NATCA Bookshelf

NIW Today | 83 Glossary continue to be funded out of the Trust Fund until a new funding bill is signed into law. This would prevent the FAA from furloughing thousands of aviation safety professionals and requiring air traffic controllers and others to work without pay during future government shutdowns. This bill meets NATCA's Four Core Principles for Reform, and NATCA strongly supports H.R. 1108. In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced identical, companion legislation (S. 762, the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019). We thank Sen. Moran for his leadership in introducing this important legislation. CONTINUING RESOLUTION (CR) When Congress and the president fail to agree to and pass one or more of the regular appropriations bills, a CR can be passed instead. A CR continues the pre-existing appropriations at the same levels (or with minor modifications) as the previous fiscal year for a set amount of time. The CR's funding extends until a specific date or regular appropriations bills are enacted, whichever comes first. CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018 This was the omnibus spending bill (see also Omnibus) that was signed into law on March 23, 2018, which set appropriations levels through the remainder of the fiscal year and extended FAA authorization through the same period. This bill also included several policy provisions of importance to NATCA, such as language that will allow the FAA to post a vacancy announcement to recruit from the local hiring area for New York TRACON (N90) and New York Center (ZNY), as well as a provision that allows the FAA to reinstate the retired military controller (RMC) program. CONTROLLER PILOT DATA LINK COMMUNICATIONS (CPDLC) Most commonly referred to as DataComm, CPDLC is the next generation of communication between pilots and controllers. However, due to the 35-day shutdown, delays to this critical NextGen program will cost taxpayers up to $8 million in order to repeat training for controllers related to its implementation and deployment. CONTROLLER WORKFORCE PLAN (CWP) The FAA's Controller Workforce Plan is an annual report that the FAA must provide to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by March 31 each year. The CWP was originally intended to provide Congress with a comprehensive look at the FAA's hiring goals and attrition projections, as well as provide actual on-board numbers and staffing ranges for all FAA air traffic facilities. However, the FAA's CWP is fundamentally flawed because: (1) it ignores the collaboratively established certified professional controller (CPC) targets that the FAA and NATCA use to meet the FAA's operational staffing needs at each facility; and (2) the CWP staffing numbers are inaccurate and misleading because they conflate actual on-board numbers (headcount) with CPC staffing levels. FAA EXTENSION, SAFETY, AND SECURITY ACT OF 2016 This is the FAA reauthorization legislation that was signed into law in July 2016 and ran through Sept. 30, 2017. In addition to providing a 14-month reauthorization extension for the FAA, the law also contained certain policy provisions such as drone regulations, security provisions, and customer protections. Equally important, the law also mandated the FAA adopt a new air traffic controller hiring process that was aimed at improving and streamlining that controller hiring process, while also stripping away more of the FAA's bureaucratic red tape. The hiring reform language that was included in the FAA bill was from H.R. 5292, the Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016, sponsored by former Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y. NATCA strongly supported this legislation, which garnered 260 co-sponsors thanks to NATCA activists. FAA AUTHORIZATION Every several years (depending on when the previous authorization expires), Congress is required to enact legislation to authorize funding and set policy priorities for the FAA. The FAA is currently operating under a five- year extension to its authorization through FY 2023. FAA REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018 (H.R. 4/H.R. 302) FAA authorization legislation that reauthorizes the FAA for five years (through FY 2023), which helps stabilize the FAA's funding stream. This bill included several critical policy provisions for NATCA. FEDERAL CONTRACT TOWER PROGRAM Privately-operated, for-profit air traffic control towers under contract with the FAA. These towers often provide service to rural America. NATCA represents 104 of the 252 federal contract towers in the U.S.

• Cover