{"id":20250,"date":"2021-12-06T23:28:28","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T23:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=20250"},"modified":"2021-12-06T23:28:30","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T23:28:30","slug":"aviation-associations-recognize-retiring-chair-peter-defazio-for-his-leadership-and-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/district-of-columbia\/aviation-associations-recognize-retiring-chair-peter-defazio-for-his-leadership-and-legacy\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Aviation Associations Recognize Retiring Chair Peter DeFazio for His Leadership and Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Congressman Peter DeFazio<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Aviation Associations, including AAAE, NBAA, NATCA, and NASAO\nexpressed their appreciation to Oregon Congressman and House Committee on\nTransportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-4-OR),\nwho for more than three decades has been a passionate advocate and fierce\nchampion for aviation safety, transportation labor, and the front-line workers\nwho power the engine that drives our nation\u2019s economy. DeFazio announced recently\nthat he will not seek re-election in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) President\nand CEO Todd Hauptli said that for nearly four decades, Chair DeFazio has\nserved the people of Oregon with dedication and distinction. \u201cHis passion for\nissues of importance, including infrastructure investment, has fueled\ntremendous progress for airports, the nation\u2019s transportation system, and the\nentire country. His voice will be missed in the halls of Congress, but his\nlegacy will live on for generations to come. I am personally grateful for his\nleadership and his friendship over the 30 years I have had the privilege of\nworking with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and\nCEO Ed Bolen lauded Rep. DeFazio\u2019s longtime service to the country and\ndecades-long commitment to protecting the nation\u2019s aviation system, following\nthe announcement of his intent to retire from Congress at the end of his\ncurrent term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCongressman DeFazio has been extraordinarily thoughtful,\nthorough and hard-working in everything in which he has been involved,\nincluding an in-depth understanding of, and appreciation for, matters affecting\nour national aviation community,\u201d Bolen said. \u201cI believe his tenure in Congress\nreflects the very dedication to policy and public service the framers of the Constitution\nmust have had in mind when establishing the House of Representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeFazio is perhaps best known for his steadfast work to\ndevelop and maintain a robust multimodal national transportation system. He has\nalso played a key role in reauthorizing funding for the Federal Aviation\nAdministration (FAA) and is among the original members of the House General\nAviation Caucus, a group formed with NBAA\u2019s support in 2009, to inform\nlawmakers and staff about the importance of general aviation to the nation\u2019s\neconomy and transportation system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 2016 \u201cCapital View\u201d column for NBAA\u2019s Business Aviation\nInsider magazine, DeFazio provided a thorough explanation of the reasons behind\nhis opposition to the then-current movement on Capitol Hill to privatize the\nnation\u2019s air traffic control (ATC) system. He further expressed his staunch\nsupport for maintaining FAA oversight of ATC and pledged to \u201ccontinue to fight\nto preserve Americans\u2019 right to use the airspace that belongs to all of us, not\nspecial interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In announcing his retirement, DeFazio said it was \u201ctime for\nme to pass the baton to the next generation, so I can focus on my health and\nwell-being,\u201d adding he still has \u201ca lot of work to do in my remaining 13\nmonths\u201d in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Pecoraro, National Association of State Aviation\nOfficials (NASAO) President and CEO, thanked the Congressman for his leadership\nin Transportation policy, and commitment to strengthening safety and improving\ninfrastructure in the world\u2019s best Aviation System. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Congressman Peter DeFazio<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)\nPresident Rich Santa noted the 20,000 aviation safety professionals that NATCA\nrepresents owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Chairman DeFazio, who has had\ntheir backs at all times, fighting for them and for the safety of the National\nAirspace System. \u201cOur relationship with him goes back to our earliest days of\nadvocacy. He has always understood the power of the word union and his intense\ncuriosity always led him to seek a deeper understanding of how our members do\ntheir jobs and what our most important issues are as we have continued to try\nand make the system safer and make our members\u2019 lives better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2008, NATCA presented DeFazio with the James L. Oberstar\nSentinel of Safety Award, which is named for the late Minnesota congressman who\nserved as T&I chairman from 2007 to 2011. It is NATCA\u2019s highest award for\nthose outside the Union and honors aviation leaders who have displayed\noutstanding achievement in the advancement of aviation safety. DeFazio was\nhonored, in part, because of his unwavering support of NATCA members from\n2006-2009 in which the FAA imposed work and pay rules on NATCA\u2019s members. He\nstood with NATCA and our membership during the fight, and he was also one of\nthe key leaders on legislation to amend Title 49 of the U.S. Code that\nultimately provided a fair collective bargaining process for FAA employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, DeFazio fought tirelessly on behalf of NATCA\nmembers and all federal employees to speak out against a government shutdown\nthat lasted a record 35 days from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019, and degraded\naviation safety. He spoke at NATCA\u2019s rally on Capitol Hill on Jan. 10, 2019,\nstating, \u201cSo when are we going to end this damn thing? Today! I am sorry you\nhave to be here. This is ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeFazio followed that up with swift action, convening a\nhearing on Feb. 13, 2019, to examine the effects of the shutdown and how it put\nthe safety of U.S. aviation at risk. Later that year, he joined with T&I\nAviation Subcommittee Chair Rick Larsen, D-Wash., and Reps. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio,\nand Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., in leading the introduction of H.R. 1108, the\nAviation Funding Stability Act of 2019, bipartisan legislation that would\nprotect FAA programs and personnel and the U.S. aviation system from the\neffects of future shutdowns. Earlier this fall, DeFazio led an effort to\nre-introduce the legislation \u2013 now named the Aviation Funding Stability Act of\n2021 (H.R. 4042) – in the 117th Congress. NATCA strongly supports the\nbipartisan bill, which would authorize the FAA to draw from the Airport &\nAirway Trust Fund for 30 days in the event of a government shutdown, ensuring\nthe system continues to operate safely and efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeFazio has spoken several times at NATCA\u2019s legislative\nadvocacy conference, NATCA in Washington. During one notable appearance, he\nstated, \u201cOur aviation system is the largest, busiest, and safest system in the\nworld. Thank you for your work, keeping millions of passengers safe on a daily\nbasis. Aviation is critical in the U.S.; 12% of the U.S. economy links us to\nthe rest of the world. And if we didn’t have you as aviation safety\nprofessionals doing your jobs efficiently, we wouldn’t be able to fly.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aviation Associations, including AAAE, NBAA, NATCA, and NASAO expressed their appreciation to Oregon Congressman and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-4-OR), who for more than three decades has been a passionate advocate and fierce champion for aviation safety, transportation labor, and the front-line workers who power the engine that drives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-district-of-columbia"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20253,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20250\/revisions\/20253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}