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A REVIEW OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION’S AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER HIRING, 

STAFFING, AND TRAINING PLANS 

(114–45) 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

AVIATION 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

TRANSPORTATION AND 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JUNE 15, 2016 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

( 

Available online at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/ 

committee.action?chamber=house&committee=transportation 

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman 

DON YOUNG, Alaska 

JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee, 

Vice Chair 

JOHN L. MICA, Florida 

FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan 

DUNCAN HUNTER, California 

ERIC A. ‘‘RICK’’ CRAWFORD, Arkansas 

LOU BARLETTA, Pennsylvania 

BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas 

BOB GIBBS, Ohio 

RICHARD L. HANNA, New York 

DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida 

JEFF DENHAM, California 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois 

MARK SANFORD, South Carolina 

ROB WOODALL, Georgia 

TODD ROKITA, Indiana 

JOHN KATKO, New York 

BRIAN BABIN, Texas 

CRESENT HARDY, Nevada 

RYAN A. COSTELLO, Pennsylvania 

GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana 

MIMI WALTERS, California 

BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia 

CARLOS CURBELO, Florida 

DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

MIKE BOST, Illinois 

PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon 

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 

Columbia 

JERROLD NADLER, New York 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois 

STEVE COHEN, Tennessee 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland 

JOHN GARAMENDI, California 

ANDRE ́ CARSON, Indiana 

JANICE HAHN, California 

RICHARD M. NOLAN, Minnesota 

ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona 

DINA TITUS, Nevada 

SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York 

ELIZABETH H. ESTY, Connecticut 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

CHERI BUSTOS, Illinois 

JARED HUFFMAN, California 

JULIA BROWNLEY, California 

(II) 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION

FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey, Chairman 

DON YOUNG, Alaska 

JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee 

JOHN L. MICA, Florida 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan 

BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas 

RICHARD L. HANNA, New York 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois 

MARK SANFORD, South Carolina 

ROB WOODALL, Georgia 

TODD ROKITA, Indiana 

RYAN A. COSTELLO, Pennsylvania 

MIMI WALTERS, California 

BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia 

CARLOS CURBELO, Florida 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania (Ex Officio) 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 

Columbia 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas 

DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois 

ANDRE ́ CARSON, Indiana 

ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona 

DINA TITUS, Nevada 

SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York 

CHERI BUSTOS, Illinois 

JULIA BROWNLEY, California 

MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts 

STEVE COHEN, Tennessee 

RICHARD M. NOLAN, Minnesota 

JOHN GARAMENDI, California 

PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon (Ex Officio) 

(III) 

(V) 

CONTENTS Page 

Summary of Subject Matter .................................................................................... vi 

TESTIMONY 

PANEL 1 

Hon. Randy Hultgren, a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois 6 

PANEL 2 

Teri L. Bristol, Chief Operating Officer, Air Traffic Organization, Federal 

Aviation Administration, accompanied by Rickie Cannon, Deputy Assistant 

Administrator for Human Resource Management, Federal Aviation Administration ................................................................................................................. 9 

Matthew E. Hampton, Assistant Inspector General for Aviation Audits, Office 

of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Transportation ............................... 9 

Paul M. Rinaldi, President, National Air Traffic Controllers Association .......... 9 

J. Randolph ‘‘Randy’’ Babbitt, Senior Vice President of Labor Relations, 

Southwest Airlines ............................................................................................... 9 

PREPARED STATEMENTS SUBMITTED BY WITNESSES 

Hon. Randy Hultgren .............................................................................................. 44 

Teri L. Bristol and Rickie Cannon, joint statement ............................................. 49 

Matthew E. Hampton .............................................................................................. 65 

Paul M. Rinaldi ........................................................................................................ 80 

J. Randolph ‘‘Randy’’ Babbitt .................................................................................. 91 

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Teri L. Bristol, Chief Operating Officer, Air Traffic Organization, Federal 

Aviation Administration, responses to questions for the record from Hon. 

Don Young, a Representative in Congress from the State of Alaska .............. 60 

Federal Aviation Administration, responses to questions for the record from 

Hon. Richard M. Nolan, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Minnesota ............................................................................................................. 63 

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(1) 

A REVIEW OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION’S AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER HIRING, STAFFING, AND TRAINING PLANS 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION, 

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, 

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 a.m. in room 

2167, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Frank A. LoBiondo 

(Chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Good morning. The subcommittee will come to 

order. I would like to thank you all for being here. 

Before we proceed, I would like to welcome the Colgan family 

members who have been very faithful about coming to our hearings. And I assure you that it will be a top committee priority for 

safety and I remember the tragedy and the loss that you all suffered. And if any of you think that this hearing date was arbitrary, 

it is not. So please help me in recognizing Ranking Member Rick 

Larsen’s birthday. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Rick, wish you happy birthday. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. LOBIONDO. I know you couldn’t want to celebrate in any 

other way than having a hearing. 

Mr. LARSEN. You know, for all my life I have thought if only my 

birthday we could have a hearing on air traffic control staffing. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LARSEN. And this is a dream come true. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Dreams come true, OK. So again, thank you all 

very much. 

At a subcommittee roundtable in December the DOT [Department of Transportation] inspector general and the National Air 

Traffic Controllers Association highlighted a number of challenges 

the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] continues to face in ensuring that our Nation’s busiest air traffic control facilities are 

staffed with the most experienced and highly trained air traffic 

controllers, or CPCs [certified professional controllers]. 

Like most people, when I board a major airliner I assume the pilots are highly experienced and well trained, and that the flight, 

at least under today’s air traffic control system, is going to be guided to its destination by a hard-working team of dedicated FAA air 

2 

traffic controllers. Like with airline pilots, we assume FAA’s 

14,000-plus controller workforce are highly trained and experienced. 

However, in 2012 and in 2016 the DOT IG [inspector general] 

found that a high percentage of the controllers at our busiest ATC 

[air traffic control] facilities, including terminal radar approach 

control facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, 

and New York are so-called developmental controllers, or trainees, 

who cannot manage traffic without the direct supervision of a fully 

certified controller or a facility manager. 

In addition, of the 14,000-plus controller workforce, just over 

10,600 controllers are fully certified, which is a 27-year low. 

We are also concerned about the safety implications of the rising 

workload for CPCs, many of whom are subject to mandatory 6-day 

workweeks and high rates of overtime. The drop in CPCs can be 

attributed to several factors. 

Over the past several years the FAA has struggled to replace the 

thousands of controllers who were hired during the 1981 Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization strike, most of whom 

have reached the agency’s mandatory retirement age of 56. The 

FAA’s hiring efforts were severely hampered in 2013, when the 

agency stopped training new hires at its training academy in Oklahoma City, due to sequestration. 

In 2014, the FAA abruptly changed its controller hiring process, 

and made even further poorly executed changes in 2015. Consequently, the FAA has missed its controller hiring targets for 6 

consecutive years. To its credit, in the past year the FAA has made 

some progress on the hiring front, with the agency stating it will 

reach its hiring goal this year. 

Some of the internal bottlenecks that were highlighted at the December roundtable include prolonged security and medical reviews, 

and they have been addressed. The FAA has also worked with 

NATCA [National Air Traffic Controllers Association] on a revised 

policy to facilitate the transfer of fully certified controllers to the 

busiest ATC facilities. 

That being said, we have a long way to go. In addition to seeing 

little improvement in the development of fully certified controllers, 

we are concerned that the agency’s revamped controller hiring 

process is not putting forward the highest quality controller candidates, as evidenced by a 20-percent drop in the FAA Academy 

pass rate since the hiring process would change, with academy failures a whopping 142 percent above the fiscal year 2015 forecasted 

level. 

Yesterday the parents and instructors of one of our Nation’s 

many fine Collegiate Training Initiative, CTI, institutions, met 

with me to share their frustrations with the FAA’s revamped controller hiring process. It is a story that I have heard many times 

over in the past 2 years, but one that is no less saddening. Their 

experiences led me to conclude that the current controller hiring 

process is underserving our Nation and the flying public. 

Nearly 3,000 highly qualified CTI graduates who want to serve 

as air traffic controllers were left in the cold when the FAA 

changes were made in the hiring process, with many more abandoning their hopes because they have aged out. And they were left 

3 

in the cold basically with no notice of any kind that the changes 

were being made after expending, in some cases, huge sums of 

money. 

And yet we are holding a hearing on inadequate controller staffing levels. I hope that our witnesses can explain why the FAA 

eliminated the CTI program preference. If further progress is not 

made in the areas of controller hiring, placement, and training, our 

Nation’s ATC system may not be able to handle rising airline operations and passenger demand, which is expected to reach 1 billion 

passengers by the end of the next decade. Should the FAA not hire, 

train, and retain a sufficient number of controllers, the FAA may 

be forced to reduce airline operations to the detriment of passengers, shippers, and overall economy to ensure safety is not compromised. 

We saw this scenario played out in April 2013, when the FAA 

curtailed ATC operations across the country due to sequestrationrelated controller furloughs, causing a week of historic airline 

delays and cancellations. So, I look forward to hearing from our 

witnesses on ways we can work together to address these longstanding problems. 

Before I recognize my colleague, Mr. Larsen, for his comments I 

would like to ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 

5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 

extraneous material for the record of this hearing. 

[No response.] 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Without objection, so ordered. Now I would like 

to yield to Mr. Larsen for any comments he may make. 

Mr. LARSEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks for calling 

this hearing today to explore air traffic control staffing. Among 

other things, I hope this hearing will help inform and encourage 

progress on a timely FAA reauthorization bill. As we all know, the 

current extension expires July 15th. 

But today we hear from witnesses with several perspectives regarding air traffic control staffing. And I welcome any discussion 

of what we need to keep our air space the safest and most efficient 

in the world. 

The Office of the Inspector General, from whom we have a representative testifying today, provides a good starting point for our 

discussion. The OIG reported earlier this year that FAA continues 

to face challenges ensuring enough fully trained controllers at critical facilities. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we 

should consider the bigger picture. 

There is no evidence of safety lapses associated with the staffing 

issues. We are living in the safest period of aviation history. Every 

day U.S. airlines safely transport about 2 million passengers 

around the country. At the same time, there is no evidence of decreased efficiency due to staffing. In fact, the Department of Transportation reported on Monday that airlines’ on-time performance 

improved by 3 percentage points in April. That is the good news. 

The healthy airline industry is critical for our international competitiveness. The airlines are doing well financially, the system is 

safe, and, by all accounts, the system is operating efficiently. 

But I make these observations not to deny the need for continued 

oversight and vigilance on this subcommittee’s part regarding 

4 

FAA’s hiring, training, and staffing of air traffic controllers. Rather, I just think it is critical to keep this hearing in proper perspective. 

That said, I am concerned about understaffing in critical facilities. Potential choke points in the air traffic control system, such 

as when passengers first feel the ripple effects of a line of thunderstorms over Nebraska, facilities like terminal radar approach control facilities in New York, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago all 

need more controllers. 

On average, only about three-quarters of the controllers in these 

facilities are fully certified controllers. The rest are trainees. And 

many of the fully certified controllers are eligible for retirement. It 

is, therefore, critical that the FAA demonstrate two things: it is 

hiring enough controllers ahead of projected retirements, and it has 

the ability to shift controllers from other facilities to these critical 

facilities. 

And while there is more work to be done, I am encouraged on 

some progress. The FAA is on pace to exceed its goal of hiring 

1,619 controllers this year, and the agency has over 2,400 controllers available in Canada pools. The FAA, in collaboration with the 

National Air Traffic Controllers Association, or NATCA, has 

streamlined the process for transferring controllers between facilities more quickly, reducing the leg time, and certifying ready and 

able controllers in hard-to-staff facilities. But the FAA can make 

further improvements, and they should not hesitate to hire more 

controllers when staffing needs require it. 

The FAA Academy, where inexperienced controllers have to train 

before being placed in a facility, has the capacity to matriculate 

only 1,998 controllers per year. And before controllers can attend, 

the FAA has to medically certify them and conduct a background 

check, and the FAA has the capacity to process about 300 per 

month. 

This hearing is an important exercise of this subcommittee’s 

oversight of the safety and efficiency of the air traffic control system. By all of the objective measures, facility-specific staffing shortages have not compromised safety or capacity today. But I do look 

forward to hearing from our witnesses on what we need to do to 

ensure that that remains the case. 

So again, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing, and 

I yield back. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Mr. Larsen. I would like to welcome 

and recognize the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Shuster. 

Mr. SHUSTER. Thank you, Chairman LoBiondo. And I want to 

start by welcoming a group of young people from my district. They 

are participating in the Pennsylvania Electric Co-op Youth Program. They are all the ones standing. They have young legs, so I 

think they can stand for a little bit. 

Welcome to Washington. It is great that you are here, and seeing 

what is going on in your Federal Government, your Nation’s capital. 

Also I would like to say happy birthday to the other man from 

Everett, Mr. Larsen. For those of you from my district, he is from 

Everett, Washington. And as you know, I am from Everett, Pennsylvania. So we share that. 

5 

So happy birthday, Rick. 

And also I want to say I am glad to see Mr. Hultgren here. He 

has been a real advocate for changing the system, for getting something done to make sure we can hire the controllers we need. So 

thanks for being here today. 

Aviation safety is a top priority of this committee. And, in fact, 

across all of the modes it is a top priority for us. And the U.S. has 

one of the safest aviation systems in the world, and that is largely 

due to the dedicated and professional work of our air traffic controllers and the FAA safety personnel. 

However, it is clear from numerous reports the FAA has not 

hired and trained enough fully certified controllers at our busiest 

ATC facilities to make up for the thousands of controllers hired 

during the 1981 strike who are reaching mandatory retirement. It 

is not clear why the FAA has dropped the ball. Many of the problems can be attributed to poor management of sequestration, as 

well as the timing and poor execution of significant—and questionable—changes to the controller hiring process. 

