NATCA Bookshelf

56 R e f e r e n c e s N A T C A I N W A S H I N G T O N 2 0 2 4 N i W To d a y Glossary FAA Authorization Every several years (depending on when the previous authorization expires), Congress is required to enact legislation to authorize funding and set policy priorities for the FAA. The FAA is currently operating under a short-term extension of its authorization until May 10, 2024, while Congress continues to negotiate another five-year reauthorization bill to help stabilize the FAA's funding stream. NATCA also is advocating for several key policy provisions that would help address controller staffing, training, and modernization. FAA Enterprise Network Services (FENS) is a program that will upgrade all copper wiring infrastructure with fiber optic cable wiring. This program is critical because major U.S. telecommunications carriers are discontinuing services supported by the current copper wiring as early as this year. The FAA is highly dependent on these services to receive and transmit information at thousands of sites. Any discontinuation or disruption to these services without transitioning to internet protocol-based communication services would lead to potential safety risks and/or significant delays in air traffic services. FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 This FAA reauthorization legislation was signed into law in July 2016 and ran through Sept. 30, 2017. In addition to providing a 14-month reauthorization extension for the FAA, the law also contained certain policy provisions such as drone regulations, security provisions, and customer protections. Equally important, the law also mandated the FAA adopt a new air traffic controller hiring process that was aimed at improving and streamlining that controller hiring process, while also stripping away more of the FAA's bureaucratic red tape. The hiring reform language that was included in the FAA bill was from H.R. 5292, the Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016, sponsored by former Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., and former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y. NATCA strongly supported this legislation, which garnered 260 co-sponsors thanks to NATCA activists. Federal Contract Tower Program Privately-operated, for-profit air traffic control towers under contract with the FAA. These towers often provide service to rural America. NATCA represents 132 of the 252 federal contract towers in the U.S. Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPA) This bill became law on Dec. 17, 2019, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. Although the intent of the law was to provide all federal employees with 12 weeks of paid parental leave to parents of children born or adopted on or after Oct. 1, 2020, a loophole in the language inadvertently excluded at least six federal workforces, including all FAA employees, because those employees were not covered by the leave provisions contained in title 5 of the U.S. Code. Once the technical error was discovered, NATCA worked to close the loophole legislatively, while also negotiating with the FAA to establish the same benefits for our members in the absence of a legislative fix. On Jan. 1, 2021, Congress passed legislation that closed the loophole. Fix-on-Fail Maintenance Fix-on-Fail 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 Subcommittee on Aviation has jurisdiction over all aspects of civil aviation, including safety, infrastructure, labor, commerce, and international issues. The committee is chaired by Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and the ranking member is Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. The Aviation Subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., and the ranking member is Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Ten. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) On Nov. 15, 2021, the landmark IIJA was signed into law, addressing many physical infrastructure deficiencies. This was a big legislative win for NATCA members and the NAS. The IIJA provides $5 billion in dedicated funding, which supplements the annual appropriations process to help bring ATC facilities up to standard, as well as modernize our nation's airports so they can compete globally. Although this funding does not resolve every issue in every facility across the country, it is a major step in the right direction to upgrade working conditions for NATCA members.

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