Except for a few pot holes, FAA nominee cruises past Senate
     WASHINGTON, DC - Faced with few difficult questions but lectured
 extensively on what to expect, Jane Garvey sailed through Senate
 confirmation hearings last month on her road to taking over as FAA
 administrator.
    Garvey, who will be the first administrator to serve a fixed term
 of five years, was expected to receive a full Senate confirmation as
 this issue of GANews & Flyer went to press.
    In an effort to ease concern by the aviation community some mem-
 bers of Congress asked about her lack of aviation experience - two
 years as director of aviation for he Massachusetts Port Authority at
 Boston's Logan Airport - Garvey stressed her success at managing
 large government agencies.
     Garvey said she has "a record of achievement managing large
 organizations dealing with issues similar to what the FAA faces."
 Despite her record, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), chair of the
 Commerce, Science and Transpiration Committee, told Garvey, "You
 need to know the uniqueness of aviation."
     McCain also bore in on the record of a construction project that
 Garvey supervised.  Building the Central Artery-Third Harbor Tunnel
 in Boston was budgeted at $2.5 billion but ended up costing more
 than $10 billion. "At any point did you say stop and say, Let's take
 a look at this?" he asked.
    Garvey did not respond directly, but said that inflation, changed
 criteria from federal standards, and changes required by "unforeseen
 conditions" were responsible for the large overrun.
    Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, the ranking democrat
 on the committee, advised Garvey about her approach to the job and
 the necessity to stand up against the secretary of Transportation
 and the president if they try to further restrict FAA expenditures.
     Hollings noted that Congress sought FAA stability and establish-
 ed a five-year tenure to "finally, for once and for all, fix respon-
 sibility - namely on you."
     Too often in the past, Hollings said, the administrator would
 tell Congress that the FAA wanted something, but the Department of
 Transportation wanted something else, and the Office of Management
 and Budget sought something still different.
     "You won't have any trouble with (Congress)," he said. "Your
 problem is with your own troops."
     Hollings urged Garvey to "start talking with the leadership, the
 president himself, so that the OMB doesn't come around in a spirit
 of balancing the budget; we've got to balance safety. Let them know
 that we are behind the curve and these moneys should be allotted to
 airports and airways safety."
     McCain also advised Garvey to fight for using money in the avi-
 ation trust fund for aviation.
     "It is not fair to divert these funds," the chairman said. He
 reminded Garvey that the Clinton administration proposes to fund
 airport development next year at only two-thirds the present level
 and asked if she supports any increase in that figure.
     Without giving a direct answer, she replied that she "would like
 to see if it is possible to figure out some new alternatives to
 balance the needs of airports."
     Questions from Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) brought a posi-
 tive statement from Garvey about her approach to general aviation.
     "I absolutely understand the concerns of general aviation,"
 Brownback said. "They are a critical part of the aviation industry,
 a critical part of life in America. I think they add to the quality-
 of-life issues; they contribute significantly."
     Garvey indicated that she wants to reach out to the general
 aviation community. "I'd like very much to work with them," she
 said.
     Senators Conrad Burns (R-Montana) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)
 also pushed Garvey to look after the interest of general aviation.
 Noting that the distance from one side of Montana to the other is
 as great as from Chicago to Washington, DC, Burns stressed the
 importance of general aviation to the state and the need to estab-
 lish better radar service and to maintain good weather reporting.
     "I wish the FAA would reassess some of its decisions on ASOS,"
 he added.
     Stevens also discussed the importance of general aviation. Air
 transportation accounts for 90% of the travel in Alaska, he said,
 and many of the rules established for so-called high-density areas
 do not apply everywhere.
     Stevens said a proposal is coming that will ban flights below
 10,000 feet over park and wilderness lands - "not into but over
 them," he said. "I urge you to consult with us before you deal with
 applying any such restrictions to Alaska."
     Several senators took swipes at the Clinton administration for
 the delay in nominating Garvey.
     "It is unconscionable given the importance of the post for the
 administration to take seven months to name a successor to David
 Hinson," McCain said.
     "I know, Ms. Garvey, this not your fault, but the administration
 has bordered on negligence with the delay in this nomination."
     Senator Slade Gorton (R-Washington), chair of the Aviation Sub-
 committee, said, "I am glad to see you here after so long a wait."
     At the appearance before the committee and also in written re-
 sponses to questions previously submitted by the panel, Garvey
 couched many answers in generalities, explanations that she had not
 been briefed on the particular subject, or an eagerness to wait for
 the report of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC),
 which is expected by the end of August.
     For instance, when asked to write her views on user fees, she
 said they "are one possible solution to the need to obtain stable,
 adequate long-term financing for FAA programs." She said she would
 await issuance of the NCARC report and hopes to work with the com-
 mission, "other members of the administration, Congress and industry
 to ensure meaningful financial reform for the agency."
     Garvey was born in 1944 in New York City. She is married to
 Robert J. Garvey, who is a sheriff in Massachusetts. The couple
 have two children: a daughter, Kelly, 24, and a son, Matthew, 23.
     After receiving a BA degree from Mt. St. Mary College in 1965,
 Garvey became a school teacher. She earned an MAT degree from Mt.
 Holyoke College in 1969 and continued her teaching career until
 1983, when she was appointed a commissioner for the Department of
 Public Works in Massachusetts.
     Active in Democratic politics, she served as a member of the
 transition advisory team for Governor Michael Dukakis in 1982-83.
 She has not worked in private business, either as an owner, em-
 ployee, director or consultant.
     Garvey becomes the third administrator without piloting ex-
 perience. Previous non-pilot administrators were John L. McLucas
 and William F. McKee. Both were retired generals. McLucas served
 from November 24, 1975 to April 1, 1977. McKee was in the post from
 July 1, 1965 to July 31, 1968.
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