A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/876590
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE The House is in r ecess for the week of Sept. 18 and will retur n on Monday, Sept. 25, while the Senate will stay in session. Both chambers will be in se ssion for the week of Sept. 25, at w hich point there will be only four legislative days to act on an FAA reauthorization extension to avoid a partial shutdown at the A gency. FA A REAUTHORIZATION EXPIRES SOON Congress has until Sept . 30 to reauthorize the FAA. An extension will be necessary at this point, with limited time for Congress to agree on a long - term FAA reauthorization bill. It is unclear what an extension wou ld include and how long it would last, although lawmakers have indicated it coul d be somewhere in the range of 5 - 6 months. An extension will inevitably put House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Chairman Bill Shuster's proposal to reform air traffic c ontrol on hold until at least October. While both the House and Senate have passed legislation through their respective committees of jurisdiction (H.R. 2997 and S. 1405), neither has been brought to the floor for consideration. See below for more backgrou nd on FAA reauthorization. NATCA Impact : NATCA has played a critical role with Congress in the FAA Reauthorization process. We've continued to work with Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio's respective staff, as well as with the U.S. Senate and e xecutive branch, to ensure that our priorities are addressed in any FAA Reauthorization legislation. POTENTIAL FISCAL CRISIS AVOIDED, FOR NOW President Trump cut a deal with Democrats to avoid a potential fiscal crisis, at least until December. The deal provides a continuing resolution (CR) for government funding and suspends the debt limit for three months, until Dec . 8, and provided relief funding for states affected by Hurricane Harvey. The CR goes into effect on Oct . 1, and there is no sequestration t rigger during the duration of this funding period (through Dec . 8). The funding levels are the 2017 enacted appropriation levels with a small reduction of 0.68 percent. Despite concerns, lawmakers agreed to the package and President Trump signed it into la w, averting the risk of a shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on Oct . 1. December Showdown : The deal blindsided Republicans and, as a result, could cause problems in December. That's when the new short - term spending bill will expire and a final spen ding package for the rest of the fiscal year will be needed. Government Shutdown Possibility : Back in August, President Donald Trump issued threats to shut down the government if he doesn ' t secure funding for the U.S. - Mexico border wall in the FY 18 spen ding bill. The wall funding debate will likely come up again during negotiations leading into December on a final spending bill. That means that a government shutdown isn't off the table for later this year. NATCA HOSTING ROLL ING LOBBY WEEKS ON SSA ANNUI TY During the month of September, NATCA is hosting rolling lobby weeks to educate members of Congress about the social security (SSA) annuity supplemental that air traffic controllers receive. The House FY 18 Republican budget resolution (see more below) c ontains instructions directing House committees to reduce federal spending.