Administrator Confirmation – The Mixed Bag
Should the U.S. unmanned aircraft systems community be encouraged by my Huerta’s confirmation? I guess we’ll have to wait and see if this leopard can change his spots. However, history of the effort tempers any optimism as we still lack an open, honest and transparent rulemaking process.
I asked the gentleman (Administrator Huerta) the following question at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2012. Are there any plans to make the rulemaking (law making) process public, and finally give a voice (representation) to small business, academia and the end-user community?
I’t would take some heavy paraphrasing to try and communicate his answer. However, it all boiled down to braggadocio and obfuscation, little in the way of substance and even less sincerity. Sour grapes and flame throwing? I wish it where just that simple. However, the lack of action on the part of the FAA to include the public, or small business in the “public” rulemaking process serves to blunt any off handed naysayer notions.
Some “advocates” had suggested that my question to the then “Acting Administrator” was nothing but a wasted opportunity. Call me crazy, but I contend that “public” rulemaking should include the “public”, not just the DoD vendors who are crafting the regulation around their products and perpetuating the growing Big Brother 1984 privacy scare.
There is so much that is wrong with this situation that it is a story unto itself. The unmanned aircraft community is (unknowingly to most), paying for and assisting the DoD vendors with regulating themselves out of a business. It leaves me wondering who will be around in the next couple of years to keep paying the tab?
Upward and onward in 2013.
This morning, I was particularly pleased to administer the oath of office to America’s 17th Federal Aviation Administrator, Michael Huerta. Administrator Huerta’s swearing-in was a momentous occasion for the Federal Aviation Administration, for Michael and his family, for the aviation industry, and for the nation.
As Deputy Administrator and as Acting Administrator, Michael has managed a number of challenges over the past couple of years–with tenacity, skill, and diplomacy. And as its new leader, I know he will ensure an even stronger future for the FAA and everyone who flies in our nation’s skies.
Already during his time at the FAA, Michael has done a terrific job helping position the agency to deliver NextGen–the Next Generation Air Transportation System. NextGen is our cutting-edge program that will enable more on-time, fuel-efficient flights, a win-win situation for airlines and travelers alike. And he recently established a new organization within the agency to focus on implementing future major technology programs.
Through his leadership, Michael has generated much goodwill among FAA employees. For example, in November he traveled to New York to personally thank FAA professionals for their efforts to keep the region’s aviation system operating smoothly after superstorm Sandy.
I look forward to seeing Michael put his vision for the FAA into action.
But I know that at the top of Administrator Huerta’s plans is a continued push for our top priority: ensuring the safety of the traveling public. As he said today, “I want to see us eliminate every vestige of risk in our aviation system and raise the bar even higher as the safest aviation system in the world.”
Michael Huerta has been an extraordinary transportation leader, and I am confident that we could have found no better Administrator for the FAA.