This is another example of the FAA’s longstanding inability to 

adequately manage its controller workforce. And that is a big reason, I believe one of the biggest reasons, why the ATC reform that 

I have proposed and we have passed out of this committee we 

should take up. And the FAA has a history, whether it is a hiring, 

not hiring of personnel, or being able to deploy a modern air traffic 

control system again, we ought to continue to work towards breaking out the ATC from the FAA, allowing it to operate as an entity 

that can hire, maintain, and deploy a modern and safe aviation 

system. So I will continue to push for that. 

Again, under the status quo the passengers will suffer from the 

FAA’s forced—to reduce air traffic flows across the country. And 

just imagine, we see the news reports today of the lines that the 

TSA [Transportation Security Administration] have. And that is 

causing some delays, but it’s causing passengers, thousands and 

thousands of passengers, to miss their flights or miss their connections. Imagine if we don’t have the flow of the air traffic control, 

the lines will be not in the airport, the lines will be on the tarmacs. 

Planes will be waiting with hundreds of passengers, waiting in line 

to get to the next destination, missing connections, missing—flights 

being canceled. 

So this is a serious problem that we have to address. And again, 

I appreciate Chairman LoBiondo holding this hearing, and I look 

forward to hearing from our witnesses today. 

Thank you, I yield back. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Mr. Shuster. And we are pleased to 

welcome and recognize Mr. DeFazio. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, our air traffic controllers are doing a phenomenal job. Some of them are being 

forced into mandatory overtime, 6-day weeks. That is not sustainable, and it certainly doesn’t help recruitment into some of the 

busiest areas of the country, particularly New York and others. We 

have to look at new ways to induce, you know, fully qualified controllers to move there. And, you know, we also have to facilitate the 

hiring of qualified people and their full certification. 

6 

You know, there is legislation, and I have spoken to the chairman about this—I am trying to remember the number—introduced 

by Mr. Curbelo and Mr. Maloney, H.R. 5292, which would help in 

the hiring process, particularly targeting veterans and otherwise 

experienced controllers to move on and get to work. 

So I would hope that we would take up that bill. I think it is a 

noncontroversial bill. I would suggest, since we are doing a lot of 

pretend legislation around here on the floor, maybe we should do 

some real legislation, and put that bill through before Congress 

embarks on yet another one of its long breaks in this year, which 

is more breaks than work. 

The issue is critical. You know, many people have been talking 

about this for years. We have seen this shortage, the aging of the 

workforce, coming. And it is past time to do something about it. 

But despite all that, to hear air traffic controllers are doing such 

an extraordinary job that, you know, the number of air traffic control-related flight delays actually decreased by 17.5 percent in the 

last 2 years, I think that is an extraordinary testimony to them 

and the work they are doing. But I think it is not sustainable without an adequate workforce, so I am very worried that this will, you 

know, hurt our retention, if we don’t bring in some more help. 

The chairman also mentioned TSA. I have a bill on that. I recommend it to members of the committee. Every American is taxed 

every time they buy a ticket. And in its infinite wisdom, the Congress put through one of those really bad yearend budget deals 

written by Speaker Ryan and Patty Murray—so bipartisan problem—which decided to divert $1 billion, $1.2 billion a year, from security fees into the ether—so-called deficit reduction, or some other 

part of Government. 

You know, to get enough TSA agents out there, according to the 

head of the union, would cost about one-third of the money that is 

being diverted. It is not right to tax people for something and then 

take the money away. So I would also recommend that. That does 

relate to our system and its efficiency. Unfortunately, it is no 

longer under the jurisdiction of this committee. But I would recommend it to my colleagues, if they are concerned about that. 

With that, I look forward to hearing from the witnesses. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Mr. DeFazio. Now we are going to 

turn to our first panel with just one witness, and it is Congressman 

Randy Hultgren. And as Chairman Shuster said, Randy has been 

very passionate about this issue, and we welcome hearing from 

you, Randy. 

TESTIMONY OF HON. RANDY HULTGREN, A REPRESENTATIVE 

IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 

Mr. HULTGREN. Chairman LoBiondo, Chairman Shuster, thank 

you so much for your leadership on this. Ranking Member Larsen, 

happy birthday. Thank you for letting me be here this morning and 

to make some remarks. 

This is an issue that I have carefully scrutinized over the last 3 

years, and it is very important to me, my constituents, and air traffic controllers nationwide. As a former member of this Aviation 

Subcommittee—and I also represent several hundred air traffic 

controllers in the 14th District of Illinois, which is the largest numVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:55 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\114\AV\6-15-2~1\20499.TXT JEAN
7 

ber in Illinois—I have met with many of them, and many others 

who aspire to become ATCs. 

These dedicated students have put in long hours with our Nation’s military and reputable and accredited institutions to gain the 

skills and education to be entrusted with the public safety which 

is bestowed on our air traffic controllers. 

As a weekly commuter from O’Hare to Reagan, I personally am 

invested in making sure that our skies are safe, as are all of us. 

We are facing critically low staffing levels of air traffic controllers 

within our towers. Only 30 percent of trainees at the Chicago 

TRACON [Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities] reach full 

certification. Ensuring we have a sufficient number of air traffic 

controllers in our towers is paramount to secure air travel. Insufficient air traffic controllers means cutting back travel and hurting 

our economy. 

No controllers means no flights, and that is why I was surprised 

and confused with the FAA when they changed their longstanding 

hiring procedures without warning in 2014, and launched an unnecessary social science experiment. Students, teachers, and administrators of the Collegiate Training Initiative, or CTI, were also 

blindsided by the FAA’s decision, and told me of its negative effects. 

For decades, the CTI training program established by the FAA 

itself was the recognized and trusted pipeline for highly qualified 

candidates and military veterans. Most disturbingly, I believe the 

new hiring standards jeopardize air travel safety by diverting the 

hiring process around highly qualified air traffic controller candidates and veterans in an attempt to elevate off-the-street candidates. Why the FAA did this remains unclear. 

What is clear is that the FAA has been less than transparent 

and open. A 6-month investigation revealed the adverse effects of 

these modifications, not only on aspiring air traffic controllers, but 

on the legitimacy of the hiring process itself. The investigation also 

revealed that FAA or aviation-related employees may have assisted 

in giving potential recruits special access to answers on key admissions tests to help them gain jobs with the FAA. 

Yet the FAA has refused to respond to audio, video, and witness 

accounts of misconduct. They conducted a self-audit of the allegation and cleared themselves of any wrongdoing. This is no way to 

run an agency that is responsible for the well-being of thousands 

of lives every day. 

In regards to the biographical assessment, a new and confusing 

psychological test, the FAA has repeatedly been opaque and nonresponsive. That is why, since 2014, I have called for a congressional hearing on these issues, and I am so grateful to Chairman 

LoBiondo for inviting me to speak here today. 

We still have more questions than answers. Today we need answers. We need answers about the alleged cheating. Administrator 

Michael Huerta has stated that he tasked two internal officers 

within the FAA to conduct thorough investigations of the alleged 

cheating. Not surprisingly, the internal investigations failed to uncover what was demonstrated clearly on audio recordings. Yet, at 

the same time, the FAA has never publicly denied the cheating allegations. So, which is it? 

8 

Further, this past March the FAA filed a motion in Federal court 

admitting that the agency is unable to recover missing and corrupted emails at the center of the alleged cheating. Do these emails 

demonstrate whether or not the FAA knew someone on the inside 

was helping people cheat? When will Administrator Huerta come 

forward with the results of the investigation? 

Further, we need answers about the discredited biographical assessment psychological test. Who wrote the BioQ and who validated it, if anyone? How did some candidates fail the biographical 

questionnaire in 2014 and then pass it in 2015? Why were these 

candidates allowed to sit for the BioQ in an unsecured location 

without showing proof of ID? 

As a result of the FAA’s changes, many clearly qualified CTI 

graduates and military veterans were disqualified by a test they 

don’t understand and cannot improve upon, even after years of 

education and experience. Many have now aged out of the process, 

forever losing their chance to join the ranks of air traffic controllers. Where is the relief for these dedicated individuals? Americans 

deserve an answer. 

So where do we go from here? I introduced H.R. 1964, the Air 

Traffic Controllers Hiring Act of 2015, to reverse the effects of the 

FAA’s policies and restore safety and confidence to air travel. 

I would like to thank Mr. Rinaldi on behalf of NATCA for their 

support and collaboration throughout the years on my bill. I also 

want to thank Chairman LoBiondo for his co-sponsorship of this 

legislation. 

My bill restores preferred hiring status for CTI graduates, qualified veterans, and experienced controllers, and it provides relief for 

those aged out of the process. It eliminates the use of the biographical assessment. 

My colleague, Congressman Curbelo, has introduced similar legislation this Congress, H.R. 5292, the Air Traffic Controller Hiring 

Improvement Act. I thank Mr. Curbelo for our shared interest on 

this issue, and I agree with the vast majority of his legislation. His 

legislation creates two separate hiring pools, one consisting of veterans and CTI graduates and another of all interested U.S. citizens. The hires from these two pools may not exceed a 10-percent 

difference. 

However, I have concerns that, should the FAA hire from these 

pools equally, it would disadvantage our CTI graduates and military veterans. I have worked tirelessly with NATCA to instead create a three-pool system of CTI graduates, veterans, and off-thestreet hires, which would alleviate this problem and maintain a 

speedy hiring process. 

I welcome continued conversations with NATCA and understand 

the politics and rationale for their two-pool approach. This isn’t just 

about securing a fair job application process or the status quo, this 

is about Americans feeling and being safe and secure when flying. 

This is about transparency and openness from an agency which is 

accountable to the American people and their Representatives. 

I am grateful for all of you for your attention and work on this 

issue, and I look forward to reaching solutions that provide fairness 

and safety and security for all. 

Thank you, Chairman, and I yield back. 

9 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Randy, very much. Now we are going 

to move to the second panel, so we will give the staff a second to 

set up. 

And while they are doing that I will introduce the second panel, 

which includes Ms. Teri Bristol, chief operating officer of the Air 

Traffic Organization at FAA, who is accompanied by Mr. Rickie 

Cannon, deputy assistant administrator for human resource management at the FAA. 

We are also joined by Mr. Matt Hampton, who we are pleased 

to welcome back again, assistant inspector general for aviation audits, United States Department of Transportation. 

Mr. Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. 

And Mr. Randy Babbitt, senior vice president of labor relations 

for Southwest Airlines. 

We thank you all for being here. And Ms. Bristol, if you are 

ready, you are now recognized for your statement. Microphone, 

please. 

Ms. BRISTOL. OK, OK. 

TESTIMONY OF TERI L. BRISTOL, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, 

AIR TRAFFIC ORGANIZATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, ACCOMPANIED BY RICKIE CANNON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION; MATTHEW E. 

HAMPTON, ASSISTANT INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR AVIATION 

AUDITS, OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; PAUL M. RINALDI, PRESIDENT, 

NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION; AND 

J. RANDOLPH ‘‘RANDY’’ BABBITT, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT 

OF LABOR RELATIONS, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES 

Ms. BRISTOL. Chairman, Ranking Member, and members of the 

subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you 

today to discuss our air traffic controller workforce. 

Our controllers are proud professionals who are entrusted with 

our mission to run the safest, most efficient airspace system in the 

world. The National Airspace System is an extremely complex operation. We need to continually meet both the ongoing and the 

emerging needs of the aviation community. Therefore, we must remain committed to hiring, training, and supporting the best controller workforce in the world. 

Today I would like to discuss four key areas of the FAA’s controller staffing process: hiring, training, placement, and our collaboration with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, or 

NATCA. 

Let me start by discussing hiring. The agency has created two 

hiring tracks. One track is focused on reaching candidates with no 

previous air traffic experience. Candidates must meet the position’s 

minimum qualifications and pass validated occupational tests, 

which include the biographical assessment and the Air Traffic Selection and Training test. The second track is a specialized air traffic control experience track. It focuses on reaching candidates with 

operational experience, such as military veterans with at least 1 

year of air traffic control experience. 

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With these changes in our hiring process, the ATO [Air Traffic 

Organization] is on track not only to meet, but to exceed the fiscal 

year 2016 hiring goal. This hiring process better addresses the 

agency’s current hiring needs. It also ensures equitable treatment 

in the broadest pool of qualified candidates. We will continue to 

monitor and refine the process as necessary to ensure the best possible individuals are selected to maintain the safety and efficiency 

of the NAS [National Airspace System]. 

Our robust training program at the FAA Academy and in our facilities provides a strong foundation for our new controllers. We 

have made continual improvements in our training curriculum in 

the last 5 years. The FAA Administrator recently convened an 

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee with 11 experts from industry and the academic community. They will work with the FAA 

to evaluate innovative approaches for future hiring and training of 

air traffic controllers. 

As with our hiring processes, the FAA continually strives to improve the training we provide our controllers. The Air Traffic Organization supports the air traffic controller basic qualification training working group under the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee structure. We are also establishing a Center of Excellence 

for Technical Training and Human Performance. This will enable 

us to explore opportunities for cost share research and grants that 

could be used to help shape the future of air traffic controller training. 

Along with hiring and training, we are also focused on placing 

new controllers in the right facilities. The FAA uses a priority 

placement tool to forecast and prioritize controller staffing requirements. It captures the latest priority ranking of all 315 facilities 

and it is sorted in order of greatest staffing need. We place trainees 

where we need them. 

Collaboration is paramount to our success. The best way to meet 

staffing challenges is to collaborate with our labor partners. This 

means building relationships, establishing trust, and working together to make better decisions. Our collaboration with NATCA 

supports our ability to place controllers where we need them. We 

are jointly defining our priorities and working to improve the process by which controllers request reassignments to other facilities. 

And, in addition, we have established a collaborative resource 

working group with NATCA that is reviewing the staffing models 

that we have in place. 

In conclusion, I believe that the FAA has a solid and comprehensive plan in place to address controller hiring, training, placement, 

and we collaborate with NATCA to ensure success. We have made 

tremendous progress in recent months, and I believe we are on the 

right track. While we are always looking for ways to improve, the 

air traffic system in the United States is extremely safe and efficient, and it remains the envy of the world. 

