NATCA Bookshelf

National Office Update: Oct. 28-Nov. 17, 2019

A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association

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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE The House and Senate are in recess through the Thanksgiving holiday and return to session the first week in December. Lawmakers passed a one-month CR and now have until Dec. 20 to pass a funding bill and avoid a government shutdown. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AVOIDED – CR ENACTED THROUGH DEC. 20 The Senate passed, and the President has signed, a continuing resolution (CR) that extends current government funding levels through Dec. 20, 2019. The CR gives Congress and the White House additional time for negotiations on a dozen appropriations bills that would provide funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the rest of the federal government through Sept. 30, 2020. Appropriations Status Update: The House passed 10 out of the 12 appropriations bills, including its version of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill, which would provide funding for the FAA, as well as the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill, which proposes a 3.1% pay raise for federal employees. The Senate has been slower to act on its appropriations bills. However, the chamber is currently considering a package of spending bills, which includes its version of the THUD bill. This package has bipartisan support. GA staff has been closely working on the consideration of this spending package, including any amendments that have been offered to the measure, as well as the funding levels for the FAA. Following completion of that spending package, Senate Republicans hope to consider the chamber's biggest and most contested spending package: Defense and Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bills. Relevant to NATCA, the full Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced a THUD bill as well as an FSGG bill. NATCA Impacts: NATCA GA staff has been aggressively advocating for full funding for the FAA in the THUD appropriations bills in the House and Senate. GA staff also closely monitors the FSGG appropriations bill, which is the appropriations bill that oversees pay raises for federal civilian employees. Below is a chart of Congress' proposed funding levels for the FAA, in comparison to the current enacted levels. See further below for additional information 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 NATCA URGING CO-SPONSORS ON H.R. 1108/S.762 NATCA continues to advocate and encourage co-sponsorship of H.R. 1108 and S. 762, the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019. As a reminder, both pieces of legislation are identical and

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