Statement on Signing the National Park Airspace Management Bill

I have signed H.R. 921, which calls for the cooperative efforts of the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to specify compatible aviation uses over our national parks. In its report on H.R. 921, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation recognized, however, the potential problems of an agency other than the FAA developing airspace regulations and expressed concern that the plenary authority of the FAA over airspace management not be diminished or diffused. Accordingly, it urged cooperative efforts between the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of the FAA in the development of airspace use recommendations for the Grand Canyon.

Because I share the committee's concern, I am directing that the Secretary of the Interior, in developing his recommendations for aviation uses over the Grand Canyon, take into consideration, to the extent permitted by law, the views of the Administrator of the FAA. This will not only assure a cooperative effort but should facilitate the timely adoption of the recommendations by the FAA.