We look forward to working with our Government and industry 

partners to consider even better ways to meet air traffic needs of 

the future. This concludes my statement, and I will be happy to answer your questions. Thank you. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Ms. Bristol. 

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And now we will turn to Mr. Hampton for your statement. Thank 

you for being here. 

Mr. HAMPTON. Chairman Shuster, Chairman LoBiondo, and 

Ranking Member Larsen, thank you for inviting me to testify today 

on the key challenges facing FAA’s air traffic controller workforce. 

My remarks today are based on a report we published earlier this 

year, and our ongoing work for the committee. 

Today the total number of fully certified controllers stands at 

about 10,600. This is at the very bottom edge of FAA’s overall controller staffing range at the national level. Furthermore, a look at 

individual facilities highlights a number of pressing challenges that 

demand FAA’s urgent attention. 

Our analysis of FAA’s most critical air traffic control facilities, 

the most complex and busiest ones in the National Airspace System, shows that over half of the 23 facilities have certified controller staffing levels well below minimal requirements. These include New York, Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago TRACONs. These facilities are also stressed by large percentages of controllers in training and controllers eligible to retire. 

We found that these problems are the result of several factors, 

including the lack of precision with FAA’s model for estimating 

staffing requirements for facilities that manage high-altitude operations; not fully utilizing systems to maximize controller scheduling; a lack of accurate and complete data on planned retirements 

and training times; and poor communication between headquarters 

and the field. 

In terms of hiring, FAA introduced several changes to its controller hiring process over 2 years ago, in February 2014, based on 

internal and external reviews. These changes included standardizing the minimum qualifications for all applicants; centralizing the 

processes in the Office of Human Resources; and introducing a new 

screening mechanism known as the biographical assessment. 

However, the agency lacked an effective implementation strategy 

for the new policies. And as the committee is well aware, stakeholders have expressed concerns that FAA implemented the new 

process only a little over a month after announcing the changes, 

even though the changes were significant. 

In addition, FAA did not establish an effective tracking system 

to monitor candidates as they move through the pipeline. It is too 

soon to assess the overall impact of FAA’s new hiring process and 

whether it will lead to successful outcomes in getting new controllers certified faster at facilities, given the length of time it takes 

to train new controllers. Our work shows that FAA continues to 

face challenges in meeting its hiring goals. 

Further, the agency lacks metrics on the time it should take an 

applicant to advance through the hiring process. In addition, many 

of the new hires selected through the new process have not yet 

completed required onboarding processes, contributing to delays. 

We expect to complete our report later this year with our recommendations for corrective action. 

There are also several issues that will materially affect the controller workforce in the near term that require attention. 

First, implementing scheduling tools to help facility managers 

better manage resources, particularly at large, complex facilities. 

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We recommended and FAA agreed to adopt a tool that is widely 

used in other countries. This will help significantly. 

Second, accelerating efforts to develop procedures, training, and 

tools to help controllers safely manage unmanned aircraft systems 

in the same airspace as other aircraft. FAA is taking steps to address our recommendations. 

Finally, assessing the workload and productivity impact of new 

NextGen technologies like the $1.6 billion DataComm effort that 

will allow controllers to communicate with pilots via text messaging. This is important because studies suggest that this technology could allow controllers to handle 30 percent more aircraft. 

In summary, controller training, hiring, and staffing issues are 

longstanding concerns and require sustained FAA management attention and action. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement, and I would be 

happy to answer any questions you or the members of the subcommittee may have. Thank you. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you very much, Mr. Hampton. 

Mr. Rinaldi, you are recognized. 

Mr. RINALDI. Good morning, Chairman LoBiondo. Happy birthday, Ranking Member Larsen. Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member DeFazio, and members of the Aviation Subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to testify about one of the most critical 

problems facing our National Airspace System. 

We all have a stake in our National Airspace System. It’s an economic engine contributing $1.5 trillion annually to our gross domestic product and providing over 12 million American jobs. Currently, we run the largest, safest, most efficient, most complex, 

most diverse airspace system in the world. Our system is unique, 

unequaled, and unrivaled by any other country. This is due in large 

part to the impeccable work of the men and women I represent who 

run this system. 

The United States airspace system is considered the gold standard in the world aviation community. And yet the air traffic controller staffing crisis puts this status at risk. 

In 2015 this committee held a roundtable meeting to discuss air 

traffic control staffing. That event served as the catalyst between 

NATCA and the FAA to collaborate in developing solutions on 

many aspects of this staffing crisis. But the changes we have made 

are small steps in the right direction. Air traffic control staffing 

has been a concern for many years, but it has now reached a crisis 

level. 

We are at a 27-year low of fully certified air traffic controllers. 

Controller staffing has fallen nearly 10 percent since 2011. And the 

FAA has missed its hiring goal in each of the last 7 years. With 

one-third of the current workforce eligible to retire, the bureaucratic structure is failing us. 

Stop-and-go funding has contributed to staffing problems. In 

2013, due to sequestration, the FAA froze hiring, shut down the 

FAA Academy, and since then it has not been able to catch up. 

After sequestration of 2013 cuts, the FAA expunged approximately 

3,000 well-qualified candidates in order to institute its biographical 

questionnaire, or what we call BQ, which is fundamentally flawed. 

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NATCA worked with the FAA to validate the second BQ with a 

large group of controller workforce before it used it in its 2015 vacancy announcement. Then, for some reason, in July of 2015 the 

FAA HR department terminated the Retired Military Controller 

program, which we know as RMC. Piling on, FAA HR decided that 

the Air Traffic Selection and Training test, or ATSAT, could not be 

used again. 

NATCA has worked hard and encouraged our members to help 

validate a new exam. This exam is a full-day test. And with our 

controller staffing crisis, this has not been an easy task. The validation is not complete yet, and the FAA will not post an all-sources 

vacancy announcement until it is. These bureaucratic, self-inflicted 

wounds have significantly delayed the hiring of new employees. 

Since the roundtable discussion in December, NATCA and the 

FAA have collaborated to make some progress. But the job is far 

from complete. NATCA believes that the FAA must take a holistic, 

collaborative approach to resolve our staffing issues. We must be 

very careful not to do anything that would make the current situation worse, or delay hiring or slow training or reduce these staffing 

targets. NATCA doesn’t just come with a concern; we believe that 

everybody in this room can work together and get a solution. 

Congress needs to pass an FAA reauthorization bill that provides 

the necessary stable, predictable funding to operate a fully staffed 

National Airspace System. Sequestration must be fixed, or the FAA 

should be exempted. Otherwise, we will see another hiring freeze, 

reducing staffing, see furloughs, delays, and reduced capacity. 

NATCA supports the passage of H.R. 5292, which would streamline the hiring process by ensuring a path of experienced controllers will be hired quickly with fewer bureaucratic hurdles, and 

allow military veterans and CTI graduates to be hired without 

being subject to the bio data questionnaire—biographical questionnaire. 

The FAA needs to hire as many experienced controllers that are 

qualified. In addition, it should be hiring 2,000 inexperienced employees per year to maximize the throughput through the FAA 

Academy. Our controllers are dedicated, highly skilled professionals, the best in the world, who are forced to shoulder the burden of chronically understaffed facilities. They are doing an amazing job every day under this staffing crisis, but it is time for some 

relief. 

No one wants interruptions in service, delays, decreased capacity, 

least of all our air traffic controllers. 

I want to thank you for calling this hearing and continuing to 

keep our staffing crisis front and center. We must remain vigilant 

and continue to move the ball forward. Otherwise, we will be hard 

pressed to maintain the current capacity, let alone expand and 

modernize our system. 

I thank you for the opportunity to testify today, and I look forward to answering any of your questions. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Mr. Rinaldi. 

Now we will turn to Mr. Babbitt for your statement. You are recognized. 

Mr. BABBITT. Well, thank you. And Chairman LoBiondo, Chairman Shuster, Mr. Larsen, and Mr. DeFazio, members of the AviaVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:55 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\114\AV\6-15-2~1\20499.TXT JEAN
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tion Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before 

the subcommittee today to discuss the issues that are related to air 

traffic controller hiring, staffing, and training. 

I come before this body today actually wearing a number of hats 

that I have collected over the years, almost five decades in aviation. Those hats are current airline executive, a former Administrator of the FAA, a former president of an airline union, and a 

former commercial airline pilot. And because of my former lives, if 

you would, in aviation, I think I offer a unique perspective on a 

number of these issues. 

But first and foremost, I am here today as a senior executive 

from Southwest Airlines. Southwest is, as you may know, the Nation’s largest domestic carrier, in terms of carrying passengers in 

the country: roughly 150 million passengers, customers, annually, 

with a combination of low fares, no annoying fees, and friendly customer service that is developed by outstanding people and a safe 

and reliable operation. 

We operate at Southwest a fleet of over 700 Boeing 737 aircraft 

operating nearly 4,000 flights a day to over 87 U.S. destinations 

and 11 international destinations. And every single one of those 

flights is in controlled airspace. So, to say the least, we are dependent upon and highly appreciative of a robust, highly skilled air traffic controller workforce. 

In my prior roles as the FAA Administrator and as a commercial 

airline pilot, I was proud to interact daily with the professional 

men and women of the U.S. air traffic controller workforce. Their 

dedication to aviation safety, operational efficiency, and professional integrity is truly remarkable. And it leads to the fact that 

we all must have confidence in this ATC system. And during my 

50 years of flying, I never have lost that confidence, and it is in 

large measure due to the skill and professionalism of the Nation’s 

air traffic controllers. 

Now, with that said, my confidence in the overall ATC system 

today is a little bit shaky. I have no concern—let me underscore, 

no concern—from a safety perspective. The safety of the ATC system is never in doubt. But I do question the reliability of the overall ATC system from an operational and customer service perspective. 

The U.S. aviation system is both labor and capital intensive. And 

like other modes of transportation and other sectors in the aviation 

industry, prolonged underfunding of staffing needs and system improvements will eventually take its toll, as it has with the DC 

Metro and the TSA’s security apparatus, as two examples. 

All of this produces concern about whether the current ATC system can be sustained in its present form. Eventually, without 

major structural changes and greater funding and staffing certainty, serious inconvenience to aircraft operators and ultimately to 

our customers and your constituents will result. 

Specifically, in delivering to the beneficial NextGen technologies 

more quickly, and in order to avoid the crisis confronting TSA and 

DC Metro, the Federal Government needs to do more to address 

the supply of certified controllers, as well as providing the required 

training to fully utilize the NextGen capabilities that are available 

today. Principally, performance-based navigation and other capaVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:55 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\114\AV\6-15-2~1\20499.TXT JEAN
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bilities that are expected to be rolled out in the near future. For 

example, data communications in the en route environment. 

Aviation traffic is forecast to grow steadily. And certainly, having 

our certified controller staffing levels continue to decline with no 

relief in sight is not going to be helpful. This seems to be particularly problematic at critical ATC facilities which require the most 

experienced controllers to manage the complex operations skillfully 

and efficiently. And as the Nation’s largest domestic airline, it concerns us and it challenges our promise to our customers that we 

will provide friendly, reliable, and on-time service. 

Due to our concerns with the future capabilities of the ATC system and the current pace of progress with regard to the NextGen 

program, Southwest has joined most of the airline community and 

several aviation unions, including NATCA, to support significant 

structural, financing, procurement reforms, all contained within 

the House version of the FAA Reauthorization Act. 

The U.S. ATC system is a 24/7 operation. And, as Paul noted earlier, it contributes $1.5 trillion to the Nation’s gross domestic product, and generates more than 12 million jobs. But we believe that 

such an important economic engine will struggle to meet future demand under the current system challenged by the fits and starts 

of the annual appropriations process and the threat of sequestration or Government shutdowns. So we applaud the committee in 

looking for these important issues to be resolved, and at least recognizing that the status quo is not acceptable. 

So, hopefully, a bipartisan solution to these issues can be 

achieved sooner, rather than later. 

So, on behalf of Southwest Airlines, I thank you for this opportunity to testify, and I will be happy to answer any questions later. 

Thank you. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Babbitt, thank you very much. We will now 

turn to Mr. Shuster for questions. 

Mr. SHUSTER. Thank you, Chairman LoBiondo. And let me start 

off by saying, first of all, I know, Mr. Babbitt, in your long distinguished career you were on the 1993 commission that recommended the type of ATC reform that we have proposed here and 

passed out of committee. So I appreciate you being here today, your 

long service, and your wisdom in trying to figure out how we 

change this system and right this ship so we can have an even 

safer, more efficient air traffic control system and airspace in 

America. 

Mr. BABBITT. Thank you. 

Mr. SHUSTER. So far this morning we have learned that the FAA 

has missed its own controller hiring targets in each of the last 6 

years, and that the percentage of controller trainees being used are 

at near record levels in some of our busiest air traffic controlled facilities. 

In an effort to right this ship, Ms. Bristol, you said you have 

changed—revamped your controller hiring process. In fact, twice in 

less than 3 years this has happened. I, for one, am very skeptical 

and doubtful that, with a record of 6 years not being able to meet— 

I think the latest numbers I got is you are behind in hiring the 

type of people that we need to get in the facilities. 

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So I would like the witnesses—at least Mr. Hampton, Mr. 

Rinaldi, and Mr. Babbitt, if you would, give the FAA, on a scale 

of an A to an F, their performance in hiring, placing, and training 

over the last 5 years. 

Mr. Hampton, are you willing to grade them? 

Mr. HAMPTON. That is a dangerous thing, to ask an IG to give 

a grade. But anyway, on this one, given the work we have done 

over the years on FAA’s critical facilities, we would have to give 

them an incomplete. We think it is a longstanding issue that needs 

continued management attention. That is a stinging grade from an 

IG; I am sorry about that. 

Mr. SHUSTER. What did you say, the last thing? 

Mr. HAMPTON. It is an incomplete. It is a stinging grade. 

