Washington, D.C.—The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation André Carson (D-IN). during today’s hearing titled, “Connecting Rural America to the National Airspace System.”
Find videos of Ranking Member Larsen’s and Carson’s opening statements here and here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Nehls and Ranking Member Carson, for holding today’s hearing on “Connecting Rural America to the National Airspace System.”
Thank you to the witnesses for joining us today. We have plenty to discuss, and I look forward to your testimony.
Airports are vital economic engines that power our local communities—especially small and rural ones—and serve as critical transportation hubs to safely bring people together.
This will be important in the coming weeks as fans travel across the country to watch their favorite teams in the World Cup. We look forward to welcoming them to the Pacific Northwest, where Seattle and Vancouver will be hosting games.
Airports also generate good jobs, stimulate local businesses and attract financial investment.
A 2025 Airports Council International—North America study found that airports with commercial service support 12.8 million jobs and produce $1.8 trillion of annual output.
In my district, we have a few small airports, ranging from Arlington Municipal Airport—which dates to 1934—to Orcas Island Airport, which serves the communities of San Juan and Island Counties.
Congress recognized the importance of small and rural airports when we passed the 2024 FAA reauthorization.
The law increases funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to $4 billion annually, of which at least $150 million must be spent on airport climate, noise and other environmental projects.
The law also improves the lives of neighboring airport communities by requiring the FAA to develop a plan to transition away from leaded fuel in general aviation by 2030.
Whether connected via regional airlines, charter flights,or general aviation, these small and rural hubs serve as alternatives to overburdened metropolitan airports.
Unfortunately, regional and value airlines face specific challenges ranging from workforce issues to surging fuel prices.
Many of you mention in your testimony that increased demands on the NAS have also increased demand for a skilled aviation workforce.
Mr. Collins, you specifically mention the need for more aviation maintenance technicians, while other witnesses reference the increased competition for pilots.
To meet these needs without decreasing our safety standards, Congress, the FAA and stakeholders must expand the talent pipeline and improve efforts to recruit, train and retain a robust U.S. aerospace workforce from every part of our society.
To address this, the 2024 reauthorization invests $60 million annually in aviation workforce development grants to train the next generation of aviation manufacturing workers, aircraft maintenance technicians and pilots.
In the Pacific Northwest and across the country, aviation means jobs that pay well and are key to long-term economic growth—I encourage the FAA to quickly implement these programs and distribute these grants in a timely manner.
Ms. Black, your testimony also touches upon small aircraft economics—and how increased operation costs have led regional carriers to use larger more efficient planes.
Mr. Collins and Mr. Pecoraro, you both explain that a factor contributing to this trend is the lack of a regional jet manufacturing pipeline—there just aren’t as many options for new fuel-efficient regional jets.
This is a challenge the Pacific Northwest is up to tackling.
To help meet these regional aircraft needs, the 2024 FAA Reauthorization directed the FAA to bring on much needed expertise in its aircraft certification office.
We have to maintain the certification office’s institutional knowledge to meet the requirements of the aircraft certification reform law and grow the agency’s technical expertise to better assess new designs.
This way, when new regional aircraft are designed and proposed, staff at the FAA are there to support that innovation.
Finally, we can’t talk about small and rural connectivity without discussing how the President’s actions in Iran have spiked fuel prices—specifically jet fuel.
In general, fuel expenses account for a larger share of air carrier budgets than most other industries, making them particularly vulnerable to price fluctuations.
Exacerbating this issue, smaller regional and value air carriers have fewer resources than their larger counterparts to absorb these rising operating costs.
Consequently, the drastic increase in jet fuel prices places a unique financial burden on regional and value airlines, often forcing these carriers to reduce flight frequencies, further eliminate routes or increase ticket prices.
This directly impacts small and rural communities through rising travel costs or a loss of service altogether.
We can’t allow this to happen. The President needs to resolve this fuel price crisis of his own making.
As this Committee considers the future of rural aviation and small community connectivity, we must continue investing in the airports, workforce and innovation that keep our communities connected to the NAS.
We also cannot ignore the economic pressures facing regional carriers, including the rising fuel costs that threaten service to the very communities that depend on it most.
I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses about how we can help strengthen rural connectivity, uphold our safety standards and support American aviation.
Ranking Member Carson:
Good Morning. Chairman Nehls, Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen, it’s an honor to be here for our first Aviation Subcommittee hearing this year. Welcome to our witnesses for joining today’s hearing on current trends, opportunities and challenges facing small communities and rural commercial service airports.
Air service for small and rural communities is important to many Members on this Committee. While Indianapolis International Airport is the 46th busiest airport in the United States, there are four airports in Indiana that have Essential Air Service (EAS) determinations for routes that connect through Chicago O’Hare Airport.
The 2024 FAA Reauthorization is actively creating a positive economic impact on small and rural communities through:
- the preservation of the EAS Program and raising the per passenger subsidy caps;
- improving the Alternative EAS program;
- increasing the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) annual authorization level from $10 million to $15 million while prioritizing applications that restore flights that have been lost or substantially reduced; and
- boosting Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding to $4 billion per year and revising apportionment formulas which increased annual formula funds for both large and small airports.
Unfortunately, the Administration’s FY27 budget request guts EAS funding and proposes changes that have not been fully vetted or approved by this Committee. Congress appropriated $513.6 million for EAS in FY26. Yet, the Administration’s FY27 budget request is just $142 million—that’s a $371.2 million cut.
This is despite the fact that Congress has continued to demonstrate its bipartisan support for EAS and the critical service it provides to communities that need it most. For example, the House Appropriations Committee is currently proposing an increase of almost $25 million to the EAS program. This is because Congress has listened to these communities and wants to preserve this critical lifeline that benefits communities all across this country.
Today’s hearing will also address the impact of workforce issues on small and rural communities. To start with, the pilot pipeline is in a much different place today than it was a few years ago. Regional airlines, as well as larger airlines, have listened to pilots and increased pay and benefits leading to better hiring and retention. Getting hired by airlines is more competitive today as a result.
Nonetheless, we must not decrease our standards to increase the supply for this increased demand. Instead, we must address the rising costs associated with training that have made becoming a qualified pilot harder. The current commercial pilot training requirements are critical to aviation safety, which is why I support initiatives to make it a level playing field and remove cost as a barrier through grants and reforms to student loan eligibility, and why I oppose the Administration’s proposals to limit federal student loans for some of the programs that produce the most qualified pilots.
We also have huge gaps in other parts of the aviation workforce like aircraft mechanics, ground crews and air traffic controllers. In mid-May, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it is accepting applications for Aviation Workforce Development Grants for Aircraft Pilots and Aviation Maintenance Technical Workers—also known as the Section 625 grants. Congress reauthorized these grants in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, and we are happy to finally see this Notice of Funding Opportunity—even though it took 18 months too long. I encourage eligible applicants to apply by the June 22 deadline.
Finally, we can all agree that all airline passengers—regardless of whether they are flying into a major hub or a non-hub airport in their small community—deserve one level of safety. This means maintaining and improving the similar pilot training requirements, aircraft certification standards, air traffic control staffing and technology, safety data tracking and other tools that we use to keep the National Airspace System safe.
Thank you again to today’s witnesses; you all play an important role in ensuring continued service to small and rural communities. I look forward to our discussion, and I yield back.
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