aware of this subcommittee's concern for and interest in the future of major airports in our region.

We have a distinguished list of witnesses today and I look forward to hearing from them.

Senator Spong.

Senator SPONG. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Since coming to the Senate in 1967 I have been concerned by the serious and growing problem of airport congestion, aircraft noise, and pollution in the Washington metropolitan area. The usual explanation for problems of this kind is poor planning or inadequate funds to build these needed facilities, but neither apply in the case of the Washington area.

Congress acted far in advance of actual need in authorizing the construction of Dulles Airport to serve as the Capital's major jetport. As a result, the Washington area today has airport facilities more than adequate for its foreseeable needs.

Why then is the area experiencing an airport problem? There is no simple answer but I would suggest a large part of the explanation lies in the failure to make balanced use of the facilities we have.

If there is logic in the continued expansion of crowded National Airport—while nearby Dulles operates well below capacity-it escapes me. But the consequences of that development are all too clear-noise, pollution, and safety hazards over the residential areas surrounding National and growing inconvenience and delays for those who use its facilities.

The steps taken to reduce aircraft noise and to limit the number of flights at National have been helpful but they have not reached the root of the problem which can be described simply as too many people using too little airport.

In 1966 National served some 8 million passengers, twice the number it was designed to accommodate. By 1968, the number had risen to 10 million and estimates are that it will increase to 16 million 10 years from now.

One response to this problem-the wrong one in my opinion-is to accept the growth of National Airport as inevitable and try to live with it. That appears to be the underlying assumption of the recent report which recommends a major rebuilding of National's terminal facilities at a cost to the Federal Government of $150 million. That is several million dollars more than the cost of constructing Dulles Airport with its access highway.

I am opposed to any expenditure, the primary purpose of which is to expand the passenger capacity of National. Our efforts should be in the other direction, toward diverting flights and passengers from National and toward the better utilization of Dulles and Friendship.

I am confident that in the natural course of events Dulles Airport will claim the distinction of being the Capital's major airport, but I do not believe we can or should wait on events. Positive steps are needed now to relieve airport congestion and its related problems in the Nation's Capital.

There are a number of problems which must be resolved before Dulles can realize its full potential-most of them relating to transportation to and from the airport. The completion of Interstate 66 is most important since it would link the Dulles access road to down

town Washington. Rapid rail transportation is another, but by its nature a longer range proposition. This is a subject the committee will be considering at a later hearing.

Of all the steps which could be taken to enhance the appeal of Dulles to the Washington air traveler, however, none is more essential than the scheduling of flights for people to take. So long as the airlines congregate at National there will be no real demand for better ways to get to Dulles. But if the passenger finds the flight he wants at Dulles, ways of getting people there quickly will follow in turn.

I have suggested, over 18 months ago, to the Civil Aeronautics Board that the number of flights at National be reduced by whatever number is necessary to bring the annual passenger load down to a level between 5 and 7 million.

There are a number of recommendations for accomplishing this. My own proposal is what I call the sector-radius plan which combines considerations of mileage and region of the country to provide a rational and equitable basis for meeting the problem.

These hearings will provide an opportunity to explore this and all other dimensions of Washington's airport problem and will, I hope, generate some fresh thinking on the subject. There should be no illusion of quick or simple solutions, but neither should there be any delusion that we can let matters continue to take their own course. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Spong.

We are delighted this morning to present our hard-working Mayor, Hon. Walter E. Washington, Mayor-Commissioner for the District of Columbia.

We are grateful for your taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us this morning.

STATEMENT OF MAYOR-COMMISSIONER WALTER E. WASHINGTON, OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ACCOMPANIED BY. COL. SAM STAROBIN, AVIATION EXPERT AND COORDINATOR

Mayor WASHINGTON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It is a busy schedule, but I appreciate the opportunity to appear. As my brief statement indicates, we are probably the only jurisdiction that does not have one of the three airports within it, but we have a great interest and a great concern.

The subject of your inquiry is a matter of vital importance to the District of Columbia. Modern convenient air transportation is essential to the business and personal life of the people of any city. Air transportation may have adverse impacts, both direct and indirect, on the community being served, and these must be carefully evaluated against the gains.

The first fact of life that Washington must face is that none of the three airports are in Washington and we have no direct control over them, even though we may be talking about taxing. However, the degree to which these airports are related to the continued viability of the city and their impact on the environment of the city forces us to do more than be disinterested bystanders. We must and we intend to

involve ourselves in the process of arriving at the decisions that face us in regard to all three airports. I would join Senator Spong in saying that we, too, believe in a balanced system.

We view these airports as a regional responsibility and the problems that relate to them must be addressed in a regional context if we can ever hope for a satisfactory resolution. We, therefore, intend to work through the applicable regional organizations to make our needs known and to bring about the decisions that work to the best interest of the city and the region.

We presently have an opportunity to address the problems related to these airports through our membership on the National Capital Planning Commission and Council of Governments. We will be happy to work with any other group or organizations that treats with these

matters.

The future of Washington National Airport is, of course, a matter of considerable discussion. It is the airport that provides the most service to this city at present as a result of its unparalleled accessibility. On the other hand, it likewise has the most adverse impact on the enivronment of the city through air and noise pollution. While progress, unfortunately, brings with it certainly unavoidable encumbrances and inconveniences to our daily lives, these must be weighed carefully unless they destroy the fabric of our urban communities. Means must be found to minimize the thunder of aircraft engines up the Potomac. This curtain of noise should not be permitted to engulf other areas of Washington. We intend to involve ourselves in the discussions within official and community groups that will be essential to reaching a proper decision on the future role of Washington National Airport.