Mr. SHUSTER. It sounds like you are a politician. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. SHUSTER. I would have expected you to, you know, come 

down hard one way or the other. 

Mr. Rinaldi? 

Mr. RINALDI. I am going to go with the incomplete, also, if that 

is appropriate. You said A through F, but I will go with the incomplete, because, you know, the self-inflicted bureaucratic processes 

that they put in place, I still can’t consciously figure out why they 

would decide to do such a thing. But at the end of the day they 

are trying to make changes. 

And this year we are—since the roundtable discussion, we are 

seeing some changes. But keep in mind—not that I would grade 

this great body—stop-and-go funding does impact it. 

Mr. SHUSTER. I would do that, and I would—being the politician 

here asking the questions, I would give Congress a D-minus on 

what we have done over the last 20 or 30 years on the funding 

level, the different pieces of legislation that we have passed, that 

we have not—with our oversight of the FAA, but—so I would give 

us a D-minus—maybe a D, since it is Larsen’s birthday today, I 

will be a little bit easier. 

Mr. Babbitt? Now you are in the trickiest position of all, because 

you got to deal with the FAA every single day. So—— 

Mr. BABBITT. So I am going to default to the fail/pass voting 

method, and give them a passing grade. But as a good teacher, 

mentor might try to do, I say that with caveats. I think it is unfair 

sometimes to, in this situation, ask someone to perform without the 

adequate tools they need for the performance of what we have 

asked them to do. 

And again, the funding, the changing of any number of external 

circumstances for them, being forced to furlough, all of that is detracted from their grade, but not their fault. And so I guess I will 

default to the point of stabilizing the funding, having a clear path, 

and having the ability to put your hand up occasionally and say, 

‘‘Look, we need more money to do this. This is a critical piece, and 

we can’t do it with the funding and the budgets you have set for 

us.’’ And I think all of those would help them improve that grade 

and, you know, get into a good college. 

Mr. SHUSTER. OK, great. Ms. Bristol, I won’t ask you to grade 

yourself, but again, why should we assume, after 6 years of failure, 

after the last 2, 3 years—changing the system twice, you know, 

17 

what—tell us the metric we need to look for in the next couple of 

months, several months, to prove that you are moving forward in 

a positive way. 

Ms. BRISTOL. OK, thank you very much. So I think that the first 

metric to make is to make our hiring targets each year. We are on 

track to do that this year. We will probably exceed our goal, upwards—— 

Mr. SHUSTER. When will that—when will we see that? 

Ms. BRISTOL. We have already met the goal, and we expect to exceed it by any number of applicants, probably in the high 1600s, 

for this fiscal year. 

And I think that we have had some challenges over the years, 

and I think sequestration played a part in that, but I know that 

there have been a number of changes. And I think we are making 

progress. I think the changes that we have put into place, both 

process and tools, I think will continue to bear positive results as 

we move forward now and into the future. 

My organization, the Air Traffic Organization, is working very 

closely with other parts of the FAA, including my colleague, Mr. 

Rickie Cannon, who is our deputy assistant administrator for 

human resource management. Our folks are working very closely 

together. And hiring and training is one of our highest priorities 

in the agency. 

We are also working very closely with my colleague, Paul 

Rinaldi, and his team. We have put in place a number of changes 

in the way that we are working together on how we move people 

throughout the system, ensuring that we address the highest need 

facilities first and foremost, and really focus on putting our new 

hires in the lower level facilities. 

Mr. SHUSTER. OK. Well, know we are watching closely, and know 

that this problem has to be solved now, because the real damaging 

effects come down the road if it is not addressed—— 

Ms. BRISTOL. Right. 

Mr. SHUSTER [continuing]. Today. So again, thank you for being 

here. Thank you all for being here. 

Ms. BRISTOL. Thank you. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. DeFazio? 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Thanks. I will move on quickly to the controller 

issue, but I just want to correct the record. Mr. Babbitt, you can 

help with this. You served on the 1993 commission, that is correct? 

Mr. BABBITT. Sorry? 

Mr. DEFAZIO. The 1993 commission, you served on it, looking at 

the—changing the ATO governance. 

Mr. BABBITT. I believe that was the 1992 commission. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Yes, yes, you did, OK. Was the conclusion to go to 

a private corporation, or was the conclusion to establish an independent Government corporation? 

Mr. BABBITT. I will plead a fair amount of distance between 1992 

and—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. OK. Well, I have it here, and it actually—although 

Ms. Robyn and others keep saying, ‘‘We were there, this is what 

they wanted to do,’’ it actually came to the conclusion it should be 

an independent Government corporation removed from the Federal 

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budget process. Not a private, not-for-profit corporation. Just wanted to correct the record on that—— 

Mr. BABBITT. All the—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Let’s move on to air traffic controllers, thank you. 

Ms. Bristol, why was this BA [biographical assessment] created? 

My understanding is the ATSAT had been compromised, and that 

was part of the rationale for the BA. 

Ms. BRISTOL. You want to—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Or Mr. Cannon? 

Mr. CANNON. Congressman DeFazio, I will attempt to answer 

your question. 

The biographical assessment was created to provide some initial 

screening as applicants matriculated through the process. When we 

decided to change the process—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. It is not because the ATSAT had been compromised? 

Mr. CANNON. Well, we can talk about the ATSAT a little later, 

but let me try to answer—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Yes, OK. Well, here—all right, let me just get to 

my point. 

Mr. CANNON. OK. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. I met a person at the last NATCA event here on 

the Hill who went through the CTI, is working as a military controller, but can’t come aboard with the FAA because she can’t pass 

the BA and the BA seems to be designed to determine whether you 

have the temperament to be a controller or not. So if someone has 

gone to the school, successfully completed the school, and is working without reservation, without problems, as a military air traffic 

controller, is that test valid? 

Mr. CANNON. Yes, sir. The test is valid. Both versions of the biographical assessment—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. I thought that you had to go out—you hadn’t validated the first one with the workforce, and then you redid the BA 

and it has been somewhat validated, but there are still questions 

in my mind about that validation. 

Mr. CANNON. No, sir. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. I mean, well, why would you then want to screen 

out a person who is fully qualified, working as an air traffic controller, trained? Why would we want to screen her out with a biographical assessment? 

Mr. CANNON. Well, I don’t believe we want to screen—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Yes, but I mean—— 

Mr. CANNON [continuing]. Any particular individual. 

Mr. DEFAZIO [continuing]. There seems to be a problem. I mean 

what is the goal? I mean if the goal is to get people—you know, 

because it becomes more expensive as you go through the process. 

You have to apply the ATSAT. My understanding is it costs you 

$139 per ATSAT, compared to $45 for the SAT. 

So I am really kind of wondering about this whole process, the 

BA, the ATSAT, and whether we need two processes, or whether 

we should have one simplified process, which is, ‘‘Do you have the 

skills necessary, yes or no,’’ and we are going to give you an 

ATSAT, we are going to keep it secure, so it doesn’t get comVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:55 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\114\AV\6-15-2~1\20499.TXT JEAN
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promised, in terms of answers. Maybe we can get Princeton to do 

it for us for $45 a person, as opposed to $139. 

I mean this whole process is aggravating. I mean I think we are 

screening out, potentially—at least one, and I am sure there is 

more than one—qualified people from becoming controllers. I mean 

you are totally confident in this process as the best way to go? BA 

and then the ATSAT? 

Mr. CANNON. Yes, sir, I am. And I think it is producing results. 

And Ms. Bristol just said, we will exceed our hiring target this 

year. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. OK, well—— 

Mr. CANNON. And we have a good start—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. I have a question for Ms. Bristol. Why is the target 

less than 2,000? The academy has the capability of processing 

2,000. Why—and we have a severe shortage in many of our critical 

centers, and it is going to take people 3 years to get there. Why 

are we hiring less than 2,000? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Right. So, as we stepped from 2015 to 2016, we 

transitioned to a new controller training contract. We wanted to 

ensure that we didn’t have more trainees in the field than could 

go right into training. In other words, we track where individuals 

are and how many training resources are available to move those 

people through the—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. So you are saying that your target is because of 

restrictions in terms of supervision of entry-level controllers. 

Ms. BRISTOL. It was one consideration. As we move into next 

year, we are looking to bump that, and max out the academy, as 

well, in addition to bringing on previous-experience controllers over 

and above that number. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Right. And the FAA has a target minimum 

headcount, which is set by some sort of mathematical algorithm by 

the finance people. Doesn’t sound ideal to me, because the green 

eyeshades probably have something else in mind. And then we 

have the CRWG CPC working group, which came up with more robust levels. 

Ms. BRISTOL. So—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. So if we had a, actually, applied working group 

that drilled down into each center and came up with higher numbers, why do we even bother with the mathematical algorithm that 

popped out of the finance department with the target minimum 

headcount? 

Ms. BRISTOL. That would be the controller workforce plan. It is 

put out every year. It is a 10-year document. It is strategic, it is 

very high level. 

The ATO worked with NATCA, and that CRWG, which is a controller resource working group, it was ATO and NATCA—— 

Mr. DEFAZIO. Right. So it was actually practitioners, you know, 

working with the bureaucrats to come up with real numbers, as opposed to numbers that were created by a mathematical algorithm. 

Ms. BRISTOL. It doesn’t take into account everyone that is in a 

facility. What it does is average out the certified professional controllers, and we set targets on how we are going to staff to that 

level and move people through the system to—from our more 

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healthy to less healthy facilities. But we have to account for the 

developmentals that are also in the building. 

So, in working together, I am very confident that is how we have 

a laser approach on who we are putting into which facilities. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. OK. Mr. Rinaldi, can you comment on this BA 

process? I mean when they did the control, how many—do you 

know how many controllers took the test and what their pass and 

fail rate was with the BA, actually working controllers? 

Mr. RINALDI. Sure. I thank you, sir. When they did the first one 

in 2014, 28,511 applicants took the BQ; 2,407 passed. So, you 

know, roughly 10 percent passed. 

Then we found out later on that—and I am not a scientist, but 

all you have to do is read the first page about a biographical assessment. It says that the test must be validated with a large 

group of incumbents. And being the only person who represents a 

large group of air traffic controllers, it was never validated with us. 

So we asked the FAA, ‘‘If you are going to do this again, you probably need to validate this test,’’ and they did. We did it together, 

and validated it, and roughly 18,000 took it and roughly 5,000 

passed the BQ, about 28 percent. Again, I don’t know much about 

the science, but I do know there are a lot of qualified people out 

there that are actually doing the job today that have not passed it. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. OK, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am 

over my time. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Just very briefly, I want to strongly associate 

with Mr. DeFazio’s comments on the revised hiring process. 

And Ms. Bristol and Mr. Cannon, do you realize when we are 

talking about a military air traffic controller that can’t be qualified 

for civilian air traffic control, and you are telling this committee 

and the rest of the world that you are justifying that your process 

is valid, and trying to make all of us understand how that is OK, 

how absurd and ridiculous it is to us, that somehow you don’t kind 

of regroup and say, ‘‘Look, maybe we have got to relook at this, and 

if we have got military air traffic controllers that have gone 

through CTI, maybe we have done something wrong here’’? So 

this—you are hurting yourself by doing this. 

Very briefly, we are going to go to Mr. Rokita, but Mr. Shuster 

asked to make a brief comment. 

Mr. SHUSTER. I also want to strongly associate myself with Mr. 

DeFazio, what he said. He has hit the nail right on the head. So 

I appreciate that. 

But I also want to make sure that the record reflects that in my 

ATC reform it accomplishes everything that we want—that he 

wants, I think, too—except for it is not in a failed—the history of 

America has been failed Government corporations. And it takes it 

out of that. And we have seen around the world that this system 

will work. So I just want to make sure that stands in the record, 

too. Thank you. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Rokita, you are recognized. 

Mr. ROKITA. I thank the chairman. And Ms. Bristol, so the military training program doesn’t suffice? Military controllers can’t 

pass your processes and cannot work in the civil—— 

Mr. CANNON. No, sir. We are hiring any number of former military controllers. In fact, our most recent track 2 announcement, we 

21 

did an all-sources announcement open and continuous back last 

December. Air Traffic Organization recently hired 260 and they are 

all veterans, all former military. 

Mr. ROKITA. All right. 

Mr. CANNON. Controllers. 

Mr. ROKITA. Well, why can’t—why do they fail? 

Mr. CANNON. Sir, the biographical assessment, like any test, is 

basically—it predicts success at the academy, and CPC at first facility. It is not flawless, like all other tests. so—— 

Mr. ROKITA. So you agree to correct the flaws? 

Mr. CANNON. Well, what we have done is we have done—our consultants have done the validation work to ensure that the test is 

valid. That is legally an obligation we have as an agency, that any 

selection procedure or tool we use must be validated under the uniform guidelines—— 

Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Rinaldi—thank you—do you have a comment on 

this? 

Mr. RINALDI. Just—Mr. Cannon said something about an open 

and continuous bid, and that is—that was closed in March. So if 

it is open and continuous, it would be open all the time, I would 

think. So it is not. It is actually closed. They have not issued another open continuous bid for experienced controllers or direct hires 

out of the military. 

The individual that Mr. DeFazio was speaking about is a actual 

CTI graduate, highly recommended from the school, and is working 

in one of our Federal contract towers, actually performing air traffic control, and is not able to pass the BQ, either. 

Mr. ROKITA. Roger, thank you. 

Continuing on with the CTI schools, Mr. Cannon, can you explain why the FAA decided to use a BA, bachelor of arts, for general public candidates, including graduates of CTI schools? And 

second, can you explain why the FAA modified the BA so quickly? 

Mr. CANNON. Modified the BA? 

Mr. ROKITA. Yes. 

Mr. CANNON. And why we use it? Again, we created and used the 

biographical assessment for the 2014 announcement because it is 

a good screen, and it is validated for success at the academy and 

success at CPC at first facility. 

We modified the biographical assessment in 2015 because between the 2014 and the 2015 announcement we had enough time 

to do a job task analysis to take a deeper look at the occupation 

to see if it had changed. 

