A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/812028
the budget proposal included guidance f or the Department of Transportation. While short on details, it included support for air traffic control reform. Click here for NATCA President Paul Rinaldi's statement on the President's FY 18 budget proposal. The White House is expected to release a more detailed budget in mid - May. NATCA Impact: As a reminder, while both chambers of Cong ress and the President have the ability to offer budget proposals, Congress still needs to enact any budget proposal into law. The unpopularity of the President's budget will likely make it even harder to reach spending and budget deals during FY 18. While budget proposals do not have the force of law, they serve as a blueprint for the 12 appropriations bills. NATCA will analyze any budget proposal closely to determine any potential impact on our member pay and benefits. GA continues to work with members of Congress and their staff on this issue, with a specific focus on appropriations for the FAA. FAA REAUTHORIZATION The current FAA Reauthorization is set to expire on September 30, coinciding with the end of this fiscal year. The committees of jurisdictio n in both the House and Senate have been holding hearings on the subject in advance of the September deadline. GA staff will continue to keep you updated. NATCA Impact : NATCA has played a critical role with Congress in the FAA Reauthorization process. Dur ing the 114th Congress, NATCA supported Chairman Shuster's proposal (H.R. 4441; the AIRR Act) to reform air traffic control and provide a stable, predictable funding stream. NATCA also worked with Ranking Member Peter DeFazio on his proposal, but he ultima tely decided not to introduce it. We look forward to continue to work with the committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate, as well as with the executive branch, to ensure that NATCA's priorities are addressed in any FAA Reauthorization legislation. While no legislation has been introduced yet during the 115th Congress, NATCA will closely scrutinize any proposal to ensure it meets the priorities of our members. ANTI - OFFICIAL TIME BILL COULD COME TO FLOOR Legislation that impacts the use of official time could come to the House floor as early as the last week of April. H.R. 1364, the Official Time Reform Act of 2017, was introduced by Rep. Jody Hice (R - GA) and would prohibit some federal employees from counting time spent on official time as creditab le service under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement Systems (FERS). This legislation passed the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee recently, meaning it could come to the House floor at any time for a vote . In order for this legislation to become law, it would need to pass the House, Senate, and be signed by President Trump. NATCA GA staff has been actively lobbying against this legislation and continues to closely monitoring its movement. Stay tuned for up dates. LEGISLATIVE WATCHLIST In addition to executive actions from President Trump, Congress is already working to advance anti - federal employee bills. With Republicans officially in control of the House, Senate, and White House, the number of proposals that would negatively impact federal employees will rise. GA staff has been and will continue preparing to fight these proposals. NATCA IN WASHINGTON