Against the backdrop of a partisan and divided presidential election season, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen took time during an NBAA-BACE newsmakers luncheon to praise lawmakers for their bipartisan efforts to pass the FAA reauthorization bill as well as to confirm new FAA administrator Michael Whitaker.  

Bolen discussed that bipartisanship as he moderated a roundtable with U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and ranking member Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington).

“Earlier this year, we saw in one of the most political environments at the very start of an intense election year the vast majority of the House of Representatives and the Senate come together to pass an FAA reauthorization bill. That is significant in so many ways,” Bolen said.

Larsen underscored that the overwhelming vote for the reauthorization sets a mandate for whichever administration takes office next year.

“Presidents come and go, Congress is forever,” he joked. “In this sense, we passed the bill 387 to 26 out of the House of Representatives—and I know where those 26 people live—and with 84 out of the Senate. It sends a bicameral, bipartisan message about the bill that we passed. So, regardless of which administration comes in, they're not going to be able to come to us and say, ‘Well, you didn't mean to do that.’” 

Graves made a note of Larsen’s idea for him to make the introductory statement during Whitaker’s confirmation process in the Senate.

“He asked me if I would do his introduction to the Senate, which is highly unusual for a House member to do that,” Graves said. “But being a Republican, it did short-circuit the opposition, it let the air out of its sails, so to speak.” 

Larsen also made note of the uncertainty around the election season. “There’s one thing Trump and Harris have in common, and it's that neither of them have talked about transportation,” he said. 

Also during the newsmakers luncheon, Bolen reiterated NBAA-BACE’s central themes are focused on what’s ahead for the industry. “Our industry is accelerated on our way to that zero-carbon emissions, and we're doing it with a sense of urgency,” he said. “We're fostering aviation safety and technologies. Of course, we are going to celebrate and inspire, attract, develop, and retain a new generation of workforce.”

Bolen further took a moment to help announce the National Aviation 2025 Hall of Fame Class alongside National Aviation Hall of Fame president and CEO Aimee Maruyama.

The six 2025 Hall of Fame inductees are pilot Julie Elizabeth Clark, former National Transportation Safety Board member and AIN contributor John Goglia, astronaut Mae Jemison, NBAA chair emeritus and Air Force pilot Gen. Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton, pilot Phoebe Fairgrave Omlie, and engineer and Robinson Helicopter founder Frank Robinson.

“The individuals we recognize are not only pioneers and trailblazers, they are living legacies. They continue to influence the way we think about life and its possibilities and we’re celebrating their achievements,” said Maruyama. “It's not just about looking back, it's about also sparking the imagination of tomorrow's innovators.”