Mr. ROKITA. Why did you use the same contractor for the biographical analysis? 

Mr. CANNON. Why would we use the same contractor? 

Mr. ROKITA. Yes, when the—that contractor failed the first time. 

Mr. CANNON. Well, I don’t—— 

Mr. ROKITA. Failed to do the job correctly the first time. 

Mr. CANNON. Well, the contractor did not fail to do the job correctly the first time, sir. 

Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Rinaldi, is that your opinion? 

Mr. RINALDI. That is certainly not my opinion. The test was 

never validated with air traffic controllers. So it wasn’t valid, and 

that is why it had such a horrible success rate. 

22 

More importantly, they did have time. They had 3,000 qualified 

CTI students on a list that they basically expunged. They could 

have hired them for that year and given us the opportunity to validate the test. 

My executive vice president brought this up to who was the head 

of HR who is no longer there at this time, and they basically put 

the hand up and said, ‘‘We know exactly what we are doing, this 

science doesn’t lie.’’ It did lie. It was flawed. 

Mr. ROKITA. Thank you very much for that testimony. 

Ms. Bristol, Purdue University in my district is one of the 36 

schools approved to participate in the Collegiate Training Initiative. When the hiring process was changed, CTI students no longer 

received a bonus on their application, whatever that looks like, for 

completing the program. 

Why do you think that is right, that is the right decision, not to 

give priority to these students who were specifically trained to do 

air traffic control at what—you know, unless you are a hard IU [Indiana University] fan, wouldn’t agree that Purdue is not a good 

place to get that kind of work done, that kind of training done? 

Mr. CANNON. Sir, CTI students never got a bonus. What they 

had was a separate announcement in which they were placed in 

the inventory. The only thing we have done, if you really look at 

it closely, is we have taken them, and they are just competing in 

the pool with the rest of the U.S. citizens—— 

Mr. ROKITA. Well, there is a—— 

Mr. CANNON [continuing]. And they are doing very, very well. 

Mr. ROKITA. There is a shortage, sir. Why not—you have these 

people trained already. Why not get them to the front of the line 

and get them in a tower, or get them in a TRACON? 

Mr. CANNON. Sir—— 

Mr. ROKITA. I don’t get it. 

Mr. CANNON. Sir, they are actually doing better. If you can indulge me just for a second, they are actually doing better than they 

ever have. Let me give you just a few examples. 

In fiscal year 2008 the FAA hired 2,196 controllers; 823 of those 

were CTI students. These numbers, by the way, are reported in the 

controller workforce plan. That is 37 percent. In fiscal year 2009 

FAA hired 1,731 controllers, and only 335 were CTI students, 19 

percent. 

And then, in fiscal year 2010 and 2011, in the independent panel 

review report that was commissioned by Mr. Babbitt, and when he 

was the FAA Administrator, the FAA was roundly criticized because in fiscal year 2010 and 2011 out of 1,000 controller selections 

only 33 percent were CTI students. 

Now, in fiscal year 2014, 47 percent of the 1,593 people selected 

were CTI grads or had some CTI education. And fiscal year 2015 

that number ballooned to 50 percent. There were 1,452 out of 2,895 

people who referred. So that is a 50-percent growth doing nothing 

at all but putting this new process in place. 

Mr. ROKITA. I thank the chairman for his time. I yield back. Apparently we don’t need to have this hearing, Chairman. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Lipinski. 

Mr. LIPINSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Been a lot of discussion 

about whether or not there are shortages or not or—I think a couVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:55 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\114\AV\6-15-2~1\20499.TXT JEAN
23 

ple things I want to make sure we focus on. Thirteen of twentythree critical facilities were found by the IG to be below the facility’s planning staffing range. And two of these facilities are Chicago 

TRACON and Chicago O’Hare Tower, which are below the minimum level for CPCs. So we are talking about some of the busiest 

terminal airspace in the entire world. 

Now, in the Chicago TRACON/Chicago Center O’Hare Tower, the 

percentage of retirement-eligible controllers ranged from 43 to 50 

percent. So, clearly, we see problems right now, and certainly 

issues in the future with having shortages. I have great concerns 

about what has been done with the changes to the system for hiring controllers. I know that I have one of the best CTI schools in 

the country in my district, Lewis University in Romeoville. Professor Bill Parrot is here today. We talked about this yesterday. 

I want to point out that there is a 2013 report by the FAA Civil 

Aerospace Medical Institute that said, ‘‘Based on training performance, a preference for CTI graduates over general applications 

seems warranted.’’ And another in 2014 that said, ‘‘Overall, larger 

proportions of CTI hires achieved professional controller status 

than the general public hires.’’ 

Now, I know that in—you know, hiring procedures were changed 

in 2013. There was an alarming increase in the number of academy 

failures in 2015. So it just seems common sense to me, as others 

have noted, that it is common sense to hire from CTI graduates 

and veterans first. 

So, Ms. Bristol, can you tell me how veterans and CTI graduates’ 

performance and training compares with those from the general 

population? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Congressman, I don’t have those statistics with me. 

I would have to provide those to you. 

Mr. LIPINSKI. OK. I would very much like to see that, because 

it seems like something we would want to know, especially when 

we see this increase in academy failures. And we want to know 

who is performing best, and really is succeeding in the process. 

Now, I want to associate myself with Mr. Hultgren’s comments 

when he spoke before this panel. We need to figure this out. We 

cannot have—I understand that because of the current and coming 

potential shortages of air traffic controllers we don’t want to slow 

the system down. But we have to get at how we do this best to 

keep our aviation safe. We need to get at a lot of those things Mr. 

Hultgren talked about. We need to get under—back—we need to 

understand the alleged cheating that went on to know what happened there. 

I think Mr. Hultgren’s bill that I worked with him on, H.R. 1964, 

is the best way to go about doing this. I am also a cosponsor of Mr. 

Curbelo’s and Mr. Maloney’s bill, although one of the reasons Mr. 

Hultgren laid out there I think his bill is—I prefer that bill. But 

we need to do a much better job here. 

One question I want to ask, and there is probably not any information on it. I am not sure if it is directly related to what we are 

talking about here. But, Ms. Bristol, around midnight on June 4th 

an incoming commercial flight was unable to reach air traffic controllers in Chicago Midway Tower. The flight diverted to MilVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:55 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\114\AV\6-15-2~1\20499.TXT JEAN
24 

waukee, and two other incoming flights were directed to enter holding patterns until communications were reestablished. 

Now, during this time the crews remained in contact with 

TRACON in Elgin, so it wasn’t a—you know, any direct safety 

issue. But I wanted to know if the FAA has determined the cause 

of this communications difficulty. 

Ms. BRISTOL. Yes. Thank you, Congressman. We are investigating that matter. We expect to wrap up that investigation in 

the next 2 to 3 days. And we will certainly circle back with your 

office to share that information. 

Mr. LIPINSKI. It is, obviously, very, very critical that we get to 

the bottom of this incident and also—but getting back, we need to 

make sure—I want to find the answer to the question about how 

the CTI and veterans perform. And with that I will yield back. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Mr. Lipinski. 

Mr. Mica? 

Mr. MICA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for letting 

me go ahead. I do have another obligation shortly. 

We have been talking about training of air traffic controllers for 

as long as I have been here, and we set up a system that is flawed. 

Ms. Bristol, how many people do we have that have applied to 

be air traffic controllers? Don’t we have a waiting list or something? Do you—— 

Ms. BRISTOL. Do you want to—— 

Mr. MICA. Can you answer it, Mr. Cannon? 

Mr. CANNON. Yes. 

Mr. MICA. How many? 

Mr. CANNON. How many people do we have—— 

Mr. MICA. Well, we had a list to apply to get in. How many do 

we have on the list currently? Or—I know we had thousands at one 

point. Do we still have thousands? 

Mr. CANNON. Yes, right—— 

Mr. MICA. We have thousands. 

Mr. CANNON. Yes. Right now, sir, we—— 

Mr. MICA. What is the capacity to run through the school at 

Oklahoma? 

Ms. BRISTOL. 2,000. 

Mr. MICA. How many? 

Ms. BRISTOL. 2,000. 

Mr. MICA. Is that—and during what period of time? 

Ms. BRISTOL. That would be during the fiscal year we—— 

Mr. MICA. One year you can do 2,000. 

Ms. BRISTOL. Plus we can also put experienced controllers directly into—— 

Mr. MICA. And your—— 

Ms. BRISTOL [continuing]. The field to train them—— 

Mr. MICA. And your washout rate, I understand, is still pretty 

high from those that come out of Oklahoma. Is that correct? 

Ms. BRISTOL. It—— 

Mr. MICA. Who knows the washout rate? 

Ms. BRISTOL. In the en route option the failure rate at the academy is around 30 percent. 

Mr. MICA. About 30 percent. So one-third waste. We have dozens 

of colleges, university—I don’t have it in my district—Embry-RidVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:55 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\114\AV\6-15-2~1\20499.TXT JEAN
25 

dle, who can teach these courses. Why can’t FAA set the standards 

for colleges and universities? 

Right now aren’t we paying—we were paying them money to go 

to this school, and this big mechanism and a 30-percent washout 

rate. Are we still paying them to go to school? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Yes, sir, we—— 

Mr. MICA. Yes, OK. All this money we are spending and we have 

the washout rate, and we can’t fill the positions. We have plenty 

of schools that can teach these people if the FAA can get out of that 

business. And there is a role for Oklahoma City. 

When they come out of the colleges or the military air traffic control or something, they should be tested, they should be brought up 

to date on the very latest protocols, and then they should be dispersed to the vacancies, correct? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Yes. 

Mr. MICA. So we need to get FAA out of that business. They are 

not doing it right. 

Ms. BRISTOL. Right. We have embarked—— 

Mr. MICA. If the—— 

Ms. BRISTOL [continuing]. Upon—— 

Mr. MICA. If the colleges and universities and schools that can 

do this, they will pay for it themselves. They come out—see someone in the past behind Mr. Rinaldi that told me that excellent performance of those that come out of the schools with a full education. So if FAA can do its job in setting the protocols, the standards, the courses, and the certifications and get the hell out of the 

business, don’t you think we can do a better job? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Sir, we have started that process. We—— 

Mr. MICA. Where is the—— 

Ms. BRISTOL. We have started a controller working group—— 

Mr. MICA. Let’s totally get out of it. It is nice, the legislation that 

is pending, but it doesn’t solve the problem. The problem is basic, 

that the structure that we have is fundamentally flawed, OK? 

So we need to get out, Members. Listen to this, Members. Introduce legislation that changes the role of Oklahoma City and directs 

FAA to set the standards, the certification, and you can do checks 

on these people. There is a very small washout rate. They are better performers. They are better equipped in many ways to get on 

the job and fill those gaps. 

Anybody disagree with me? Mr. Rinaldi? You like it? 

Mr. RINALDI. Do I disagree with you, sir? 

Mr. MICA. Yes. 

Mr. RINALDI. I think that there is a fairness issue when a student goes into a college. I am paying for two college tuitions right 

now. If they are going into a college program to be specifically an 

air traffic controller, and then they come out and they have to take 

a biographical questionnaire or assessment—— 

Mr. MICA. Well, to go back into that, I think you can recraft the 

role of Oklahoma City to test them, to make certain that they are 

competent, and to see where their skills best match the vacancies 

that we have in the system. 

But where—you know, there is an unfairness, yes. But right now 

the taxpayer is paying for a 30-percent washout rate to a system 

that doesn’t get people on the job. So I think we need to transition 

26 

again to a system that can produce them. And why should we be 

paying for this system of failure? It just goes on and on. 

So I have got to run to another function. But, Mr. Chairman and 

members of the committee, we need to reform this whole process. 

Anything less, you are just messing around. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you. Mr. Larsen? 

Mr. LARSEN. Thank you. 

Mr. Rinaldi, from all accounts the NATCA’s workforce continues 

to help the FAA fulfill its mission in providing the safest and most 

efficient aerospace system in the world. Can you point to any safety 

lapses in the last year that you would associate with controller 

staffing levels? 

Mr. RINALDI. No, sir. The controllers plug in to their position day 

in and day out to maintain, first and foremost, the safety of the 

National Airspace System. If they are working double positions 

combined up because staffing is short, then capacity will have to 

be appropriately reduced to make sure that they are not in a safety 

concern. 

Mr. LARSEN. So the first option would be to reduce capacity, as 

opposed to trying to keep capacity levels the same if there is an 

issue in the staffing. 

Mr. RINALDI. Absolutely. 

Mr. LARSEN. Yes. Mr. Babbitt as well, apart from the service reductions associated with sequestration, can Southwest Airlines 

point to any other air traffic control-related delays or service reductions? 

Mr. BABBITT. Well, we certainly have our suspicions. We rely 

somewhat on anecdotal data or information, I guess—— 

Mr. LARSEN. Be sure to get right in the microphone there. Just— 

yes. 

Mr. BABBITT. We do have our suspicions. We don’t have clear insight into a lot of the granular pieces when an air traffic control 

facility begins to increase spacing, things like that, ground stops; 

we don’t necessarily know what the issue is within that station. 

We do know of a couple, though. A good example is the Chicago 

Center, which has a metering station that has been somewhat 

short-staffed. The problem for us is they have adjacent sector vectoring, so that aircraft coming out of Chicago Center going into the 

Minneapolis Center must follow a protocol. Well, if there is not 

staffing in either of those centers, it doesn’t happen. And it is not 

happening. 

And what that leads to for us is increased vectoring, increased 

fuel burn, longer en route times. It is a delay. I mean we pay the 

financial penalty. We burn 2 billion gallons of fuel a year, and it 

is expensive. And so, any time we can reduce that and use the enhanced procedures, we welcome it. And those are the kinds of restrictions. 

Midway Tower itself has the same issue. They sometimes cannot 

staff a ground metering system that they use for lack of personnel 

in the tower. So it leads to us having increased tarmac times; you 

just sit longer on the ramp, burning fuel, delaying passengers. Not 

anything we look forward to. 

