FAA Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am here this afternoon to address two pieces of legislation that are coming before the Senate. One we are currently waiting to consider is a long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, and the second, which I hope we will soon consider, is comprehensive legislation to address the Nation's opioid epidemic.

I begin by thanking Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson for their work to deliver a bipartisan, bicameral FAA reauthorization bill that provides a 5-year reauthorization for the agency. The last time we reauthorized the FAA, when I was in the Senate, I think it took us 23 tries to get it done over a period of time that was actually longer than the original authorization, but this time we are doing it much faster, with three short-term extensions. Last week, the House passed this bill, the FAA reauthorization, with broad bipartisan support, and I hope the Senate is going to act quickly so we can get this bill to the President's desk for signature.

The FAA has not received a long-term reauthorization since February of 2012. Short-term reauthorizations fail to give the FAA the certainty and the necessary resources they need to make to improve our Nation's airports and make commercial air travel safer for all passengers.

I think it is particularly an issue right now as we are switching over to the NextGen system of air traffic control. Last month, I had a chance to visit with air traffic controllers in New Hampshire at the Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility in Merrimack, also called the TRACON. What I heard from folks there was that a long-term reauthorization bill means that the TRACON and Merrimack will be able to upgrade its systems to keep our airways safe, while also allowing the center to continue to hire well-qualified, trained controllers to meet staffing needs.

The bill we have before us now provides critical investments through the Airport Improvement Program that provides grants to airports nationwide for planning and development projects that these airports would be unable to complete otherwise. In New Hampshire, where we have a number of small airports, this grant program is particularly important.

It also increases investments in the Essential Air Service Program, which provides services that would otherwise be too cost prohibitive for airlines to operate in rural communities like we have in New Hampshire. For example, EAS is vital for Granite Staters who utilize the Lebanon Municipal Airport and depend on this service for access to regularly scheduled flights that would not otherwise be available. I am sure the Presiding Officer has an appreciation for the Lebanon Municipal Airport, since he went to school at Dartmouth in that region of the State and knows how important that airport is to New Hampshire.

I am also pleased the FAA bill includes legislation I introduced as part of it to permanently reauthorize the Human Intervention Motivation Study, the HIMS Program, and also directs the National Research Council to study how other subagencies within the Department of Transportation could create similar programs to fight drug and alcohol addiction within their workforces.

HIMS, as it is known, is an employee assistance program that provides education and outreach in order to coordinate the identification, treatment, medical recertification, and return to the cockpit of flight officers with substance misuse issues. HIMS doesn't provide direct treatment but instead helps identify those who are in need, and it facilitates the successful return to work. It is an industrywide effort in which airlines, pilot unions, and the FAA work together to preserve careers and promote air safety. Since its implementation, the program has successfully helped over 5,800 pilots, and it provides airlines with a $9 return on every dollar that is invested.

There are a lot of lessons from the HIMS Program that I think have real resonance to other agencies within the Department of Transportation, and I am hoping the study that is authorized as part of the FAA bill we are considering will be able to be shared so we can see how other agencies can also benefit from this.

Right now, we have a 1-week extension on the FAA bill that expires this Sunday, October 7. I hope this bill is going to come to the floor for final passage before we go home this week. Opioid Epidemic

Mr. President, second, I also want to point out that I hope the Senate will be moving soon to advance the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which is comprehensive legislation to address the opioid epidemic. It is legislation that is the product of real bipartisan collaboration, not only within multiple committees within the Senate but multiple committees within both Chambers of Congress. It really shows we can work together across the aisle to help combat a crisis that has such a devastating impact on so many of our communities across the country. In my State of New Hampshire, where we have been particularly devastated, we have the second highest rate of overdose deaths from opioids of any State in the country.

What I have heard from Granite Staters time and again is that local providers and communities need more resources and flexibility to expand access to opioid treatment and prevention. This legislation responds to that call for action.

I am proud to have worked with Senator Hassan and Senators from across the aisle to ensure that this bill includes a reauthorization of the State opioid response grants, with the inclusion of the set-aside funding pool for States like New Hampshire that have been hardest hit by the epidemic.

I am also pleased that the bill includes provisions of legislation I cosponsored with Senator Collins to provide technical assistance and resources to peer recovery support networks. These networks play a vital role in a patient's successful recovery.

The bill extends flexibility for physicians and other practitioners who are seeking to expand access to medication-assisted treatment, or MAT. Ensuring that more patients can receive MAT services is critical to stemming the tide of the opioid epidemic.

The bill provides a variety of improvements to prescription drug monitoring programs, which has been a priority for New Hampshire. It includes a number of provisions that will improve the ability of Federal, State, and local law enforcement to reduce the illicit distribution of opioids and interdict particularly deadly synthetics like fentanyl, which is really the source of so many overdose deaths across the country.

The legislation reauthorizes critical law enforcement programs that work to combat drug trafficking, including the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program, HIDTA. I had an opportunity in January to visit the New England HIDTA Program headquarters in Massachusetts, and I saw firsthand the work they are doing to combat the flow of illicit drugs.

Finally, this opioid legislation provides much needed focus on addressing the impact of the opioid epidemic on children and families. If we don't get ahead of this epidemic, we are going to see another generation of children who are going to be lost because of what has happened in their families because of substance abuse disorders.

This bill will help pregnant women with substance use disorders access the maternity care they need. It has programs that will give families better options for treating opioid withdrawal in newborns, programs like Moms in Recovery that Dartmouth-Hitchcock does so well in New Hampshire. What we are seeing in some hospitals in New Hampshire is that as much as 10-percent of babies are born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, caused by their mothers using opioids while they were pregnant. The bill will also help spur new family-focused interventions for parents struggling with opioid use disorders so that fewer kids will be raised in foster care.

In sum, the policies included in this bipartisan legislation will go a long way toward helping us fight the opioid epidemic. We will need to continue to focus Federal resources on this crisis in the years to come. This is an important step forward in making sure at the Federal level that we are working with States and communities to address this multifaceted public health challenge. If we all work together, we can help end the devastation that is being caused by opioids. I look forward to joining all of our colleagues in supporting this bill soon.

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