily uas could be applied to agricultural operations. o