NATCA Bookshelf

SEQUESTRATION STILL NEEDS A FIX As mentioned above, Congressional leaders aren't any closer to agreement on FY 2018 spending levels. Statutory spending caps imposed under "sequestration" must be raised to get any bipartisan deal on a spending package to avoid the across-the-board cuts from automatically being triggered. While both Republicans and Democrats agree that spending caps should be raised, they have been unable to agree on how much the caps should be raised. It is unclear how negotiations will move forward at this time. FAA FUNDING STATUS The federal government is currently operating on the fourth consecutive short-term spending bill since September. Throughout this series of stop-and-go funding, NATCA has continued to advocate for full funding for the FAA in our relevant Congressional appropriations bills (the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill, "THUD"). The House has already passed its version of a THUD bill for FY 18, 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 come to the Senate floor for a vote. The proposed FY 2018 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 POTUS BUDGET DEADLINE The Trump Administration faces a deadline the first week of February to submit a budget proposal to Congress for the upcoming fiscal year. While there is no penalty for missing the deadline, the budget sets spending levels in law for the appropriations committees to begin their work on the 12 appropriations bills. NATCA Impact: CRs leave the government running on autopilot, simply extending current funding levels without allowing new projects. 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 funding 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 REAUTHORIZATION The FAA is currently operating under a six-month extension, which is set to expire on March 30. With the announcement that House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster will not seek re-election, it remains unclear how the House will move forward on his bill, H.R. 2997, the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act. On the Senate side, we are anticipating the chamber will move forward on Senate Commerce Chairman Thune's FAA reauthorization bill

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