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Congress plans to investigate the Federal Aviation Administration’s computer outage that sparked outrage from Republican lawmakers who blamed the Biden administration for the more than 7,300 cancelled flights Wednesday.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee which oversees the aviation industry, said the her panel plans to examine how the computer glitch happened as part of Congress’ planned review and reauthorization this year of the nation’s aviation system.
«As the Committee prepares for FAA reauthorization legislation, we will be looking into what caused this outage and how redundancy plays a role in preventing future outages,» she said. «The public needs a resilient air transportation system.”
The FAA reauthorization legislation, which takes place every five years, extends funding for the federal agency and addresses safety standards, the development of airport capital projects and the certification process for aviation manufacturers.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday the FFA is «working aggressively» to identify the cause of the outage.
«We welcome the attention from Congress to ensure the FAA has what it needs to address these issues,» she said.
Live updates: Thousands of flights delayed, canceled across US after FAA computer outage
Republicans on the other side of the Capitol called for reforms to be enacted before reauthorizing the FAA legislation later this year. GOP members put the blame on the Biden administration and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for the outage.
«Don’t remember seeing this many flight delays during the Trump Administration,» Ohio Republican Rep.
