By John McHale
WASHINGTON, 3 Feb. 2010. President Obama's Fiscal Year 2011 U.S. Department of Transportation budget request includes $1.1 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Next Generation (NextGen) Air Transportation System. The FAA's total request is $16.5 billion for FY 2011.
The $1.1 billion for NextGen is is an increase of $275 million over the FY 2010 enacted levels – making it a 32 percent increase, according to the budget release. For area navigation/required navigation performance (RNP) – FAA will use an increase of $25 million to improve arrival and departure procedures
About $153 million for data communications, an increase of $106 million over FY 2010. FAA will use the additional funding to accelerate the transition from the current voice-based communication systemto a data communication system.
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) is slated to get $176 million. This will provide a more complete picture of airspace conditions and more accurate position data, FAA officials say.
About $9.8 billion is requested for the FAA's Operations account, an increase of $443 million over the FY 2010 enacted. Within this amount is $1.3 billion for aviation safety, an increase of $60 million above FY 2010 levels. $14 million is included in this amount to fund an additional 82 positions to develop flight standards and provide increased aircraft certification services.
Approximately $1.9 billion will be used to support the current infrastructure, power systems, information technology, navigational aids, and weather systems.
The budget requests $190 million for the FAA's Research, Engineering & Development (RE&D). Funds will be used to continue work in current research areas as well as to advance NextGen efforts and environmental research for aircraft technologies, alternative fuels, and information.
Approximately $3.5 billion is requested for FAA's Grants-in-Aid for Airports. This funding will focus on safety-related development projects, including runway safety area improvements, runway incursion reductions, aviation safety management, and improving infrastructure conditions.
Safety personnel will be added across agencies, with $7 million and 118 people for additional motor carrier safety inspectors; $14 million for the FAA to hire 82 new safety and certification inspectors and safety technical specialists; and $1.4 million to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to continue carrying out their action plan to address pipeline and hazardous material safety.
Budget Highlights can be found at http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2010/Budget.pdf
