A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/603672
omnibus approp riations package before Dec. 11. When lawmakers ret urned to Washington on Nov. 16, conversation was dominated by the terrorist attacks in Paris and what that means for S yrian refugees seeking asylum in the U.S. Some members of Congress are pushing for a provision in a potential omnibus authorizing more congressional oversight of refugees. It now looks like the refugee issue may complicate the path toward a final spending deal. GA staff is preparing materials just in case the path changes and a government shutdown or partial government shutdown becomes likely. FAA LONG - TERM REAUTHORIZATION : As a reminder, Congress cannot begin work on the FAA Reauthorization until the high way bill is finished. Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune has made it clear that the House will move first, and then the Senate will act on its own version. FAA authority is temporarily extended through March 31, 2016 (via H.R. 3614, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2015). Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio on the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee have made it clear that they only want one extension for the FAA this time around, which is the extension that we are now o perating under until March. NATCA President Paul Rinaldi and EVP Trish Gilbert, along with GA staff, continue to work closely with House and Senate committee staff to discuss NATCA's priorities for the FAA reauthorization bill. Highway Bill Update: The Hou se passed another two - week short - term extension of the highway bill on Monday, Nov. 16 in order to extend contract authority for highway and transit programs until Dec. 4. The Highway Bill has been in a bicameral conference to work out the differences betw een the House and Senate versions. This most recent extension will buy lawmakers extra time to iron out a deal, which origi nally had a deadline of Nov. 20. The two - week extension will move to the Senate as the chambers continue to work on the long - term bil l. Until the highway bill is completed, the T&I Committee cannot move forward with FAA Reauthorization. ROUNDTABLE EXPECTED ON STAFFING CRISIS : The House Aviation Subcommittee is expected to hold a roundtable discu ssion during the second week of December to discuss the staffing crisis at the FAA. We expect NATCA will be invited to participate in the roundtable, which is a direct result of NATCA's call for a hearing to push the FAA to evaluate the issues at hand. The roundtable is expected to address hirin g, placement, and training of air traffic controllers. NATCA believes that these three are bound and the FAA must take a holistic approach to improve the entire staffing problem. GA staff will keep you updated on the timing of the roundtable. Staffing bac kground: New data show that national staffing totals have fallen nearly 10 percent since 2011. Official FAA data shows the agency will miss its air traffic controller hiring goal for fiscal year 2015. This will be the fifth consecutive fiscal year in which the FAA has not hired enough air traffic controllers to keep up with the pace of w orkforce attrition. As of Aug. 22, 2015, the FAA had only hired 1,178 of a planned 1,772 air traffic controllers, putting the agency 34 percent behind its goal. Of the 10,85 9 certified controllers, 30 percent are eligible to retire at any time. For more information about the staffing crisis and our request to Congress, please click here . SEQUES TRATION BACKGROUND : NATCA has long advocated for sequester relief. As you know, sequestration has been used as a tool to reduce the federal budget, and in 2013, the measure drastically cut the FAA budget and caused furloughs at the FAA. The budget deal rec ently signed into law by President Obama provides sequestration relief by increasing discretionary spending by $80 billion above sequester - level spending caps.