The FAA's inability to find enough qualified applicants to replace retiring air traffic controllers was in focus during a June 15 hearing before the House aviation subcommittee, with much of the discussion centered on the efficacy of recent changes to the agency’s hiring process.

Since 2014, initial testing for ATC applicants has centered on a multiple-choice, "biographical assessment" that replaced questions about work experience relevant to the position. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) termed that change an "unnecessary social science experiment" limiting the pool of qualified trainees.

The hearing also provided House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) the opportunity to link the FAA's "longstanding inability to adequately manage its controller workforce" to his proposal to create an independent organization to run the nation’s ATC system.

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) asked three witnesses if they believed that the FAA would continue facing such issues if ATC services were provided by an independent, non-governmental entity. Matt Hampton, U.S. DOT assistant inspector general for aviation audits, replied in the affirmative; Natca president Paul Rinaldi said no, as did former FAA administrator Randy Babbitt, now senior v-p for labor relations at Southwest Airlines.