Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government and
avoid a government shutdown before the Sept. 30 deadline. The CR (H.R. 5325) funds
the government until Dec. 9, meaning Congress will need to quickly consider another
funding bill when it returns for the lame duck. After a month-long struggle to agree upon
and finally pass H.R. 5325, many observers are already concerned that congressional
leaders could have trouble passing another spending bill during the short period of time
that they are scheduled to be in session during November and December.
NATCA Position: NATCA continues to advocate for a stable, predictable funding
stream. GA staff have also been meeting with congressional staff during recess to
advocate in support of the funding levels included in the House and Senate versions of
the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bills. These
appropriations bills would provide adequate funding levels that NATCA advocated for
throughout the appropriations process, as opposed to simply continuing current funding
levels.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 115TH CONGRESS
The new 115th Congress will convene at the beginning of January with a new President
in the White House. We expect many new members of Congress will be elected to the
House and Senate following the November elections, so it will be important to introduce
them to NATCA's issues as early as possible. GA is preparing material for DC visits to
new members' offices on the first day they are sworn in.
COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
PAUL RINALDI HONORED WITH ATCA's GLEN A. GILBERT MEMORIAL AWARD
The Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) presented NATCA President Paul Rinaldi
with its highest honor, the Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award, during a sparkling and
uplifting banquet celebration to close its 61st Annual Conference in National Harbor, Md.,
on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Rinaldi is the first union leader to receive the award and now
has his name inscribed alongside some of the most influential pioneers, visionaries, and
leaders in aviation history. Here are links to our coverage of the special evening:
NATCA Insider: Story, please click here.
Press Release: Please click here.
ATCA Quarterly Magazine: Please click here.
NATCA EMAIL ACCOUNTS
The IT Committee last week redesigned the interface for NATCA members' webmail
email system. It is a cleaner and more effective presentation and we hope it makes your
navigation of webmail better and simpler. Check it out here.
NEW ISSUE OF IFATCA QUARTERLY MAGAZINE NOW AVAILABLE: We invite you
to read the new issue of The Controller, the quarterly magazine of the International
Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA), which covers a wide range
of issues faced by the global controller community. Please click here.
EVENT REMINDERS:
SAN DIEGO CONVENTION: Did you attend the convention? If so, we would love
to get your feedback about the NATCA San Diego 2016Convention. If you have the
NATCA app, you can use the "Feedback" button on the right side of the second page of
