Bill Provides Annual Gains In Research To $515M

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has endorsed HR 2698, the Federal Aviation R&D Act of 2007. After approval by the House Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics June 14, the full committee approved the measure, sponsored by Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), Friday June 22 by voice vote.

The bill provides $335 million for the FAA's research and development programs in FY 2008, with steady annual gains until reaching $515 million in FY 2011, according to the AIAA. The bill is aimed at improving the safety, capacity and efficiency of the nation's air transportation system to meet expected air traffic demands of the future.

"The bill is generally positive for the continued development and productivity of our nation's aerospace efforts," said AIAA President Paul Nielsen in his endorsement of HR 2698. "Apart from support for a range of important R&D activities, particularly noteworthy are the legislation's reinforcement of the Next Generation Air Transportation System Joint Planning and Development Office's ability to move efficiently toward implementing NextGen; its streamlining of the approval process by the FAA and NASA for certifying new aerospace technology; and its increased support of research on space weather."

Nielsen continued, "AIAA also applauds the provisions in HR 2698 that provide for an enhancement of research grants available to undergraduate students and for the development of a roadmap for technology R&D programs seeking to modify existing
propulsion systems. For these reasons, as well as other merits of this critical bill, AIAA endorses HR 2698 and supports its passage as quickly as prudence allows."

A key feature of H.R. 2698 is a set of provisions to strengthen the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), which is charged with planning and developing the Next Generation Air Transportation System. NextGen is envisioned as a major redesign of the current air transportation system, which is increasingly inefficient and near capacity.

NextGen would entail precision satellite navigation; digital, networked communications; an integrated aviation weather system; layered, adaptive security and more, according to the House.

"This bill provides significant resources and direction to the FAA, but it is clear that FAA can not do it alone," committee chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), a bill sponsor. said.

"NASA, in particular, has an important R&D role to play and that is something that the Committee will devote more attention to as we start work on reauthorizing NASA later in this Congress."

"The nation's air transportation system is critical to our economic well-being, our international competitiveness, and our quality of life," Udall said. "I believe that this bill will keep the FAA's R&D enterprise healthy and productive."

FMI: www.aiaa.org, Read the Act