NATCA Bookshelf

NIW Today | 33 ISSUE On Feb. 8, 2019, shortly after the 35-day government shutdown ended, U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Rick Larsen, D-Wash., introduced The Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019 (H.R. 1108), which would authorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to continue to draw from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund), ensuring that the FAA can carry out its mission, in the event of a future government shutdown. This bill meets NATCA's Four Core Principles for Reform, and NATCA strongly supports H.R. 1108. The bill would ensure that, in the event of a future government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations, the FAA could continue to meet its mission by maintaining the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS). All projects, programs, and activities that were previously funded would continue to be funded out of the Trust Fund until a new appropriations bill or a continuing resolution is signed into law. This would prevent the FAA from furloughing thousands of aviation safety professionals, reducing the safety of the NAS. It would also prevent government shutdowns from delaying the development, testing, training, and implementation of critical modernization projects and safety programs. During the 35-day government shutdown, users of the system continued to pay taxes and fees into the Trust Fund. The Trust Fund provides the primary source of funding for the FAA and receives revenues from a variety of fees and excise taxes paid by users of the NAS. The excise taxes are imposed on domestic passenger tickets, domestic flight segments, international passenger arrivals and departures, and on purchases of air travel miles for frequent flyer and similar programs. In addition, taxes are imposed on air cargo waybills and aviation fuel purchases. The largest source of excise tax revenues is related to the transportation of passengers. In addition to Trust Fund revenues, the FAA's Operations budget also receives a small percentage of its revenues from the General Treasury Fund. In recent years, the Trust Fund has accounted for approximately 90% of the total appropriations for FAA's Operations budget and all of FAA's other budgeted expenditures. The Congressional Budget Office projects that tax revenues and interest to the Trust Fund will exceed outlays of the fund throughout the 2019-2029 budget window. As a result, the end of year cash balance of the fund is expected to grow from $17.4 billion in FY 2019 to $57.6 billion in FY 2029. The Trust Fund has an uncommitted balance of more than $6 billion, but current law does not authorize the FAA to access that money during the shutdown to support air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals who continued to work without pay or those who were furloughed and whose functions were not performed at all. H.R. 1108 would ensure a stable, predicable funding stream for the FAA, and all four of FAA's budget lines would be protected: Operations (Ops); Facilities and Equipment (F&E); Research, Engineering, and Development (RE&D); and Grants-in-Aid to airports (Airport Improvement Program, AIP). The FAA also would not have to stop hiring or suspend training during a government shutdown. On March 27, 2019, the T&I Committee passed the bill by unanimous consent. NATCA worked closely with T&I Chairman DeFazio and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Larsen on this bill, as well as with Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, to help gather support. There are currently 153 co-sponsors of H.R. 1108, including 42 Republicans and 111 Democrats. continued on next page FULL BACKGROUND

• Cover