Mr. LARSEN. OK. Thanks. 

27 

Ms. Bristol, there is some criticism of the controller workforce 

plan staffing ranges as unreliable. Can you just enlighten me a little bit? When we are talking about the shortage, what—from your 

perspective, what is the baseline we are supposed to use? And in 

fairness, I am going to ask Mr. Rinaldi to comment on that same 

question, as well. What is the baseline? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Right. Well, you know, right now we are—we have 

got—in the entire system, 14,376 folks that are working their way 

through the process, from the early levels through the top. We are 

striving right now to get our certified professional controllers in a 

range that is in the 80- to 85-percent rate, which we would feel is 

more healthy. 

And so, we are focused on, in facilities that are above that, helping them—if they desire to go to a facility that is below that level, 

help them get there more quickly, so that we can start getting everybody up to that range. 

Mr. LARSEN. Yes. Mr. Rinaldi, how should we assess this? 

Mr. RINALDI. So I would just say that the most accurate assessment of each facility is your onboard staffing of your fully certified 

professional controllers. These are the individuals that can plug in 

and work any position. These are the individuals that will train the 

other people in the building, that are learning to be air traffic controllers. These are the individuals that will fill in for supervisory 

functions and be controllers in charge. These are the individuals we 

take off the boards to actually help us modernize the system and 

develop real-time efficiencies in NextGen. 

That is the goal, is to actually measure that. What the controller 

workforce plan—it is just bodies in the building. And all too often 

they give you a number and it is misleading, at best. That—they 

said, ‘‘Well, at Atlanta TRACON we have 95 people on board,’’ but 

really you only have—and if our CPC number is 100, and you have 

95 people on board, you would think, well, we are OK, we are only 

5 under. But really, you only have 68 people that can fully work 

all the positions, and those other people are in some form of training, which—their success rate in Atlanta is less than 40 percent. 

So you are counting people that will never be successful in the 

building, and it is almost a charade. They are just saying, ‘‘Well, 

we are fully staffed there,’’ and the people will never certify there. 

So the number is flawed, is—if you go strictly by certified professional controllers is the best way to see the healthiness of a building. 

Mr. LARSEN. Yes. Mr. Chairman, could I just have—ask the same 

question of Mr. Hampton? Is—— 

Mr. LOBIONDO. It is your birthday; whatever you want. 

Mr. LARSEN. It is my birthday, great. I have got another 15 minutes’ worth of questions. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LARSEN. One for every birthday. 

Matt, could you talk a little bit—what is—have you looked at the 

right number? 

Mr. HAMPTON. We don’t know exactly what the right number is, 

but let me give you a different perspective. When we visit the field, 

we talk to the facility manager who runs the place day to day, and 

is responsible for running multiple shifts. And Mr. Rinaldi is quite 

28 

correct, the certified controller is much like a utility infielder. He 

trains controllers and can work all segments of the airspace. So 

that gives a facility manager tremendous flexibility. 

I think it is important for the FAA to communicate to the Congress a specific number, particularly in the controller workforce 

plan. What is the right number at the right facility? Particularly 

at the critical facilities. We have looked at this for a number of 

years. 

So the CPC count is a very important number. That is our take 

on it. It matters to the facility manager, the guy that runs the facility, particularly at Chicago, Atlanta, and other most critical facilities. 

Mr. LARSEN. All right, thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Rinaldi, at the roundtable we held in December you outlined some steps that you thought the FAA should take 

to improve the hiring and training and placement. Can you tell us 

any specific improvements in this area over the last 6 months? 

Mr. RINALDI. So, after the roundtable hearing we had in December, the agency actually opened up the continuous bid for a couple 

months, which helped get streamlined certified—or military controllers into the system, and get them into—directly into the facilities. And so that helped. 

What also helped is we have come to an agreement on what we 

call an ERR [employee requested reassignment] policy, which is basically a national release policy in moving controllers from midlevel and lower level facilities to the higher level facilities, where 

we have the shortage, in a very streamlined way so it is not 314 

fiefdoms, but it is actually a very national overlook, and making 

sure that the system is staffed correctly and the facilities are getting the resources they need to do. 

So these are some steps we have taken. H.R. 5292 will give the 

agency the ability to continue to hire—maximize the academy and 

hire straight from the military and actually give the ability for the 

CTI students to get right into the academy also, and get that—and 

that is why we actually support the passage of H.R. 5292. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Ms. Bristol, I want to commend you and the team 

for the collaboration with Mr. Rinaldi and NATCA. It seems like 

that is going to be crucial and essential. 

But can you explain the difference between the staffing targets 

your team developed with NATCA and the recommended staffing 

ranges included in the FAA’s annual controller workforce plan? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Yes. The annual controller workforce plan that is 

put out, it is a very high level—it is a strategic target. And it does 

give ranges, it gives a high and a low as an indicator of, you know, 

health, if you will, in a facility. 

When we look at managing facilities every day, and how we 

move our controllers through the system and inside the buildings, 

it was clear that we needed a much more tactical tool, and that is 

why we worked with NATCA to laser in on individual facilities and 

how we place and recognize there are also people moving through 

the facility at the same time as they become more proficient. 

So, the controller workforce plan, I think, serves a purpose. But 

for day-to-day management in the system, our organization works 

29 

with that interim target on how we move and place people in the 

system. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Hampton or Mr. Rinaldi, care to comment? 

Mr. RINALDI. The—as I said earlier, the controller workforce plan 

just gives you a headcount. What we did in our collaborative resource working group is actually laser in how many CPCs we want 

on the mission. And the mission is running air traffic control, actually getting recurrent training and mandatory briefing items, doing 

OJTI, doing CIC, helping modernization in the system. 

So we went with a CPAC number, and Ms. Bristol is correct, of 

actually—what is a good number to actually move somebody 

through the system? And we came with 85 percent CPC number. 

And that is why that number seems to be working for us. 

But if you just look—if you just went on the controller workforce 

plan, as I said, with Atlanta—but we could do it with Chicago, 

also—about 30 percent of the people in the building that come in 

as new developmentals become fully certified. Controller workforce—CPC target is 100. That is the number we came up with collaboratively. 

But you know, they would right now say that we are within 

range, because their range is from 81 to 100, or—and right now 

there are 83 people there, except for the fact there are only 64 that 

could actually work position. The others are in some stage of training. But they are counting them as a full body. And if you were 

going to schedule that person to work a shift, you certainly would 

not schedule a group of those, you know, 20 people that can’t work 

by themselves all alone on a shift. 

So it is disingenuous to say they are OK, they have 84 people on 

board. The workforce plan, to me, it just gives a false depiction of 

what is actually going on in a facility. The healthiness of a facility 

and the staffing of a facility goes right to the CPC number, and 

what accomplishes the mission of moving air traffic control safely 

throughout our system. 

Mr. HAMPTON. I think that is encouraging, that FAA and NATCA 

are working together. But I think it is important in the future that 

they clearly communicate to this committee and other committees 

what number they are measuring, particularly at the critical facilities. Are we measuring CPCs or are we measuring total controllers? I think that is an important distinction. 

So it is a positive step, but going forward, it is important to clarify what measurement we are using. And I do think as Mr. Rinaldi 

said, the CPC number is important and it is OK to express it in 

ranges. There is a level of precision that is not easy to get here. 

I think it is a positive development, but it is important, going forward, to see whether the next plan they put forward in 2017 will 

reflect that. It will be important to communicate the health of a facility by that measurement in the future. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you. 

Ms. Bristol, according to Mr. Rinaldi, controllers are working 

mandatory 6-day workweeks at TRACONs in Atlanta, Chicago, 

Dallas/Fort Worth, and New York. And according to your agency, 

controller overtime expenditures have jumped from $54 million in 

2011 to $78 million in 2015. 

30 

Do you share our concern with the pressure being put on controllers, the safety and operational implications of increasing their 

workloads? And how long can this be kept up this way before we 

have some kind of a breaking point? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Well, thank you, Congressman. I think that is one 

of the priority reasons that we are so focused on moving our experienced controllers into some of our most critically staffing-challenged facilities. 

There are different levels of overtime in every facility. And, you 

know, hours can vary. You know, my—I do not like to see people 

working more overtime than they need to. And that is why it is a 

priority for me to ensure that we get bodies as quickly as possible 

in, and then move bodies to where they really need to be to support 

the workforce that is already there. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Hampton or Mr. Rinaldi, care to comment? 

Mr. HAMPTON. Overall, overtime nationwide is 2.6 percent. Most 

facility managers tell us if it is in the 4- to 6-percent range, it is 

manageable. However, at some of the critical facilities, overtime 

rates do exceed 10 percent. 

New York TRACON, almost 15 percent; Dallas TRACON, 12 percent; Atlanta TRACON and Chicago TRACONs are 11 percent. So 

that shows a level of stress at a facility. It is questionable how long 

that can be sustained. It shows signs of staffing shortages. 

Mr. Rinaldi? 

Mr. RINALDI. I would agree with the numbers the IG put out. 

Those are accurate, and it does—it is a—it does fatigue the workforce if you are working 6-day workweeks, 10-hour days, and 

maxing out on that. It is a high-stress occupation, and it is not 

something we should rely on as a normal part of our day-to-day operation. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. OK. Thank you. Now turn to Mr. Maloney. 

Mr. MALONEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And happy birthday to 

our colleague, Mr. Larsen, proof that the Aviation Subcommittee 

really is the secret to staying forever young. 

Mr. Rinaldi, I appreciate the kind words on the bipartisan legislation that my colleague, Mr. Curbelo, and I have introduced to address some of the issues you have been discussing this morning: 

H.R. 5292, known as the Air Traffic Control Hiring Improvement 

Act. You have done a better job in your testimony than I could of 

outlining some of the merits of the legislation, but I would love to 

ask you about a couple of issues that are covered by our bipartisan 

legislation, as I am sure my colleague, Mr. Curbelo, may, as well. 

And let me also say thank you to your members at NATCA for 

the extraordinary work they do day in and day out that ensure millions of us who travel every year—and every week, in many cases— 

arrive at our destinations safe and sound. So thank you for that, 

and thank you for your efforts in advancing my legislation. 

But let me focus you specifically on the new biographical assessment test conducted by FAA. Could you speak to some of the ways 

that this test has led to qualified controllers, including veterans, 

being rejected from potential ATC positions? I am not sure people 

fully understand this issue. 

Mr. RINALDI. Well, thank you, sir, and thank you for your leadership on H.R. 5292. We do really appreciate it. We think it is the 

31 

right piece of legislation to move forward to help us with the hiring. 

The biographical assessment was established to help cull a list, 

basically, of 28,000 applicants. And it took—it didn’t take into account, regardless of any schooling you would have or any actual onthe-job function of being an air traffic controller you have been 

doing for years in the military or years in the FAA, and really just 

put everybody into one pool. And I don’t know how they graded it. 

I do know some people that did take the test, they were just told 

if they passed or failed. Weren’t told what they answered correctly 

or incorrectly, and it really seemed—it doesn’t seem like a fairness 

issue. 

Like I started to say earlier, I pay for two college tuitions, and 

I would like to know if my child can actually do the job before I 

am actually paying for the college tuition, especially something as 

precise and specific as air traffic control. You can’t come out of 

Embry-Riddle with an air traffic control degree and then fail a BQ. 

And there are not many other places you can turn to. So it is a 

fairness issue of allowing CTI students not to be lumped in with 

off-the-street. 

Same as military that are actually providing day-to-day air traffic control services in the military. To actually then put them and 

treat them and put them into the biographical questionnaire seems 

silly. 

Mr. MALONEY. Thank you. And, if you would, also expound on 

how it unnecessarily restricts military and Department of Defense 

civilian controllers, and if that is contributing to the staffing crisis 

we have heard quite a bit about this morning and we are seeing 

in places like New York. 

Mr. RINALDI. Well, it—to be an air traffic controller in large 

TRACONs is a very, very hard task. You really can’t come out of 

the academy and make it into one of those busy facilities. The success rate is very, very low. 

Depending on what you are actually—your job function is in the 

military, if you are actually a tower controller, you are probably 

best suited to go into a tower environment in—near FAA. If you 

are a range controller, you are probably best to go into the academy 

and learn exactly air traffic control in civilian world. 

But really, what it comes down to for New York TRACON, Atlanta TRACON, Dallas TRACON, Chicago TRACON, and the other 

busy TRACONs, we need to move controllers through the mid-level 

facilities, and that is what the ERR process does do. It gives us the 

ability to place appropriately out of an academy into the lower level 

facilities, where you can develop and hone skills so that you can 

actually make it into the big leagues, very similar to a system— 

not to simplify it, but what we would do in the major leagues in 

baseball: A, AA, AAA, and then majors. 

Mr. MALONEY. And in the time I have remaining, I would also 

appreciate it if you would just say a word about how allowing FAA 

to directly notice ATC vacancies to historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, and other minority-serving institutions 

would help ensure that we are promoting a diverse workforce 

among air traffic controllers, while working on the staffing shortages. 

32 

Mr. RINALDI. Well, we truly believe in having a very diverse 

workforce. I think you get the best workforce if you reach from all 

areas of our community. 

What I think that—there is a way to do that with H.R. 5292, because you can hire directly out of the military, which is very diverse. You can hire from the CTI students, and you could still do 

off-the-street hiring. You can have a three-way track to make sure 

you are making your mark at the FAA Academy each time. And 

you could use the BQ to cull a list of someone who has no experience. 

Mr. MALONEY. Thank you very much. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Farenthold. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I 

would like to thank the witnesses for participating. 

I hear consistently and believe we have a shortage of air traffic 

controllers, yet it seems like we are putting up more and more barriers to entry there. I understand the issue of the cost associated 

with training someone. Is it also a difficulty—and I will ask Mr. 

Cannon this, I guess—is there a difficult with folks washing out or 

getting rid of bad apples, once they get in? Or not even—bad apples 

probably isn’t the right word, but people who are not performing, 

or not able to move up through the farm team Mr. Rinaldi talked 

about. 

