NATCA Bookshelf

NIW Today | 84 Glossary FIX-ON-FAIL MAINTENANCE Maintenance performed only after equipment has failed or when breakdown is imminent. The FAA adopted this philosophy, instead of preventative maintenance, in response to sequestration. HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE (T&I COMMITTEE) This is the committee with jurisdiction over FAA reauthorization, along with all other modes of transportation. The T&I Committee's Subcommittee on Aviation has jurisdiction over all aspects of civil aviation, including safety, infrastructure, labor, commerce, and international issues. The Committee's chairman is Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and the ranking member is Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo. The Aviation Subcommittee's chairman is Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., and the ranking member is Rep. Garret Graves, R-La. NATCA'S NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE (NLC) NATCA's National Legislative Committee is responsible for organizing and implementing the Union's grassroots legislative efforts, growing the NATCA PAC, and identifying and addressing the legislative education needs of NATCA's members. Additionally, the NLC works as part of NATCA's legislative team to develop training sessions, recruit volunteers, and disseminate information about legislative activities. NEXTGEN The over-arching modernization project that will shift the FAA from its current ground-based radar system to more sophisticated, satellite-based, and digital technologies, along with new procedures that will combine to make air travel more efficient, predictable, and environmentally friendly. In short, NextGen will make the necessary upgrades to modernize the NAS. OFFICIAL TIME At the FAA, official time gives employee representatives a voice to resolve disputes, negotiate changes in working conditions, and implement new procedures and technologies such as NextGen systems. In the past, members of Congress have introduced legislation and amendments that would eliminate official time, but NATCA has been successful in defeating these attempts. One of the President's May 2018 Executive Orders is intended to significantly reduce the amount of official time available to represent bargaining unit employees. OMNIBUS A term that is used to refer to a spending bill that combines most or all appropriations spending bills into one larger bill that can be passed with only one floor vote in each chamber of Congress. There are 12 separate regular appropriations bills that need to be passed each year to fund the federal government and avoid a partial or complete government shutdown. Unlike a CR, which is merely an extension of previous funding levels, an omnibus is a collection of appropriation bills. ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION AUTHORIZATION (ODA) Under Title 49, the FAA may delegate to a qualified private person a matter related to issuing certificates, or related to the examination, testing, and inspection necessary to issue a certificate on behalf of the FAA Administrator. The Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program is the means by which the FAA grants designee authority to organizations or companies. ODA holders are typically authorized to conduct the types of FAA functions which they would normally seek from the FAA. For example, aircraft manufacturers may be authorized to approve design changes in their products and repair stations may be authorized to approve repair and alteration data. Regular FAA oversight of an ODA is accomplished by a team of FAA engineers and inspectors to ensure the ODA holder functions properly and that any approvals or certificates issued meet FAA safety standards. RESCISSION In May 2018, the Administration sent a package of cuts, known as "rescissions," to Congress for consideration. This proposal would have cut $15.4 billion in spending across 10 federal departments. In June 2018, the Congressional Budget Office released analysis saying that taking away the budget authority in these areas only would stop $1.1 billion from being spent over a decade, because most of the programs in question already were expired, overfunded or otherwise defunct. While the rescissions bill passed in the last House of Representatives, the package failed on 48-50 vote in the U.S. Senate. REDUCING FLIGHT DELAYS ACT OF 2013 (HR 1765) Legislation led by NATCA to end sequestration-related FAA furloughs in April 2013. Once signed into law, it authorized the FAA to shift funds from the Airport Improvement Program fund to its operations account in order to bring air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals back to work. See also Airport Improvement Program.

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