Next gen affirmative 1ac advantage-Econ



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A2: Politics-Thumpers


Massive support in the Senate for the plan-existing vote counts prove and thump the DA

Lowry 2012 Joan “Congress passes bill authorizing $63 billion for FAA, including $11 billion for NextGen development”

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/congress-passes-bill-authorizing-billion-for-faa-including-billion-for/article_ce75d2de-5135-11e1-b11a-001871e3ce6c.html

A bill to speed the nation's switch from radar to NextGen, an air traffic control system based on GPS technology being developed in Egg Harbor Township, received congressional approval Monday.

The bill, which will also open U.S. skies to unmanned drone flights within four years, passed the Senate 75-20. Passage came despite labor opposition to a deal cut between the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House on rules governing union organizing elections at airlines and railroads. The House had passed the bill last week, and it now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. The bill authorizes $63.4 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration over four years, including about $11 billion toward the air traffic system and its modernization. It accelerates the modernization program by setting a deadline of June 2015 for the FAA to develop new arrival procedures at the nation's 35 busiest airports so planes can land using the more-precise GPS navigation. Specifically, that $11 billion will be funneled into the FAA's NextGen program at the William J. Hughes FAA Technical Center in Egg Harbor Township. Instead of time-consuming, fuel-burning, stair-step descents, planes will be able to glide in more steeply with their engines idling. Planes will also be able to land and take off closer together and more frequently, even in poor weather, because pilots will know the precise location of other aircraft and obstacles on the ground. Fewer planes will be diverted. Last summer, a partisan standoff resulted in a two-week partial shutdown of the FAA. More than 4,000 FAA employees were furloughed, including 650 people at the technical center. Work was halted on more than 100 airport construction projects and the government lost an estimated $350 million in airline ticket taxes. Although the Next Generation Aviation Research and Technology Park in Egg Harbor Township has been stalled, Monday's vote complements the local branch of the NextGen project. Eventually, FAA officials want the airline industry and other aircraft operators to install onboard satellite technology that updates the location of planes every second instead of radar's every six to 12 seconds. That would enable pilots to tell not only the location of their plane, but other planes equipped with the new technology as well - something they can't do now. The system is central to the FAA's plans for accommodating a forecast 50 percent growth in air traffic over the next decade. Most other nations already have adopted satellite-based technology for guiding planes, or are heading in that direction, but the FAA has moved cautiously. The U.S. accounts for 35 percent of global commercial air traffic and has the world's most complicated airspace, with greater and more varied private aviation than other countries.

The bill is "the best news that the airline industry ever had," Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said. "It will take us into a new era." The FAA is also required under the bill to provide military, commercial and privately-owned drones with expanded access to U.S. airspace currently reserved for manned aircraft by Sept. 30, 2015. That means permitting unmanned drones controlled by remote operators on the ground to fly in the same airspace as airliners, cargo planes, business jets and private aircraft.



Currently, the FAA restricts drone use primarily to segregated blocks of military airspace, border patrols and about 300 public agencies and their private partners. Those public agencies are mainly restricted to flying small unmanned aircraft at low altitudes away from airports and urban centers. Within nine months of the bill's passage, the FAA is required to submit a plan on how to safely provide drones with expanded access. The bill's passage culminates a five-year struggle by Congress to pass a long-term FAA authorization bill. The last long-term operating authorization for the agency expired in 2007. The agency has continued to limp along under a series of 23 short-term extensions, but its ability to commit to decisions on major acquisition programs that extend over many years, like air traffic modernization, was hindered by the uncertainty over how much it could spend and by a lack of direction from Congress.

A2: Politics-Turns


Broad bipartisan support for next gen

Jensen 2012, Bart Jensen is a writer for USA today. “Chamber of Commerce: NextGen must be 'a top priority'”

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2012/01/chamber-of-commerce-wants-nextgen-to-be-a-top-priority/602014/1

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports an extension of Federal Aviation Administration policy, which is important for building the next generation of air-traffic control equipment, as one of its top legislative priorities this year. But chamber President Tom Donohue voiced doubt at a news conference that disputes which have blocked the legislation for years will be resolved before the latest temporary extension expires Jan. 31. He says it's more likely for Congress to finish a highway bill by the end of March than the FAA bill by the end of this month. Bruce Josten, the chamber's top lobbyist, says the chamber would support dropping a labor provision that has prevented action on the legislation, in order to pass a bill. "I think we would be happy if we went back to where things were on the labor bill," Josten says. "That means get rid of that provision." Josten meant that the legislation should return labor policy to what it was before the National Mediation Board change, according to a Chamber spokeswoman. Congress has reached broad consensus on FAA policy because of support for updating air-traffic control equipment. "A new NextGen air traffic control system must be a top priority," Donohue says. "It will ease delays, conserve fuel, create jobs and save lives." But the labor dispute remains the most difficult hurdle for the legislation that has been temporarily extended more than 20 times since 2007. The National Mediation Board has made it easier for airline workers to organize. House Republicans would like to undo the board's action with a provision in their version of FAA legislation, but Senate Democrats have opposed that effort. The two key committee chairmen – Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. – say disputes will be resolved by chamber leaders. But because of the few legislative days before the end of the month, even a compromise on policy might force at least one more short extension to allow the legislation to move through both chambers. "It appears that the FAA part is the easy part," Josten says. "This, as I understand, was kicked upstairs at the end of the year to the speaker of the House and the leader of the Senate to resolve the labor issue. I haven't heard anything subsequent to that."
Congressional support for next gen-it’s shielded from budgetary fights

AIA 2012 “2012 Strategic Plan”

http://www.aia-aerospace.org/about_aia/strategic_plan/

Noting that large commercial aircraft orders and business and general aviation aircraft sales are still below normal, 2011 saw a marked improvement over 2010 in commercial and business jet orders. AIA is taking steps to ensure that the industry is positioned to take advantage of new growth when it occurs in 2012 and beyond.

In 2011, AIA continued its focus on educating legislators, policymakers and the general public on the economic and environmental importance of accelerating NextGen, also part of our message under the Second to None campaign. The president and Congress support civil airspace infrastructure investment and despite an austere federal budget environment, continue to fund NextGen programs at levels sufficient to assure on time implementation. In 2012, AIA will continue to support NextGen equipage funding incentives and will work closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to promote harmonized development of satellite-based air traffic management systems worldwide. Through AIA’s chairmanship of the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA), we will monitor and help shape global policy decisions created in United Nations related organizations such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection and the World Radio Conference. Cyber security, emissions restrictions and spectrum are global concerns and require global advocacy. We will advocate for continued funding for NASA’s research into environmental mitigation technology and FAA’s CLEEN program and Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuel Initiative (CAFFI). We will work with FAA, DHS and other agencies to ensure a civil aviation regulatory environment supporting continued innovation and a global level playing field. AIA’s efforts in these areas, and our engagement with FAA to integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the NextGen Implementation Plan, must be continued in close cooperation with regulators and air navigation service providers worldwide. By working across borders to secure global harmonization of standards and regulations, we will ensure an international marketplace for our products.





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