A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/868391
expecting a wide range of amendments if the bills are considered on the House Floor. GA st aff will be closely monitoring the bill and related amendments. FAA Funding NATCA has continuously advocated for full funding for the FAA in our relevant Congressional appropriations bills (the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill, "THUD"). Following this year's "NATCA in Washington" lobby week, which sent our activists to Capitol Hill to request full funding in FY 2018, NATCA was successful in getting increases in the appropriations bills for the next fiscal year. The full Hou se has already passed its version of THUD funding, which would increase funding for the FAA. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved its version of the THUD bill, which would also provide an increase for the FAA, although the legislation has not c ome to the Senate floor for a vote yet. The proposed FY 18 spending levels for the FAA are as follows: FAA BUDGET LINE FY 2018 FY 2018 House Request Senate Request Operations $10,185,482,000 $10,186,000,000 Facilities & Equipment $2,855,000,000 $3,005,000,000 Research, Engineering & Development $170,000,000 $179,000,000 Sequestration Cuts Current spending plans would trigger a round of across - the - board cuts known as sequestration. A 2011 law (P.L. 112 - 25) imposed limits on defense and non - defense discretionary spending through fiscal 2021 in an effort to curb mounting deficits. For FY 18, the defense cap is $549 billion and the non - defense cap is $515.7 billion. Senate appropriators are writing their spending bills based on this year's fund ing levels, which are higher than the caps for next year. As a result, the Senate plan would exceed the caps. Meanwhile, the House "minibus" spending bill (H.R. 3219), which was approved by the full House last month, would exceed the defense cap. If these plans are enacted without changes, sequestration would go back into effect. NATCA Impact Congress hasn't completed all 12 regular spending bills on time for any fiscal year since the mid - 1990s, relying often on short - term funding patches that continue fun ding 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. FAA REAU THORIZATION House leadership was unable to bring H.R. 2997, the "21 st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act," to the floor for consideration before August recess. As you know, the House T&I Committee approved this legislation earlier in the summer. Due to the lack of consensus on the bill, the legislation ultimately did not come to the House floor for a vote. Chairman Shuster has been using August recess to continue to shore up support for the bill. Meanwhile, the Senate's vers ion of FAA Reauthorization, S. 1405, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2017, passed out of committee earlier this summer as well. The Senate bill does not contain any ATC reform provision,