NATCA Bookshelf

National Office Update: Nov. 18-Dec. 22, 2019

A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association

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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE The House and Senate returned to session on Jan. 6. Lawmakers avoided a government shutdown by passing a budget for Fiscal Year 2020. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AVOIDED – BUDGET PASSED THROUGH FY 2020 The House and Senate passed, and the President signed, a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. Funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the rest of the federal government has now been approved through Sept. 30. 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 would authorize the FAA to draw from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund ensuring the FAA can carry out its critical mission in the event of another government shutdown. H.R. 1108: The House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee passed H.R. 1108 on March 27 by unanimous consent. H.R. 1108 has faced hurdles in the House, especially among House leadership, Appropriations Committee leadership, and progressive members. Despite these challenges, thanks to the hard work and perseverance of NATCAvists, H.R. 1108 now has 271 co- sponsors. Co-sponsors can continue to be added to H.R. 1108 until the T&I Committee files an official "Committee Report," which is a document accompanying a bill that has been reported from a committee. The report contains an explanation of the provisions of the bill, arguments for its approval, votes held in markup, individual committee members' opinions, dissenting opinions, cost estimates, and other information. S. 762: Until last year's NATCA in Washington (NiW), NATCA focused its resources on garnering support for the House version of the legislation. NiW served as the launching pad for NATCA's advocacy on the Senate version of the legislation, S. 762, which is identical to H.R. 1108. So far, S. 762 has garnered 12 bipartisan co-sponsors. Background: This legislation was introduced following the 35-day government shutdown that wreaked havoc on the National Airspace System and its workforce. If enacted, this legislation would ensure that the aviation system continues to fully operate, without interruption, in the event of a government shutdown. H.R. 1108 was introduced by Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Chairman of the House T&I Committee, and Rick Larsen, D-Wash., Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee. The lead Republican on the legislation is Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, a senior member of the House T&I Committee. In the Senate, Senator Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced S. 762.

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