A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/685047
faster pace than the House. Passage of the Energy - Water bill marked the earliest Senate action on an appropriations measure in about 40 years. In the House, the first appropr iations bill of the year was passed on May 19 with final passage of the bill funding the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects (Mil - Con VA). However, the second appropriations bill considered on the House floor, Energy and Water , hasn't gone smoothly and there could be a pause in appro priations action in the House. On May 26, House conservatives blocked passage of a relatively noncontroversial Energy and Water appropriations bill after Democrats attached an amendment that would bar federal contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. A similar amendment caused disarray on the House floor the previous week when Democrats tried to attach it to the Mil - Con VA appropriations bill. THUD Fundin g Levels : The Senate THUD spending bill, if enacted, would provide $16.4 billion for the FAA, which is $131.6 million above the FY2016 enacted level. Specifically, the Senate version would provide the FAA Operations account $9.9 billion ($54 million over t he President's request), the F&E account $2.8 billion, and the Research, Engineering, and Development account $167.5 million. This is great news for NATCA, especially considering that other THUD programs received cuts. In the House, the THUD Subcommittee p assed its version of this legislation on Wednesday, May 18, which would provide $16.3 billion for the FAA. Specifically, the House version would provide the marks NATCA advocated for --- $9.994 billion in the FAA Operations account, and $2.838 billion in t he F&E account. Background : As a reminder, there are 12 spending bills for both chambers to get through in order to fund the government before Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) starts on October 1. If that doesn't happen, a continuing resolution (CR) will need to b e enacted to keep the government open. NATCA GA staff monitors the THUD appropriations bill, which is the spending measure that provides funding to the FAA. NATCA GA staff has been continuously meeting with members of both the full House and Senate Appropr iations Committees, as well as committee staff, to make sure they know the importance of sufficient funding for the FAA to NATCA members. Status of Appropriations Bills : So far, the House has passed the Mil - Con VA spending bill, and the Senate has passed THUD, Mil - Con VA, and the Energy - Water bill. Official Time Threats : Anti - official time amendments frequently come up on the House floor during consideration of appropriations bills. During consideration of last year's Mil - Con VA bill in the House, an amen dment was offered by Rep. Jody Hice (R - GA) that would have eliminated official time for federal employees serving at the Department of Veterans Affairs. NATCA GA successfully defeated the amendment when it came up for a vote. GA staff was prepared in case a similar amendment was offered to the House Mil - Con VA or Senate THUD/Mil - Con VA bills during consideration last week, but in the end, no amendment affecting official time was offered. WHAT'S NEXT FOR FAA REAUTHORIZATION — ANOTHER EXTENSION IS LOOMING? Ho use Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Bill Shuster needs more time to decide on his strategy for a long - term FAA reauthorization bill, but we are looking at the likelihood of some hearings in June and July, including one on the issue of staffing and hiring of air traffic controllers. We will provide more information on this in our next update. Meanwhile, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune is stressing the need for a full, long - term FAA reauthoriz ation bill instead of another short - term extension. On May 24, Senate Commerce Chairman