I might say parenthetically that this question of the adversity of air and noise does not suggest that we are recommending the elimination of the airport but we do take the position that it should be kept pretty much at its current level and that its capability should be developed within the context of a regional system. The accessibility factor is primary in this concern because of the great use of our people in connection with this airport.

Dulles International Airport is the principal airport for the Washington area. This is a matter of great pride and great interest to us. We are dedicated to the continued growth and the usefulness of this beautiful airfield. We intend to press for those measure that will assure its prosperity-particularly rapid transit. We intend to press for any and all measures that will assure its prosperity and its increased utility to the people and visitors to the Nation's Capital.

All forecasts of the growth of air travel to and from the metropolitan area indicate clearly the need for at least three major airports, perhaps even a fourth. We, therefore, recognize the need for Friendship Airport to serve this area and we will support measures to increase its usefulness to the city.

In discussing the last two points, the overriding problem is accessibility. We are working in various areas to find ways to improve that accessibility. We are involved with the Council of Governments in a study to investigate measures to improve accessibility. I understand that Mr. Walter Scheiber from COG will testify in detail on that investigation later today.

This study will consider the proposal set forth by Senate Resolution 250 of the 90th session, entitled, "Metropolitan Area Pilot Transportation Study," that suggested the use of existing railroad trackage to provide interim solutions to the problem of accessibility and, of course, we will work with WMATA that also proposes to address the problem of accessibility to these airports.

WMATA plans to provide rapid rail access to Washington National Airport by 1974. For the longer range, WMATA is considering plans to extend service directly to Dulles and to Friendship by interconnection with the Baltimore Rapid Transit System and our city supports these efforts.

Mr. Chairman, the question of air transportation in the Washington metropolitan area is a matter we cannot afford to overlook or permit to be decided without our participation even though, as I point out, we have no jurisdiction because neither of the airports are in our area. We therefore welcome the opportunity to participate, and indeed will participate, in activities related to the decisions in connection with all of the airports. We welcome this opportunity to appear before your committee and would further welcome the chance to participate in any measures you consider appropriate to pursue the decisions that lie before us.

I have with me Mr. Sam Starobin, our aviation expert and coordinator. Senator, if you have a question or questions, we would be glad to respond.

Senator SPONG. Thank you very much, Mayor Washington, and Mr. Starobin.

We are glad to have you here. Does the FAA consult with the District government in any way with respect to airport operations in this area?

Mr. STAROBIN. As aviation coordinator I have been invited by the regional FAA office to participate with them in their sessions. However, in the past contacts between us have been minimal. The FAA has invited us to increase those contacts and put them on a full-time basis. We intend to increase those contacts and participate more fully.

To answer your question most directly, in the past, contacts have been few. We intend to increase those and involve ourselves fully.

Senator SPONG. Mayor Washington mentioned that the Council of Governments and the National Capital Planning Commission each provided vehicles through which the District may make its thoughts known. Has the District government thus far expressed itself to either one of these regional bodies on matters concerning the airport situation in the Washington metropolitan area?

Mr. STAROBIN. The National Capital Planning Commission has, of course, before it from time to time various proposals dealing with the Washington National Airport and Dulles. We participate in those decisions. Of course the major decision, particularly in relation to Washington National, is still before us. The various proposals of the Kling study as to improvements to that-this is upcoming.

The NCPC has indicated an intense interest in seeing the alternative to be selected by the FAA and proposed to NCPC for approval. We intend to participate in the decision on that particular proposal, sir.

Senator SPONG. Has the District government, in any capacity, thus far commented upon the Kling report?

Mr. STAROBIN. No, sir.

Senator SPONG. Mayor Washington, what level of activity of Washington National Airport do you consider advisable? This is in terms of the number of passengers.

Mayor WASHINGTON. Mr. Chairman, we have pointed out we suffer from two problems-the air and noise factor. We consider the current level at National to be about the level that it should maintain or which should be maintained, developing its capability to the extent that it is possible and we believe we would rather use the number of flights rather than passengers at the current level as an acceptable level. The problems related to pollution and to noise are onerous to our citizens. At the same time we recognize because of the parallel accessibility of the airport for our citizens that there must be some balance here. The current level is about as high as we would like to see it go.

Mr. STAROBIN. May I just comment on that a moment? In considering the problem of the future level of the National Airport this can be approached in a number of ways-number of passengers, number of flights, which are gross terms.

Perhaps another way is the type of service to be performed and perhaps that might be the most profitable way to pursue it.

In the future we are going to have new types of aircraft. These huge aircraft which will be the major carriers and the smaller aircraft the shuttle aircraft. We foresee National as being the airport that handles the shuttle, the short-line traffic, leaving to Dulles and Friendship the long-haul carriers.

We are looking forward to the evidence and studies that will give us a means of evaluating this third alternative to an approach to the future of Washington National Airport.

Senator SPONG. Colonel, I gather from what you have said that you believe that the future of these three airports should be considered on a regional basis and that there should be a coordinated plan with regard to the development of all three on a regional basis?

Mr. STAROBIN. Exactly, sir.

Mayor WASHINGTON. This is the official position of our government. It should be developed on a regional basis and in a balanced form.

Senator SPONG. Mayor Washington, do you believe that the District government intends to make its views known, wherever possible in the future, with regard to this and to participate fully in any regional discussion?

Mayor WASHINGTON. Whenever and wherever possible. We certainly are participating at this point in NCPC and in COG, Council of Governments. Our appeal this morning is to make sure that the community, as well as those working on these plans, take note that we wish and desire to participate at all aspects because of the great effect it has on our own citizens.

Senator SPONG. Thank you, gentlemen, very much, and we appreciate your being here.