With the issue of air traffic control reform settled for the moment, House and Senate leaders are now looking toward a short-term extension of FAA authorization while they hash out their differences on a long-term comprehensive aviation bill. The FAA's authorization currently is set to expire at the end of the month under a stop-gap bill the House and Senate approved in late September.
Long-term comprehensive FAA reauthorization legislation had been stalled over controversies surrounding the independent ATC measure in the House bill and a provision over ATP requirements in the Senate bill. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) took the aviation community by surprise two weeks ago when he agreed to shelve the independent ATC measure in an effort to move a long-term FAA bill. Senate Commerce Committee chairman John Thune (R-South Dakota) has long indicated a willingness to back off the ATP requirements.
But with little time now left before the FAA’s authorization is set to expire, leaders recognize that an extension is necessary. They are currently assessing whether to pass the extension as a separate bill or include it in an omnibus federal spending bill that is set to come under consideration in the next few days. Congress is facing a March 23 deadline to pass the spending bill.
The length of an FAA extension is still unclear, but a four-month period has been raised as a possibility, providing time to pass a long-term reauthorization bill before the August break. House T&I Committee staff said that once the extension is passed, “The chairman [Shuster] will then work with House and Senate colleagues to pass a long-term bill in the coming weeks.”
Aside from the ATC measure, the House and Senate versions of comprehensive FAA reauthorization have numerous provisions of interest to the aviation industry, touching upon certification reforms, the future of supersonic travel, the incorporation of unmanned aircraft into the National Airspace System, and protection of the U.S. aircraft registry from future potential government shutdowns.
The National Air Transportation Association this week stressed to members it is continuing to work with House and Senate leaders on issues in the bill, such as an attempt to facilitate flight sharing by eliminating the barriers between private and commercial flights. NATA is hoping to ward off that effort and protect against the encouragement of so-called gray charter. Also, the association is watching a provision regarding report on rest and duty time rules and another measure that could alter aircraft registration privacy protections.
