A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/820602
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE The House and Senate are in session the week of May 1. As a reminder, Congress has a jam - packed schedule this year and it will be full of legislative activity. SHUTDOWN AVERTED When lawmakers returned to Washington after the two - week Easter recess they had only four legislative days to avoid a government shutdown before the April 28 deadline. By Thursday, April 27, a final agreement on an omnibus spending bill had still not been reached among negotiators. In order to give them more time to reach a deal on Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) spending, the House Rules Committee drafted a one - week continuing resolution (CR), H.J. Res. 99, for floor action. On Friday, April 28, the House and Senate passed , and President Trump signed into Law , the one week CR to avoid a government shutdown, and keep the government funded through Friday, May 5. On Sunday, April 30, House and Senate leadership announced a deal on an omnibus spending bill to fund government agencies through the remainder of FY17. The omnibus then pass ed the House on May 3 and the Se nate on May 4. As a reminder, the omnibus contains full Appropriations funding for the 11 remaining federal agencies that have not yet been funded in FY17, as opposed to the CR, which extended current spending levels for these agencies. More to follow abo ut the Omnibus spending bill and its impac t on NATCA in next week's WIR. NATCA Impact : Congress hasn't completed all the regu lar spending bills on time for any fiscal year since the mid - 1990s, relying often on short - term funding patches that continue fund ing levels from the previous year without major changes. The lack of a stable and predictable funding stream leaves the FAA in financial limbo, and prevents government agencies such as the FAA from starting new projects or adjusting priorities. NATCA GA st aff continues to meet with members of Congress and their staff to remind them of the importance of a stable, predictable funding stream, and the consequences of a government shutdown. NATCA GA staff has also been meeting with House and Senate appropriati ons committee members and staff as they work towards the FY18 appropriations bill to ensure proper funding of FAA accounts. FY 18 BUDGET PROPOSALS On March 16, the White House released a "skinny budget," with the expectation that a full budget is expected to be released sometime in May. With the passage of the omnibus FY17, Appropriations staff will continue to move toward finalizing their work on the FY18 funding bills. House & Senate Budgets : House Budget Chairwoman Diane Black is planning to write an FY 2018 budget resolution that would balance the budget in 10 years. A balanced budget means that revenues are equal to expenditures, meaning there would be no budget deficit. The Chairwoman hopes to mark up the budget resolution during the week of May 15, setting it up to go to the House floor the following week. As a reminder, the budget resolution sets a tax and spending framework. If Congress is unable to complete