Aerospace States Association Hears About the Future From JPDO

The Aerospace States Association held an open meeting on Capitol Hill on February 10, 2004. The subject of the meeting was transformation of the air transportation system and how the Joint Planning and Development Office will facilitate it.

Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta spoke and underscored the urgency to transform our nation's air transportation system. He was followed by a panel made up of officials from participating agencies, who all addressed the issue of transformation from their agencies' perspectives. They included Federal Aviation Administrator Marion Blakey and  NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Dr. Victor Lebaqz. The panel was followed by the Director of the JPDO Mr. John Kern. Representing the Department of Homeland Security was Mr. Paul Polski, and from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Mr. Marty Phillips. Dr. Bruce Holmes of the JPDO Futures Team also spoke.

Speaking to the issue of recognizing the institutional problems were former Congressman Robert Walker who chaired the Commission on the Future of the US Aerospace Industry, and Mr. Mike Hudson from the National Academy of Science. They laid the groundwork for the need to transform aviation as well as the government agencies responsible.

The final panel of the morning was made up of members of the user community providing their needs and views on transformation. The panel included: John Hayhurst from Boeing ATM, Jack Harrington from Eclipse Aircraft, David Plavin from Airports Council International, Don Barber from Federal Express, and Ed Bolen, representing the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

Each panel spoke to the issue surrounding the need to change air transportation in the United States. There was unanimous agreement that change was critical and the time to begin the change is now. At the conclusion of the session, the members of ASA passed a resolution of support for the effort, and offered whatever help it could in furthering the cause of transformation.