A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/1006184
could potentially hold up the bill because it is the only legislation moving forward with a tax title and he and other lawmakers may seek to add non - FAA - related tax measures to the bill. Finally, Senate Republican leadership is expected to spend a significant amount of time and energy in the coming months working to generate support and confirm President Trump's nominee, Brett Kavanaugh , to the U.S. Supreme Court. This process could complicate the Senate calendar and in turn, may create another obstacle for consideration of the FAA bill. Background The current FAA Reauthorization extension expires on Sept . 30. If a long - term bill is no t signed into law before then, another extension will be necessary in order to avoid a partial FAA shutdown. The House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 4, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, in April by a vote of 393 - 13. The five - year, bipartisan bill authorize s $71 billion for the operations, F&E and RED accounts at the FAA from Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 throug h FY 2023. During this year's NATCA in Washington, participants asked their Senators to urge Senate leadership to complete action on a long - term FAA reauthor ization bill. NATCA Impact NATCA supports H.R. 4, as passed in the House, and has been meeting with staff on the Senate side to urge quick passage of a long - term reauthorization for the FAA. NATCA continues to highlight the need for a stable, predictable funding stream that adequately supports the following: air traffic control services, staffing, hiring and training, long - term modernization projects, preventative maintenance, ongoing modernization to the physical infrastructure, and the timely implementat ion of NextGen modernization projects. GUIDANCE ON EXECUTIVE ORDE RS AFFECTING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES As you know, the President issued three Executive Orders (EOs) that affect federal employees and their unions. The orders would reduce the use of union offici al time government - wide, reduce the time it takes to negotiate collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), reduce the costs contained within them, and expedite the process for removing employees from federal service in performance based adverse actions. NAT CA Impact The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published guidance on Thursday, July 5 advising agency heads how to implement these orders. NATCA sent out a news alert regarding the guidance, confirming that "there should be no changes to any of NATCA's agreements with the FAA - local or national - nor any changes in how they are implemented. The same is true for all current practices and procedures between the parties." Background NATCA Government Affairs staff is continuing to meet with members of Con gress and staff on Capitol Hill to educate them on the negative affects the executive orders would have on the workforce. In the meantime, both Republican and Democrat members of Congress have come out in opposition to these Executive Orders.