Mr. CANNON. Well, I will speak first to the academy, and then 

I think my colleague can speak once we get to the facility. 

Anyone going to the academy is on a temporary appointment, so 

they don’t—they are not in the bargaining unit at that point, they 

have very limited appeal rights. So if they don’t—if they are not 

successful at the academy, both in classroom, indoor behavior, or 

conduct, they can be gotten rid of very, very quickly. And there are 

some that go that way. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. All right. Go ahead, ma’am. 

Ms. BRISTOL. No, I would love to see every trainee be 100 percent 

successful and move, you know, through the academy and out and 

into our facilities and, again, you know, have that kind of a trajectory. We have a graduated process that we are working with, our 

students at the academy. And once they move into our facilities, 

again, we have got—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I mean how difficult is it to get rid of somebody that isn’t performing, once you have hired them? Is there a 

probation period? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Yes, I—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Then after that—— 

Ms. BRISTOL. I don’t think it is. No, I don’t think it is hard to 

get rid of someone. I think that—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. All right. So then, what is the—why, then, do 

we put these big barriers to entry, these tests and all? If somebody 

is able to perform through the academy and you are able to get rid 

of them if they aren’t—why do we have these huge barriers to 

entry at the very beginning, especially for people who have already 

worked in the military or in contract towers and have some experience? It seems like you are shooting yourself in the foot meeting 

your hiring goals. 

33 

Mr. CANNON. Well, sir, I take your point. And we certainly have 

not sought to put up barriers. 

After the 2014 announcement, we did look back at the initial 

process we put in place. It was always called the interim process. 

That is why we pulled the track 2 out. We did say let’s not have 

people who already have experience have to go through a biographical assessment. And those people, when hired, can go direct 

to the facility. 

So we have incrementally tried to improve what we started since 

2014, and I think we have made some improvements there. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. All right, thank you. And I am going to—Mr. 

Babbitt, you have—came out of the FAA, you have worked in industry now. Let’s assume President Obama or whoever the next 

President is reappoints you there. How do you fix this problem? 

Mr. BABBITT. Well, once we got past ‘‘no’’—— 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. BABBITT. No, I would—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t want to move out 

of Texas, either. 

Mr. BABBITT. Well, I appreciate the question. I think we were 

faced with a very similar situation in 2009. We had a mass of retirements, clearly had to ramp up and address the problem with increased training and a broader network, more focus on the CTI programs and so forth. 

I think today that one of the things when I look back in defense 

of the FAA would be, you know, stable funding. Do we know what 

we are going to do? Do we know precisely what our needs are? You 

can work the problem backwards; it is not high math. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. And that is an interesting question. Let me go 

back over to our folks from the FAA. Are we not paying these people enough? Is that the—is it—it doesn’t look like we have a shortage of applicants. Are we not paying our air traffic controllers 

enough? 

Ms. BRISTOL. No, I think our controllers are very well compensated. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. All right. So is it age retirement and tough 

screening is why we have the—is what I am taking away as a general shortage. 

Let me just go back to Mr. Rinaldi. You are a union guy, you 

have been with the air traffic controllers for—I am going to promote you to FAA Administrator. What do you do? 

Mr. RINALDI. Jump off a bridge. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. RINALDI. You know, I think that—I think H.R. 5292 is a 

good start. I think—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. No, that is us. What do you do as FAA Administrator under current law? 

Mr. RINALDI. Well, I would do—you know, under current law I 

believe the Administrator could actually do H.R. 5292 and start 

hiring directly out of military, bypass CTI students that have a 

well-qualified or recommendation, they can move—but the problem 

is, being the FAA Administrator, you are governed by lots of lines 

of bureaucratic pressure, and passing H.R. 5292 will give us—give 

34 

him or her, whoever that might be, the ability to do these streamlined procedures to hire enough air traffic controllers. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Or spinning them off into an outside entity. 

Anyway, I yield back the remainder of my time. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. We are going to go to Ms. Johnson next, but just 

very quickly, Mr. Cannon, you are hearing a lot about this, but, 

you know, the CTI students, without any notice, without any ability to grandfather, in some cases spent tens of thousands of dollars 

to go through the system and just—the ax fell down, and that is 

it. And there—it just—there is not a good answer for that. 

Ms. Johnson? 

Ms. JOHNSON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thanks 

to all of the witnesses for being here. 

As you know, the air traffic controller staffing shortages are impacting critical airports all across the United States, and especially 

those in the Dallas Metroplex that I have to fly out of on a weekly 

basis. A good example is the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has 42 fully certified controllers on staff, and this falls way 

below the minimum headcount target of 48 CPCs established by 

the controller workforce plan, which is updated by FAA on an annual basis. 

The Dallas/Fort Worth TRACON handles all arrivals and departures into and out of DFW, Dallas Love Field, and many other 

smaller airports in the Metroplex at 17,000 feet and below and at 

a radius of approximately 40 miles from DFW Airport. 

The DFW TRACON is also chronically understaffed, with only 57 

CPCs on staff, which is far below the target minimum of 78 CPCs. 

Staffing at the Dallas Love Field is also dangerously close to the 

established minimum of 19, with only 20 fully certified on staff. 

Even if we consider the CPC targets established by the joint 

NATCA and FAA working group, which Mr. Rinaldi referred to in 

his testimony, the DFW and DFW TRACON both fall far short of 

the minimum standing targets, regardless of the standards used. 

This is a dangerous precedent, which I have mentioned earlier 

when you were here. 

My first question is, Ms. Bristol or Mr. Hampton—Ms. Bristol, 

you said in your testimony discussing support for facility-to-facility 

transfers, ‘‘I believe such transfers can serve as a quick and viable 

alternative to finding certified controllers to fill in at facilities with 

the greatest need.’’ Can either of you speak to some of the barriers 

preventing FAA from quickly moving staff from facilities above 90 

percent of the facility-specific target for the CPCs? I have asked 

this question before, but I still don’t have an answer. What actions 

are you taking to overcome these challenges? That’s one. 

Retirement eligibility is another serious issue facing our traffic 

controllers. I have had a number of them come to me to ask me 

to recommend they be extended. Most are, but quite a few, especially those that are noisy, are never extended. According to the 

FAA’s own estimates, almost one-quarter, or 24 percent of the fully 

certified controllers nationwide, were eligible for retirement as of 

September 2015. And even more alarming is Mr. Hampton’s statement that FAA does not sufficiently consider facility-specific information when trying to anticipate future retirement trends. 

35 

I would like to know whether the reason for this is due to the 

lack of available data, or if the FAA has simply failed to act when 

facility managers would express these concerns. 

I know I have asked more than one question, but I would like 

an answer to all of them, especially what official steps has FAA 

taken to address any of the two issues that I brought up. 

Ms. BRISTOL. OK. Well, thank you, Congresswoman. The national team that my organization is working with, with NATCA, to 

place certified professional controllers into other facilities, our 

teams have met twice now and we have done two rounds of controllers that we can look to be moving. Some are shorter term, some 

are a little bit longer. We have got two selections that would go 

into Dallas/Fort Worth TRACON that you had mentioned. So that 

is certainly a high priority for us, is looking to expedite the movement of controllers where we can into the more challenged facilities. 

As far as the retirement eligibility, sometimes it is difficult. I 

mean we can estimate when controllers can retire. Certainly they 

have to go to their HR office to actually fill out the paperwork, and 

they are the only organizations, typically, that know for sure when. 

We know that controllers have to retire by the time they are 56. 

In some cases, especially in our critically challenged facilities, if we 

have controllers that want to work a little bit longer, we can grant 

waivers to do that, and it is not something that we do very often, 

but sometimes we do in those critically staffed places. 

So again, we are trying to expedite our processes, staying on top 

of the hiring, and go through the entire process with training. It 

is something that I am committed to, and I know that my colleagues in the FAA and NATCA, as well—it is one of our highest 

priorities. 

Ms. JOHNSON. What is your percentage of those that request to 

go beyond retirement? 

Ms. BRISTOL. It is actually pretty low. It is—— 

Ms. JOHNSON. What is it? 

Ms. BRISTOL. I would have to get back to you. I don’t have that 

number on the top of my head. 

Ms. JOHNSON. Anybody? 

Mr. HAMPTON. Ms. Johnson, yes, thank you for the question. 

On the first question on the transfer, since the roundtable when 

you raised the issue, FAA and NATCA have worked very well. We 

don’t have the numbers, but FAA has begun taking action, and we 

will get back to you and we will watch very closely on how well the 

situation is working. 

Given the hiring situation, and the questions of how that will 

work, I think that is one of the most important approaches to address the critical facilities’ staffing and CPC issues. 

You raise a very important question on the retirement issue. 

Overall, FAA has been fairly accurate on estimating retirements. 

But again, at some of the critical facilities like New York TRACON, 

39 percent; Houston, 30 percent; 34 percent of their CPCs are eligible to retire. This calls for very careful monitoring. When these retirements happen, they can have a dramatic effect on a facility. 

So that is something that FAA has to watch, and I think it bears 

an important point that we made in our report, the need for workVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:55 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\114\AV\6-15-2~1\20499.TXT JEAN
36 

ing very closely with headquarters and the local facilities, particularly at the 23 critical facilities that we have reviewed over the 

years. 

Ms. JOHNSON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Davis. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am very pleased we are 

holding this hearing today, because it is imperative that we address this looming shortage in air traffic controllers before it is too 

late. And I am very proud to cosponsor my friend, Mr. Curbelo’s, 

bill that I will let him talk about more in detail, H.R. 5292, because 

it—but it makes a couple of commonsense changes to the air traffic 

control hiring process. 

One provision of that bill that I want to focus on that I believe 

will have an immediate impact is that it will raise the maximum 

entry age for experienced controllers, those with a minimum of 52 

weeks of experience, from 31 to 35 years of age. Importantly, it will 

also promote the hiring of veterans, and many in minority communities. 

My question to the panel. You know, I am very frustrated by 

much of what has been discussed today. You look at Chicago 

TRACON that I fly in and out of on a regular basis. You know, the 

FAA can—the Chicago Center’s agreed-upon number with the FAA 

for controller staff is, I believe, 321. As of today, there are 297 controllers at Chicago Center and it is projected by 2018 that number 

will be under 250. I think the implications of this controller shortage can have a tremendous impact on safety. You know, we are all 

here to make sure the passengers get from point A to point B safely and come back. 

My question to the panel—and I will start with you, Mr. 

Rinaldi—is if another act of sabotage of what we saw in Chicago 

were to take place in the future, would there be enough resources 

and manpower left to keep air traffic moving and return the system to full capacity as soon as the repairs are made? 

Mr. RINALDI. Well, thank you, sir. I certainly hope we never experience what we did in Chicago in September of 2014. We are 

down in our staffing numbers since 2014, and it would be a challenge to accomplish what we did back then. 

Mr. DAVIS. So, in your opinion, basically, the—much of the air 

traffic control system, if we were to see another act of sabotage like 

this would be much more difficult with the staffing levels that we 

have now to do what you did. 

Mr. RINALDI. We worked very collaboratively with a lot of facilities and most of our facilities throughout the country were at a 27- 

year low in CPCs. Most of our facilities across the country are very 

short with certified professional controllers, so it would be a challenge to continue to keep the capacity that we did. 

Mr. DAVIS. Well, thank you. And thanks to all your members for 

getting traffic back to as normal as it can be. 

A common theme in today’s hearing is that controller staffing 

problems just—they appear to be chronic. The FAA has missed its 

controller hiring targets in each of the last 6 years. Controller staffing has fallen nearly 10 percent since 2011. The FAA’s bureaucratic structure is clearly failing us. 

37 

In February, the committee passed the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act of 2016, which would separate ATC 

functions from the FAA and establish an independent not-for-profit 

entity to provide air traffic control services, including the staffing, 

placement, and training of controllers. 

I would like Mr. Hampton, Mr. Rinaldi, and Mr. Babbitt to respond simply yes or no if they believe we would face these longstanding controller hiring and staffing problems if ATC services 

were provided by an independent, nongovernmental entity. 

Mr. Hampton? 

Mr. HAMPTON. Yes. 

Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Rinaldi? 

Mr. RINALDI. No. 

Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Babbitt? 

Mr. BABBITT. No. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. Yield back the balance of my time. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Mr. Carson? 

Mr. CARSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to hear 

from everyone. What are your views regarding an additional physical barricade outside of the cockpit? I have heard proponents point 

out that this measure could be effective and not especially expensive, but we have also heard objections, as you know. 

So, I offered an amendment to add a secondary barrier to all U.S. 

passenger carriers manufactured going forward. What do you guys 

think of this idea, or concept? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Sir, my colleagues in aviation safety would probably be more up to speed and involved in that kind of a matter. 

I would have to defer to them, since they are the experts, and certainly have them circle back with you and your team. 

Mr. CARSON. OK. 

Ms. BRISTOL. Thank you. 

Mr. HAMPTON. Thank you for the question. We are currently 

working on an audit concerning cockpit security and safety. We 

would be more than happy to brief you at another time in the subcommittee in a less open forum. I would feel more comfortable with 

that, sir. Is that OK? 

Mr. CARSON. Thank you, thank you. Secondly, how does the explosion of drones into our national airspace factor into air traffic 

control staffing and management? Some have suggested that the 

possible use of geofencing or even other techniques to keep airport 

approaches and takeoffs safe and unimpeded by amateur drone operators—to keep them out of our airspace. 

But what is the safety plan to avoid drone accidents that could 

easily hurt people on the ground, or even interfere with other operations? And won’t air traffic controllers be needed to keep drone operations safe? How do you guys see this being factored into our proposal today? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Well, our workforce has been dealing with drones 

for quite some time. We work closely with DOD [Department of Defense], DHS [Department of Homeland Security], other organizations for larger vehicles. The agency expects to pass a small UAS 

rule, as you know. And we will work in a very graduated manner 

on how we roll those vehicles into the National Airspace System. 

