NATCA Bookshelf

Continuing Resolution (CR) When Congress and the president fail to agree on and pass one or more of the regular appropriations bills, a CR can be passed instead. A CR continues the pre-existing appropriations at the same levels (or with minor modifications) as the previous fiscal year's for a set amount of time. The CR's funding extends until a specific date or regular appropriations bills are passed, whichever comes first. FAA Reauthorization Every several years (when the previous reauthorization expires), Congress is required to enact legislation to authorize funding and set policy priorities for the FAA. The current law, the FAA Reauthorization & Reform Act of 2012, expires at the end of FY 2015 (on September 30, 2015). Federal Contract Tower Program Privately-operated air traffic control towers under contract with the FAA. These towers often provide service in rural America. NATCA represents 73 of the 252 federal contract towers in the U.S. Fix-on-Fail Maintenance 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. National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility & Reform (also know as Simpson-Bowles Commission) In late 2010, President Obama created this bipartisan commission to address our nation's fiscal challenges. It identified policies that would reduce government spending in the long term. It laid out many anti-federal employee provisions that were never adopted by the Commission but have gained aention and support in the years since. NLC NATCA's National Legislative Commiee. NextGen An over-arching modernization project that will shift the FAA from its current ground-based RADAR system to more sophisticated, satellite-based and digital technologies, along with new procedures that will combine to make air travel more efficient, predictable, and environmentally-friendly. In short, NextGen will make the necessary upgrades to modernize the NAS. Omnibus A term that is used to refer to a spending package that combines several or sometimes all appropriations spending bills into one larger bill that could be passed with only one vote in each chamber of Congress. There are twelve different regular appropriations bills that need to be passed each year to fund the federal government and avoid a partial or complete government shutdown. Unlike a CR, which is merely an extension of previous funding levels, an omnibus is a collection of current appropriation bills. Official Time At the FAA, official time gives employees a voice to resolve disputes, negotiate changes in working conditions, and implement new procedures and equipment such as NextGen. There is a misperception on Capitol Hill that official time is an abused privilege and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Legislation and amendments have been introduced that would eliminate official time. (See also the Anti-Official Time Amendment) Pilot's Bill of Rights 2 (H.R. 1062 and S. 571) The bill includes protections for general aviation pilots. It also contains provisions that ensure the confidentiality of ATSAP reports submied by NATCA-represented Federal Contract Tower controllers. NATCA supports the Pilot's Bill of Rights 2. GLOSSARY 53 n i w . n a t c a . n e t MAY 18-20, 2015

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