NATCA Bookshelf

National Office Update: Sept. 29, 2019

A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association

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Gibbs, R-Ohio, a senior member of the House T&I Committee. In the Senate, Senator Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced S. 762. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AVOIDED; NEXT DEADLINE NOV. 21 Congress passed, and the President signed, a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government open through Nov. 21. As a reminder, before leaving for August recess, a bipartisan budget deal (H.R. 3877) was enacted that raises spending caps on discretionary spending by $321 billion over two years and effectively ends the across- the-board spending cuts known as sequestration. This allowed Congress to move forward with the annual appropriations bills to fund federal agencies for Fiscal year (FY) 2020 before the Sept. 30 deadline. However, due to the condensed timeframe, Congress was unable to complete its work on the 12 annual appropriations bills. As such, the short-term CR provides additional time for the House and Senate to negotiate on a larger spending package this fall. It would, however, set up another spending fight for the week before Thanksgiving. Appropriations Status Update: Throughout the month of September, the Senate Appropriations Committee worked quickly to pass 10 of its 12 FY 2020 appropriations bills. Unfortunately, none of the bills were considered on the Senate floor before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. Meanwhile, the full House already passed 10 of its 12 appropriations bills before the August recess. With a CR (which simply continues current finding levels) in place until Nov. 21, the two chambers will work to come to an agreement on their appropriations bills in order to avoid a government shutdown. Ultimately, another government funding bill will need to be passed by Congress and be signed into law by the President in order to avoid another government shutdown. NATCA Impacts: NATCA Government Affairs (GA) staff has aggressively advocated for full funding for the FAA in the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bills (which provides funding for the FAA) in the House and Senate. See below for a chart of Congress' proposed FY 2020 funding levels for the FAA, in comparison to the current enacted levels in the CR. GA staff also closely monitors the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bills (which have jurisdiction over pay raises for federal civilian employees) in each chamber. See below for an update on the federal employee pay raise. FAA BUDGET LINE FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2020 Enacted House THUD Senate THUD Operations $10.4 billion $10.67 billion $10.54 billion Facilities & Equipment $3 billion $3 billion $3.15 billion Research, Engineering & Development $191 million $191 million $194 million

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