38 

We are working closely with NATCA on this matter, as well. I 

want to ensure that my workforce is trained, that they have the 

proper resources, and so we have a lot of activity in this area. I 

would say that we are going to move in a graduated manner to ensure that we have a very safe system, as we do today. Thank you. 

Mr. HAMPTON. We specifically made a recommendation to FAA 

last year that controllers needed better training and information to 

deal with unmanned aircraft. FAA is taking steps to address our 

recommendation, and they are going to get back to us some time 

in September. That is an excellent point, and it will impact the 

controller workforce. It is reflected, and I think Mr. Rinaldi would 

agree with that. 

Mr. RINALDI. Yes, integrating unmanned vehicles into our system 

is a big challenge. Obviously, controllers are going to need to identify and see them on the radar glass, going to need to know exactly 

what their mission is, and where they are going in route of flight, 

in order to continue to vector and keep airplanes separated from 

them so there is not a safety issue. 

Mr. BABBITT. From commercial airline operation, it is a pretty serious issue for us, as well. You have seen what a 21⁄2-pound goose 

can do to an airplane and an engine; you can imagine what a 50- 

pound drone will do to an aircraft engine. 

I think the bigger issue is the technology that we are going to 

have to refine, it is one thing to track and be aware of the unmanned aerial vehicle, but having it be controlled and responsive 

in the airspace is going to be key to ensuring that you can provide 

separation. It is one thing to watch it, but if we have no control 

over it, then that becomes the difference between being unmanned 

and uncontrolled. 

Mr. CARSON. Thank you all. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. DAVIS [presiding]. Mr. Nolan is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. NOLAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a question, and 

perhaps Ms. Bristol, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Hampton, Mr. Rinaldi, I 

would like you all to consider it. 

I am perplexed, the way veterans are dealt with in this employment process. You have this shortage here. Unless my information 

is incorrect, there are approximately 10,000 military air controllers 

working and operating and helping to manage our skies. And you 

know, your last application period for veterans to apply was described as long-term, and it was, like, for 3 months, March of—December—or, excuse me, December 2015 to March of 2016. 

Number one question is why wouldn’t you open that up for them 

all year long, since you have a shortage and you have all these experienced, seasoned people out there? So that would be question 

number one. 

And then help me understand. As I understand, is it correct that 

you—after age 31 you cannot apply, veteran or otherwise? 

Mr. CANNON. They have to have not turned 31 by the original appointment, yes. 

Mr. NOLAN. Yes. So, you know, I remind you what Ralph Waldo 

Emerson once said about a foolish consistency. You know, why 

would you not consider a formula whereby 31, unless you had, you 

know, 1 year of successful experience and which you are going to 

39 

be 32. If you had 5 years of successful operating experience, you 

know, it could be 36. If you had 10 years, it could be 41. It is not 

like they are—you know, just walked into the environment. 

Why are we not coming up with a better plan to utilize and create opportunities for these men and women who have served to 

protect and serve us, and they have obviously—if they performed 

well and have a good record of performance, why wouldn’t we be 

looking for more ways to expand the period of opportunity for them 

to make that decision, to—which is a tough decision. They have already been in the military for some considerable amount of time. 

They are trying to decide, you know, ‘‘Do I want to go for 20,’’ or, 

‘‘Do I want to enter into the civilian?’’ 

There is an opportunity here to provide them with a longer term 

way to continue their service to the public, and it just doesn’t seem 

to me that we are looking to create those opportunities that are 

just there, ready, prepared, experienced, seasoned. They know 

what they are doing, they have done it before. And here we have 

this shortage. Why can’t we find some better ways to access that 

pool of talent of men and women who have served, and are ready 

to serve, and wanting to serve more in a civilian capacity? 

Mr. CANNON. Well, sir, I certainly agree with you and pay all respect to those who served this country. 

With regard to the age, I believe there is proposed legislation 

that would take that age up to 35. I don’t think there is any disagreement because it would still allow 20-plus years on the back 

end for a full ATC retirement for those individuals. 

With regard to the announcement last December from which 

some 260 of those individuals who were selected—it was an open 

and continuous announcement. I think there is sometimes a misunderstanding when we say open and continuous. It doesn’t mean 

it is open every day all the time. Because there still has to be some 

balance with how many people air traffic can then put into those 

facilities from those announcements. We are certainly working with 

our customer, air traffic, very close. And I expect we will have another one of those announcements out very, very, very soon. 

But from that last announcement, all those selections were the 

individuals that—I think both you and I both—260, and they are 

matriculating through the security and medical process right now. 

Those individuals, sir, are also capable of applying on the entry 

level announcement. They actually have two bites at the apple. 

So, if they don’t get in or choose not to apply on the experienced 

announcement, they can apply under the entry level announcement, as well. So we provide two opportunities for them to come 

into the process. 

Mr. NOLAN. Well, you know, I appreciate—— 

Mr. DAVIS. The gentleman’s time has expired. 

Mr. NOLAN. I was going to—is my time expired? 

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. 

Mr. NOLAN. Thank you. 

Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Curbelo is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. CURBELO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I am going to be 

very brief, because my colleague, Mr. Maloney, who joined me in 

filing H.R. 5292, asked a lot of the questions that I wanted to raise. 

40 

But I will just say Mr. Rinaldi earlier described a situation in Atlanta which resembles a situation that we are experiencing in 

Miami. Of course Miami International Airport is the main economic 

driver in south Florida, and we have 91 positions, but only 58 fully 

certified controllers. So exactly what Mr. Rinaldi explained in Atlanta, this is a crisis for us. And that is why Mr. Maloney and I 

came together to introduce H.R. 5292. We believe that it is going 

to give the FAA a clear mandate, clear direction to solve this hiring 

crisis once and for all. 

So I would just like to ask all of my colleagues who have not yet 

cosponsored the legislation, we are up to 122 bipartisan cosponsors. 

If you are not on yet, get on. And I would like to ask our leadership 

in both chambers, here in the House on both sides, Republican and 

Democrat, to help us advance this legislation. Because if my colleagues think that this TSA line issue is a problem, if we don’t get 

this right, this is going to become a much greater problem for our 

air transportation system in this country. 

So I want to thank Mr. Rinaldi for all his comments today in 

support of this legislation. I want to thank the chairman, the ranking member, for holding this very timely hearing on this matter. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. 

Mr. DAVIS. Well, you are welcome, Mr. Curbelo. Thank you. 

I would like to take some time to ask a followup real quick. Mr. 

Hampton, I asked you to give a simple yes or a no on whether you 

think the ATC reform package would affect—how it would—or 

would it positively affect the hiring process. Can you expand on 

your answer of yes? 

Mr. HAMPTON. Thank you. This has been a longstanding issue at 

FAA, and I think it is a policy question. If the new entity was established, it would be a first priority for that entity to address the 

staffing challenges at the critical facilities. 

I would think an entity that was totally focused on air traffic 

would stand a much better chance of addressing it than the current 

structure. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. Mr. Cannon, the pass rate at the FAA 

Academy was higher than 90 percent between 2005 and 2011, but 

dropped significantly since the controller hiring process was revised 

to 79 percent in 2014 and just 65 percent in 2015. Has the FAA 

determined the reasons why an increasing number of its controller 

candidates are not making the grade? 

Ms. BRISTOL. That would be mine, sir. 

Mr. DAVIS. Ms. Bristol, I apologize. 

Ms. BRISTOL. That is OK, thank you. I think it is still too soon 

to say, because it takes time for controllers to work through the entire training process. But I will say that at the academy we had 

some curriculum changes, as well, between the terminal and en 

route courses, and it had to do with the way we do our performance 

verification. We wanted to standardize it more so that we didn’t see 

as many failures in the field. 

If a trainee can’t make it through, we would rather see that happen earlier in the process than later in the process, because we continue to pay for that employee’s development. So I think that is 

contributing, as well. And we don’t see that necessarily as a bad 

41 

thing. But completely? I don’t think we have enough information 

yet to understand. 

Mr. DAVIS. Is there any nexus between the rising failure rates 

and the agency’s revised hiring process, specifically the requirement that applicants with no ATC experience must pass a biographical assessment? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Again, I don’t think we know for certain yet. 

Mr. DAVIS. Can you look into that matter—— 

Ms. BRISTOL. Yes. 

Mr. DAVIS [continuing]. And report back to the subcommittee? 

All right, thank you. 

I now recognize Ms. Titus for 5 minutes. 

Ms. TITUS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to just follow 

up. 

Mr. Hampton, I wonder—your comment about focusing on the 

understaffing and this private entity, I wonder if your staff specifically researched whether in Canada or in Great Britain they have 

looked at the understaffing problem, or if they have explored 

understaffing in relation to people not wanting to go to these 

tough, expensive areas like we have heard is a problem in the U.S. 

Have you all specifically studied that? 

Mr. HAMPTON. No. 

Ms. TITUS. OK, thank you. Now I have another question. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. TITUS. This question is directed to Ms. Bristol and Mr. 

Rinaldi. And it is related to staffing, but it is more about the equipment and the ongoing efforts by the FAA to modernize the control 

towers. 

Last week there was an article in the AP. It ran across the country and including in my district, in Las Vegas, and the article was 

entitled, ‘‘Union: New Airport Towers Must be Remodeled Before 

Opening.’’ In the article, Mr. Rinaldi, you specifically identified the 

new control tower in Las Vegas, saying it requires an overhaul before it can be operational. 

I reached out to our local controllers, our safety engineers, and 

the FAA because I am concerned that this overdue project is now 

going to have to be delayed even further, due to a failure by the 

FAA, and I am also worried that people around the country are 

going to read that there might be a problem flying in to Las Vegas 

and not want to come there, and we certainly can’t have that. 

So, what I learned is that our controllers there were given a role 

and a responsibility in designing the system that is in place, and 

the tower in Las Vegas can operate with both the paper flight 

strips and an electronic system, once it is chosen to be put in place. 

Now, I know there is a prototype that is being tested, and I think 

it is in Cleveland and in Phoenix, and you all are going to make 

that decision this summer. There may be concerns about that electronic system, that prototype. But I would ask Mr. Rinaldi if maybe 

this got framed in the wrong light in that article—it has been 

known to happen—by the press. I want to be able to figure out 

what is happening with our tower and reassure our potential visitors. 

And then, Ms. Bristol, I would like to ask you to weigh in. I know 

we had a lot of problems with NextGen, but I want to know kind 

42 

of what the plan is with these—this tower prototype, because I 

think your comment to the press was, ‘‘Well, we will figure out 

what we need to do.’’ That is not very reassuring. 

So could the two of you address that article and let me know 

what is going on? 

Mr. RINALDI. Sure. Thank you, Congresswoman. I will go first. 

And as you can imagine, for someone who has been in the press 

as much as you, sometimes your statement gets twisted and misconstrued. 

We were talking—what I was talking about on the panel was two 

brand new facilities. Actually, we had an idea of bringing the prototype to those two facilities and be 100 percent electronic flight strip 

like the rest of the world is. But we have brand new facilities, and 

the prototype that we have been working in Phoenix and in Cleveland we have jointly made a decision that it is just not stable 

enough to bring into a new facility. 

I then went on to talk about San Francisco Tower that went with 

very small counter spaces because it is a smaller tower cab than 

Las Vegas, and that they would need bigger counter spaces to put 

printers in and strip bays in. Now, in Las Vegas they have made 

that accommodation. So really, it was about San Francisco Tower, 

which is coming on roughly the same time as Las Vegas Tower is, 

also. 

The challenge in Las Vegas Tower is that they did something 

very dynamic and we support tremendously, is actually put the 

controllers that will work the airplanes in the air a little higher, 

a few steps up, than the controllers working the ground view, so 

they can actually see straight down. So there is going to be a lot 

of movement with the controllers to hand strips back and forth, as 

opposed to being able to have an electronic flight strip program, 

where the controllers would never have to leave their position to 

move the control of that airplane. 

That is kind of what I was capturing. Yes, it did get lost in that. 

It is not going to delay the opening of Las Vegas Tower, but it is 

a challenge, that the workforce is going to have to move paper 

strips around, when we have this beautiful, brand-new facility, and 

we should have the most modern equipment. That is my biggest 

concern. 

Ms. TITUS. So it is not going to be delayed, and it is not a problem of safety for people flying into Las Vegas. 

Mr. RINALDI. It is not. 

Ms. TITUS. OK, that is—— 

Mr. RINALDI. And I fly to Las Vegas a lot. 

Ms. TITUS. OK, thank you. 

Ms. BRISTOL. And Congresswoman, that is why I answered that 

question that way. I never had any doubt that we would not be 

able to provide that capability. And so, we will make a determination if the prototype can come online at that facility. But regardless, it will not impact in the least, and certainly it is not a safety 

issue. 

At the same time, this month we expect to award the contract 

for the production system of that electronic flight strip capability. 

And so only a few facilities will have the prototype, and they will 

43 

be the first ones to be replaced when we roll the production system 

out into the future. 

Ms. TITUS. And are you listening to the air traffic controllers as 

you look at that prototype with any problems that they may have 

with it? 

Ms. BRISTOL. Yes, ma’am, we are. 

Mr. RINALDI. We are working together on that. 

Ms. TITUS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. Mr. Rinaldi, I am shocked that you would 

think that sometimes statements get misconstrued in the media. 

Just shocked. 

Mr. RINALDI. It is always the headline that seems to say something completely that you didn’t say in the article. 

Mr. DAVIS. Well, we have—obviously, Dina and I have never had 

that happen. 

Mr. RINALDI. Never, ever. 

Mr. DAVIS. Never. 

Mr. RINALDI. Sure. 

Mr. DAVIS. Never. If there are no further questions, I would like 

to thank, once again, our participants for being here this morning. 

This has been a very informative hearing. We will continue to exercise vigorous oversight to ensure that our busiest ATC facilities are 

fully staffed with the most highly trained air traffic controllers in 

the world. 

Thank you all for being here today. 

[Whereupon, at 12:17 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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