anytime at c-span.org/history. >> sees manager until the your government. >> the greatest time-honored is the place you call home and start life is our home, too. we are all facing our greatest challenge. round-the-clock to keep you connected. we are doing our part towards a little easier to do yours. a front row seat to democracy. >> coming up today, the senate will work on reauthorization of funding for the federal aviation administration for the next five years of the product deadline approaching, they are expected to take up a seven day extension which the house pass yesterday.

came talked about the legislation which includes an increased and ronald reagan international airport just outside washington d.c. senator came which is ten times just to vote against the reauthorization. >> i rise today in certain by now many startup memory? be dealt with. this is a topic that's really important from the faa reauthorization is now pending. i want to thank chairwoman cantwell and members of the commerce committee and it's a general matter, a necessary belt to a lot, in particular air traffic control. i feel good about the work that's been done justice to

promote air safety and one president and the bill dramatically contrary it will not increase air safety, it will reduce air safety at reagan international airport, dca. newsom data to demonstrate answers and the answers that hold the position we should not be jamming lights. dca built a long time ago, 868

acres. t is about 12,000 acres, dallas-fort worth about 19,000 acres, denver 32,000 acres. when reagan national was built, it was a little bit the trend to build smaller airports near downtowns because the airplanes were smaller. they were props, with fewer passengers, and lighter and didn't need as much landing runway space to take off or land.maryland. when reagan national was built, and if you've bb there -- bb there, you -- been there, you know it can't be expanded. it was built with three runways, a primary runway and two commuter runways, and the estimate was in the 1960's, that reagan national with three runways could accommodate 15

million passengers a year. where, where -- well, where are where, where -- well, where are today? reagan national is not 25 and a half million passengers this. twenty five and a half million in additional two thirds over what was built for with three runways. the idea was to spread over three runways but that is when they were smaller and now they are jets and can't land on the short runways. today, 90% cost to use the main runway so there was million equally divided, the main runway

has 22 and a half million passengers was only two and a half to 3 million on the other two. another major change is not 11 and in the aftermath we impose dramatically more stringent security requirements on air patterns over reagan national and make itt harder to take off so what does it mean? fifteen and a half million. it means the main runway is now the single busiest runway in the united states. reagan national is not the busiest airport in the united states, it's only 19 in terms of total passengers but the main runway with 90% of traffic runway in then united states.

what does it mean to have a primary runway? , it made significant adjustments. the eighth most delay. you calculate the percentages of those delayed and multiply it. more than 20% into and out of international are delayed. not by a little, there are some airports but the delight is a little delay. the average delay 67 minutes. back accounts to 11000 minutes of delay everyday that means

your late arriving or taking off but if you're taking off making a connecting flight that means you're likely to miss your connecting flight or coming in the plane is supposed to leave us, the delay cascaded down and affects the. it isn't the only major, the second one is canceled flights. the windy city or minneapolis. the third worst cancellation rate n not because of whether fm of the weather may not be great but it's not catastrophic either. the delay is a function. another major complaint the

landing have to get rerouting. the third worst is that matter? delay. so why all these measures? delay, average daily delay, cancellation, looping patterns. this has serious problems alreadydd before you add to it. the problems are experienced and more congestion, roads more heavily traveled are likely to have access. i talked about thiske before the traffic control on the floor of

the senate about two weeks ago there's a plane maneuvering another claim trying to maneuven toward smaller runways to take off my almost collided. thank god a collision and a catastrophe was averted by warplanes will increase the strings of incident what is the faa say? they saw the statistics i just

showed you. there's a senate proposal would add confides into a regular national. a total ofht ten more flights a day. what is the faa say? that given many and senators from the region thing can't even out of one flight and without increasing delay which is already significant but you have tenen, the delay will increase y 751 minutes a day. there's already 11000 minutes of delay a day and multiply that by minutes they are delayed adding, confides to add to that 751 additional minutes of delay.

it jeopardizes their ability to get a connection and they are recipients. that's what the faa charged the safe and efficient operation of american airspace. congress created in the 1980s and appointedte sport and charge the operation only of the dallas airport. don't add any more i flights because the delay isab unacceptable if you get more flights onto the busiest runway in the united states monkey run a risk. we don't know as much about air traffic, we don't know as much

as the airports administration so when delay statistics say this p is unacceptable, when the cancellation and looping statistics are dangerous and a near collision when the faa is saying you can't without increasing what's already unacceptable and with the airports authority appointed, why would we do this? the senator screen region opposeden this increase and we have an amendment that would strip the flights out so we don't make it worse.

here on. ca was approved for more than 1000 lives in the 1960s. those to ask her stating truth. most of it was smaller so in the aviation world may take more time to land and take off, it's

about relevant. another change i alluded to request we were step up for more than 1000 in the 1960s 9/11 happened and after 9/11 we proposed much more hundred criteria air traffic or the d.c. region, white house, congress to make sure there are challenges that would lead to serious harm risk for people who live in the area. the faa is our right we did approve of the changes in the number, size of things constricted to one runway and it's hard about swag even though we are not affect capacity can't

even put one more flight about expanding the likes about is the first argument. he shouldn't be jamming lights along with. dca has good on-time percentage on-time percentage show if you just look at the percentage of planes outlander take off on time dca is better than some airports. sad to say 20% of flights are delayed in and out and it's better than some others but is what you got to know, which airport would you feel more comfortable flying into? one with 80% on-time record but the average delay was 67% or what if you flew into work with

the worst on-time record the average delay? sixty-seven minutes means a missed connection. cascading delay throughout the system. three or ten o minutes so just looking at on-time percentage doesn't get the full picture and that's why faa measures delay been in total they are in delight and based on not it is already a poor performer in the last thing -- united bikes the runway and maybe some airlines are expressing, who cares about the airlines? we ought to care about safety.

twenty-five and a half billion people in this airport on an annual basis. it's a lot heavier than a couple dozente people and those who wod like what convenience and it's ultimately about the senate and the house took up the same issue and the committee's chose not to share more flight and would bill was on the floor, is the same amendmentha and that house rejected it so it's not about a with the house's, it's accepted the advocacy of the regional

delegation led potential impacts on delay in cancellations and they said we are going to run this risk. the last thing we want is something to be done at the airport and people stick a knife in her face they say you are warned and you voted for it anyway? what senator warner and i had this dramatically, we want to support this but we are seeing what was air traffic controller said.

>> sunday only today because the story of their journey 28. use the freedom and do this not by hiding but they called the full light of day disguised as the story got me from the beginning.

listen on our free c-span now up. ♪♪ ♪♪ >> something i saw firsthand wasn't a surprise for me. both republican and democrat right after the shooting unfortunately the star of the game too many times. [laughter] he asked which hospital i was had to he is probably the first person on the scene in his baseball uniform particularly in so many others of you reached