A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/669670
push forward with his version of the legislation. Read below for more inf ormation on the individual House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills. Senate Bill Overview : S. 2658 would reauthorize the FAA for eighteen months. The bill does not include an air traffic control not - for - profit proposal as the House version proposes. NAT CA was successful in adding numerous provisions to the legislation, including controller hiring language that would make necessary improvements in the hiring process at the FAA. We are also working with House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee staff to address any issues with the Senate legislation if that version is considered in the House. House Bill Overview : House T&I Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R - PA) continues to advocate on behalf of his bill in the House (H.R. 4441) despite oppositi on to the plan. We have made clear that we will consider any and all reform proposals so long as they do not maintain the status quo at the FAA or result in a for - profit system. That is why we support the House bill, H.R. 4441 – it offers a solution to the stop - and - go funding that has hampered the Agency continually, and we continue to look for a solution that is consistent with all of our organization's policies, practices, and principles while also protecting our members and the unionized workforce. Click here to view NATCA's press release and here to view the message sent to NATCA mem bership from the National Executive Board. Click to read Paul's testimony before the House T&I Committee, which approved the legislation. NATCA conti nues to push for reform to end the stop - and - go funding uncertainty, which has been problematic for the workforce and the NAS for far too long. APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE : Appropriators in the House and Senate are moving at full throttle on several spending bi lls despite the budget stalemate, which is discussed below. Without a budget in place, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are marking up spending bills to the "1070 number," meaning the $1.07 trillion spending level set out in last year's budget agreement. It still remains unclear whether spending bills will actually make it the floor for votes in either chamber if the budget stalemate continues, although House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers hopes to get all 12 bills approved for votes o n the House floor by late June. In the absence of a budget resolution, the House could pass a "deeming resolution" that would allow the appropriations process to move forward after May 15 despite the lack of a budget. The Senate is able to move forward on appropriations by abiding by the bipartisan budget deal forged last year (P.L. 114 - 74). FAA Appropriations : The Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee in the Senate marked up its version of the THUD appropriation s bill on Tuesday, April 19, approving $16.4 billion for the FAA, which is $131.6 million above the FY2016 enacted level. The full Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up the legislation on Thursday, April 21. NATCA GA staff will keep you updated when the bill text and specific funding levels released. The House THUD Subcommittee has held hearings to review the Department of Transportation (DOT) and FAA funding levels. As a reminder, the THUD appropriations legislation provides funding for the FAA, so GA staff follows this spending bill very closely. The White House FY17 budget proposal proposes an increase in the FAA Operations account from $9.909 billion in FY16 to $9.994 billion in FY17. Senate Subcommittee Allocations Cut THUD : The Senate Appropria tions Committee released its Subcommittee Allocations, known as 302(b)s, on April 14. These numbers dictate how much discretionary money each of its subcommittees will be allocated to spend. While these overall spending numbers are virtually the same as la st year, there are winners and losers. For example, funding boosts were given to veterans