A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/977826
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE The House and Senate are in recess for the week of April 30. FA A REAUTHORIZATION PASSES HOUSE The House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 4, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, on Friday, April 27 , by a vote of 393 - 13. H.R. 4 is cosponso red by every chair and ranking member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, and was similar to Chairman Bill Shuster's previous legislation (H.R. 2997, the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act) minus the air traffic contro l reform proposal. The five - year, bipartisan bill authorizes $71 billion for the operations, F&E and RED accounts at the FAA from fiscal year (FY) 2019 through FY 2023. The House will officially transmit the bill to the Senate sometime during the week of A pril 30. Amendments Prior to consideration of H.R. 4, over 250 amendments were filed with the House Rules Committee, which is the committee responsible for determining how the bill will be considered on the House floor and which amendments will be "made in order." NATCA staff collectively flagged over 30 of interest that needed further review to determine if the proposed amendments would have a direct impact on NATCA. NATCA took a position on 16 of those amendments. We worked with amendment sponsors, T& I Committee staff, and House Leadership, and had success in getting some withdrawn or not made in order. In all, 6 amendments that NATCA opposed were made in order. Ultimately, we were successful in defeating several amendments that were determined to be h armful on issues related to airspace safety, airspace access, and labor union concerns. Additionally, we were successful at adding NATCA language to a UAS amendment that was being considered on the House floor. Two amendments of concern to NATCA regarding voluntary safety reporting and runway construction were passed as part of a broad package of amendments. However, NATCA received a commitment from the amendment sponsors that we would work to address our concerns as the FAA reauthorization process moves fo rward. As a reminder, the current FAA extension includes two NATCA - requested provisions: a fix to current hiring rules that would allow for local preference for new hires in specific areas, and a reinstatement of the Retired Military Controllers program. Senate Outlook The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee marked up its FAA bill last June (S. 1405), but the bill has been held up due to a number of controversial issues. Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune has been waiting to see what an d how the House would act on FAA reauthorization. Separately, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been hesitant to allow a large piece of legislation to come to the Senate floor, since FAA Reauthorization is one of the last remaining must - pass bills o f the year and has a tax title. As a result, the legislation is a target for other potentially unrelated policy issues. NATCA Impact: NATCA supports H.R. 4, as passed in the House, and looks forward to continuing to work with the Senate to urge quick pa ssage of a long - term reauthorization for the FAA. NATCA has highlighted the need for a stable, predictable funding stream that adequately