A measure we can all get behind

By Jim Coon, AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs

In reading Ben Sclair’s recent article, “Do we really need another aviation organization?“, regarding legislation pending in Congress that would establish a National Center for the Advancement of Aviation (NCAA) it was clear that he had a few questions. I’d like to address those and hopefully fill in the gaps.

First, the proposal is bipartisan, which is something you rarely see in Washington. Second, the NCAA has the support of virtually the entire aviation industry, comprising 130 organizations. Third, it is not a government agency or another government program. As Ben pointed out, the legislation would establish a federally chartered 501c3 not-for-profit organization. Being federally chartered simply suggests that Congress established the organization and is not a federal entity.

Let me say that I, too, get skeptical when I see words like create, stand up, establish. It reminds me, in a circuitous sort of way, that words do matter. 

For example, as you all know, when the airlines pushed legislation to remove air traffic control from the FAA, the effort was coined “privatization” when in reality it was nothing more than a “power grab” that wouldn’t have modernized ATC any quicker, solved delays in the system, or reduced airfares. We still believe that the FAA’s shining light is its air traffic operations and the professionalism displayed by the thousands of FAA controllers each day.

Establishing a National Center for the Advancement of Aviation is a necessity to bring the aviation industry together. A place to foster cooperation and collaboration in order to address a number of issues, most pointedly ensuring that the United States has a well-qualified and well-trained workforce to meet the demands that are present today and will remain so well into the future.

There are so many good things going on in aviation to address workforce challenges, but unfortunately the left hand often doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.

Why are commercial carriers pulling away pilots from the military? Why is the Department of Defense paying large bonuses to military pilots to keep them? Why are we 2,000 fighter pilots short today? Why do more than 70% of student pilots not complete training? Why is there a significant shortage of skilled aviation technicians?

We can do better than this by working together and sharing ideas and practices that will raise the tide for all. Developing cooperative programs and synergies that address the scale needed to not only introduce aviation STEM curriculum to the more than 25,000 high schools across the country, but creating the access to and the affordability of training to ensure more folks have a shot at this amazing thing we call flight. What a gift to future generations of pilots and skilled aviation workers.

There are several reasons for the NCAA, but first let’s talk about the FAA.  Air traffic, safety regulations, and addressing aircraft and airman certification issues are the FAA’s core mission. The agency is simply not built to address issues outside of these parameters. Layering another concern, such as workforce development, on top of an already overburdened agency will not benefit anyone. Let’s allow the FAA to focus on getting more DPEs in the field, fixing the special issuance medical process, ensuring that our airports remain safe and vibrant, and continue to modernize our air traffic system.

As stated in the recent Boeing Commercial Market Outlook, “As tens of thousands of pilots, technicians, and cabin crew members reach retirement age over the next decade, educational outreach and career pathway programs will be essential to inspiring and recruiting the next generation.” 

Even after being adjusted for 2020’s challenges, the Boeing study still cites a demand for more than 605,000 commercial pilots and another 607,000 technicians in the next 20 years.

It’s an issue we all face, so it makes sense that we all should be a part of the solution.

The entire aviation industry, effectively, sees the solution — or a big part of it — in The National Center for the Advancement of Aviation. The NCAA is a true example of industry coordination to tackle the problem head-on. GA, business, commercial, manufacturing — are all behind it as we believe the NCAA is a major step forward to address pressing issues, most notably jobs.

The NCAA would serve as an independent center to foster collaboration among corners of the aviation industry to address these mounting workforce challenges. The Center will address pilots, aerospace engineers, unmanned aircraft systems operators and aviation maintenance technicians — all of which we will need for decades. 

It’s no small feat that the NCAA has support in Congress by members who see its long-term benefits. A bipartisan bill to create the NCAA was introduced in the House on Oct. 6, 2020, by Reps. André Carson (D-Ind.), Don Young (R-Alaska), and House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Rick Larsen (D-Wash.). 

Earlier this year, an identical bipartisan bill was brought forth in the Senate by Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and is cosponsored by Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.). Both sides of the aisle see its benefits and need.

The NCAA would be independent, non-partisan, and unbiased. It would be prohibited from being involved in politics or the legislative process. The autonomous center will focus on the goal of facilitating collaboration and breaking down silos across the commercial, general, and military sectors, addressing workforce needs, expanding opportunities, and improving safety.

Again, as Ben accurately pointed out, COVID has wreaked havoc on the airline industry. The combination of diminished revenues and the suspension of airline passenger and fuel taxes until the end of the year has caused a significant depletion of the Airports and Airways Trust Fund, which funds the operations of the FAA. Hopefully, this is a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.

Current taxes and fees deposited into the Trust Fund by those who use the system total more than $18 billion each year. The interest on this revenue in 2019 was $346 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The NCAA would be funded by using a small portion of that interest, 5%, along with industry support. In the scheme of things, this is a small investment to ensure efficiencies and effectiveness are realized.

While different sectors within the aviation industry may have a specific focus, we can all agree on the fact that we need more trained professionals. Many more. And knowing that the majority of airline pilots start out in general aviation or the military (or both), we all have skin in this game. We all have a need for exactly what the NCAA is set out to do. It lifts our entire family. 

Again, there is no mistaking that good programs exist within the aviation industry. We’ve all identified a growing shortage of professionals and have been taking action. What has been lacking is the coordination and communication between the sectors to ensure that we have a seamless approach to these workforce issues. The NCAA will serve as a clearinghouse for ideas, best practices and resources, so that we can all take on the problem together. The bottom line is that the NCAA will fill a pressing need that current efforts simply can’t. 

The NCAA will build on efforts to ensure that we have a diverse industry. If we are to create a pipeline of qualified and well-trained talent, then we must look far and wide, and include those individuals who may not have been on our radar in the past. And we need more women in our industry at all levels and in all positions. We need more professionals from underserved corners of society. It’s not only the best thing to do, but the right thing to do.

With support across the board, across the aisle and across the industry, the NCAA is an idea whose time has come.

Jim Coon joined AOPA in 2014 as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and previously spent 25 years on Capitol Hill in several senior staff positions, including Staff Director for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.