NATA president and CEO Tom Hendricks urged U.S. lawmakers to move forward quickly on spending bills for government agencies, including the FAA, now that Congress has passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. The U.S. Senate approved the budget agreement 64-35 on Friday, following House passage on October 28. The budget agreement establishes funding limits for both Fiscal Year 2016 and 2017, avoids more sequestration cuts and raises the debt ceiling through March 2017.

Lawmakers have maintained that they must first reach a budget agreement before they can pass any of the funding bills for FY2016. The government has been operating on a temporary funding measure that is set to expire December 11. “I am relieved our country will have certainty for the next two years,” said Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “I hope this will put an end to the practice of passing last-minute stop-gap funding resolutions that put our government on autopilot.”

The budget agreement “provides the certainty needed for the nation's aviation businesses to continue to create jobs and make investment decisions,” Hendricks said. “We urge the House and Senate to quickly use the additional discretionary funding provided by this agreement to finalize the appropriations bills for FY2016, including for the FAA.”