U.S. lawmakers are still attempting to build support for a continuing resolution (CR) that would avert a shutdown of many government functions, including those involving the FAA. But the lack of a deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program threatens the prospects for the CR. The federal government is funded through January 19, but negotiators are now pushing for an extension through February 16.

Even with a CR, Congress still must come to a compromise on full-year appropriations. The House and Senate have authored full-year transportation appropriations bills that would provide a boost to FAA’s funding in Fiscal Year 2018—the House, to $16.6 billion; and Senate, to nearly $17 billion. Additionally the Senate bill would outright ban a transition of FAA air traffic control functions to an independent entity, clearly outlining appropriator opposition to the ATC reorganization proposal.

At press time, the FAA had not yet released a list of what it would shut down should lawmakers fail to adopt a CR before the January 19 deadline. When the government shut down in 2013, the FAA furloughed more than 15,000 employees and shuttered the aircraft registry in Oklahoma City, halting business aircraft transactions, title searches, and other necessary activities for aircraft financing and sales. That move was considered unprecedented, since the registry had remained open through previous shutdowns.

Lawmakers had appealed to the FAA to keep the registry open and subsequently introduced legislation to prevent it from closing again in the event of a shutdown, including a measure offered just last summer by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma). The measure also is included in the House and Senate reauthorization bills. But those bills have not yet been adopted into law. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association stressed that is another reason why Congress needs to reach agreement on long-term FAA reauthorization.

A number of other aviation functions were affected during the 2013 shutdown, including ATC modernization efforts, aeromedical case reviews, and import/export of aircraft. Another concern, in particular for GAMA members, is the potential for disruption of certification efforts. Further, a number of FAA safety inspectors were furloughed. ATC functions, however, were deemed essential and continued to be provided.

The series of continuing resolutions and specter of a shutdown has provided fuel to advocates of creating an independent user-funded ATC organization.

“There is the exhausting potential for it to happen again…This cycle of dysfunction in funding perfectly underscores the critical flaws in the current system [and is] why A4A is advocating for air traffic control modernization,” Airlines for America (A4A) president and CEO Nicholas Calio said when negotiations over the budget had loomed during a previous appropriations negotiation.