Proposed Restructuring of Air Traffic Control Services; Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. 27596]

Proposed Restructuring of Air Traffic Control Services; Meeting

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In response to the recommendations of the National Performance

Review and the 1993 National Airline Commission, the DOT is developing

a proposal that could lead to restructuring FAA's air traffic control

(ATC) services as a Government corporation. Before drafting the related

enabling legislation for Congressional consideration, the FAA invites

comments on various aspects of the corporation proposal. This notice

announces a meeting at which the public is invited to discuss a

proposed restructuring of ATC services.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on February 22, 1994, from 9

a.m. to 4 p.m. Written comments are also invited and must be received

on or before February 22, 1994.

ADDRESS: The public meeting will be held in the FAA Auditorium (room

311) at the Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC 20591. Persons unable to attend the meeting may

mail their comments in triplicate, to: Federal Aviation Administration,

Office of Chief Counsel, Rules Docket (AGC-10), Docket No. 27596, 800

Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions concerning the subject matter or logistics of the meeting, or

requests to present a statement at the meeting, should be directed to:

Margo Inskeep, Corporation Assessment Ad Hoc Task Force (AOP-1-room

512), 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone

(202) 267-9227; telefax (202) 267-9595.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Participation at the Meeting

Attendance is open to the public but limited to the space

available. Since access to the FAA building is controlled, all persons

who plan to attend the meeting must notify Margo Inskeep (202) 267-9227

prior to February 22.

Requests from persons who wish to present oral statements at the

public meeting should be received by the FAA no later than February 15,

1994. Such requests should be submitted to Margo Inskeep (as listed

above in section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), and should

include a written summary of oral remarks to be presented along with an

estimate of time needed for the presentation. Requests received after

the date specified above will be scheduled if there is time available

during the meeting; however, the names of those individuals may not

appear on the written agenda. The FAA will prepare an agenda of

speakers that will be available at the meeting. In order to accommodate

as many speakers as possible, the amount of time allocated to each

speaker may be less than the amount of time requested.

Background

In response to the recommendations of both the National Performance

Review and the National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive

Airline Industry, an executive oversight committee, sponsored by the

Secretary of Transportation, is developing a detailed plan to

restructure FAA's air traffic control services as a Government

corporation. The committee is developing a corporate structure that

would streamline procurement, simplify the personnel process, provide

funding stability, and ensure continuity of leadership among the

objectives. The committee is comprised of senior officials from the

Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, Office of

Management and Budget, Council of Economic Advisers, National Economic

Council, National Performance Review, and various other agencies.

Alternative proposals are an FAA corporation and an air traffic control

corporation. The oversight committee is soliciting suggestions and

concerns regarding these proposals or any suggested alternatives.

Specific Issues for Public Comment

There are specific issues discussed in the following paragraphs on

which the DOT's executive oversight committee seeks comment at the

public meeting. Identification of these key issues is intended to help

focus public comment on those areas which will be most useful in

developing legislative proposals. However, comments at the meeting need

not be limited to these issues.

Safety Issues, including: How a restructured air traffic control

system would be organized, operated and maintained to best guarantee

safety for the traveling public; the relationship between the proposed

corporation and FAA with respect to safety; and any other specific

safety issues that must be managed in the formulation of a corporate

structure.

Budget and Financial Issues, including: The source of revenues for

the ATC corporation; the pricing structure; the Government's role, if

any, in ensuring sufficient revenues to cover the costs of the system;

questions of financing from the Aviation Trust Fund; liability for ATC-

related-accidents; and DOD funding issues.

Procurement Issues, including: The procurement authorities the

corporation should have and whether elements of the Government's

current procurement process (e.g., full and open competition, Brooks

Act, etc.) should be retained.

Personnel Issues, including: The functions and placement of FAA

employees, and which existing personnel rules and principles, if any,

should apply to the corporation.

Oversight and Governance Issues, including: How an ATC corporation

should be governed; how it should be accountable to the public and to

Congress; who should oversee the ATC system; and what rulemaking and

enforcement authorities should rest with the corporation and what

should remain with the FAA.

Meeting Procedures

The following procedures are established to facilitate the meeting:

(1) There will be no admission fee or other charge to attend or to

participate in the meeting. The meeting will be open to all persons who

have requested in advance to present statements and on a space-

available basis to all those non-presentors who notified FAA of their

planned attendance prior to the day of the meeting. The meeting may

adjourn early if scheduled speakers complete their statements in less

time than currently is scheduled for the meeting.

(2) An individual, whether speaking in a personal or a

representative capacity on behalf of an organization, may be limited to

a 10-minute statement, if required by time constraints. The speaker

will be notified if additional time is available.

(3) Every effort will be made to accommodate all speakers. If the

available time does not permit this, speakers generally will be

scheduled based on when their request was received in the FAA.

(4) Sign interpretation will be available at the meeting.

(5) For record purposes, it is requested that one copy of

presentation and hand-out materials be provided to the presiding

official by the presentor. In addition, materials may be distributed to

the audience; however these copies must be provided by the presentor.

(6) The DOT executive oversight committee will review and consider

the material presented at the meeting.

(7) Statements made by the DOT official presiding over the meeting

are intended to facilitate discussion or to clarify issues. Any

statement made during the meeting by the presiding official is not

intended to be, and should not be construed as, a position of the DOT

or FAA.

(8) The meeting is designed to elicit public views and more

complete information on the issues discussed in this notice. Therefore,

the meeting will be conducted in an informal and nonadversarial manner.

No individual will be subject to cross-examination by any other

participant.

(9) A recorder will be present to document the meeting.

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 1, 1994.

Edward M. Kelly,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Airway Facilities, Chairperson,

Corporation Assessment Ad Hoc Task Force.

[FR Doc. 94-2556 Filed 2-3-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-13-M