A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/633543
extension would most likely be considered in mid - March due to the current congressional schedule showing recess for the latter part of Ma rch. BACKGROUND : As you know, FAA authority is temporarily extended through March 31, 2016 (via H.R. 3614, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2015). Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune is expecting that the House will move first, and then the Senate w ill act on its own version of FAA legislation. 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. WHITE H OUSE FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST : The White House plans to release its budget for the next fiscal year (FY 2017) on Feb . 9. Each year, Congress makes major changes to the president's request as it crafts spending bills to fund federal agencies. The FY 2017 budg et blueprint will be the last of Barack Obama's presidency, and will shape many of this year's major policy battles on Capitol Hill. It is expected to adhere to the broad discretionary spending limits for defense and domestic programs established in a two - year bipartisan budget deal (PL 114 - 74) last fall. RESTORING ORDER TO THE BUDGET PROCESS : Lawmakers have high hopes of restoring order to the budget process in 2016. Members of Congress are already outlining their goal of funding the government on time t his year, a task that hasn't been accomplished on time in two decades. In order to do so, Congress would need to pass all twelve annual appropriations bills by Oct . 1, which is the start of the new fiscal year. Republican leaders have vowed to make this a priority this year, and Speaker Paul Ryan has said he wants to begin consideration of spending bills on the House floor by mid - March, which is much earlier than normal. In recent years, Congress has received a bad reputation for its inability to pass spen ding bills on time, forcing the government to operate on continuing resolutions (CRs) year after year. The task could be easier this year because of the two - year bipartisan budget agreement passed in October that already established spending levels for FY 2017. COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWLY ANNOUNCED WINNERS OF THE 12 TH ANNUA L ARCHIE LEAGUE MEDAL OF SAFETY! The 2016 Archie League Medal of Safety Award winners were selected on Jan. 20 during the annual judges meeting held at NATCA's National Office. Jim Ullmann, NATCA Deputy Director of Safety and Technology, Bruce Landsberg, Senior Safety Advisor, Aircraft Ow ners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute (ASI), and Chuck Hogeman, Aviation Safety Chair, Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), combed through a record 62 nominations and subsequent 210 pages of nomination information prepared a nd compiled by the NATCA Communications Department. The judges meeting took all day, and included deep discussion on every single nomination from every region. The 2016 Archie League Medal of Safety Award winners are: Alaskan Region Ron Sparks, Anchorage Center Mike Thomas, Anchorage Center Central Region Brett Rolofson, Kansas City Center