NATCA Bookshelf

Controller Workforce Plan (CWP) The FAA's Controller Workforce Plan is an annual report that the FAA must provide to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by March 31 each year. The CWP was originally intended to provide Congress with a comprehensive look at the FAA's hiring goals and attrition projections, as well as provide actual on-board numbers and staffing ranges for all FAA air traffic facilities. However, the FAA's CWP is fundamentally flawed because: (1) it ignores the collaboratively established certified professional controller (CPC) targets that the FAA and NATCA use to meet the FAA's operational staffing needs at each facility; and (2) the CWP staffing numbers are inaccurate and misleading because they conflate actual on-board numbers (headcount) with CPC staffing levels. FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 This is the FAA reauthorization legislation that was signed into law in July 2016 and ran through September 30, 2017. In addition to providing a 14-month reauthorization extension for the FAA, the law also contained certain policy provisions such as drone regulations, security provisions, and customer protections. Equally important, the law also mandated the FAA adopt a new air traffic controller hiring process that was aimed at improving and streamlining that controller hiring process, while also stripping away more of the FAA's bureaucratic red tape. FAA Reauthorization Every several years (when the previous reauthorization expires), Congress is required to enact legislation to authorize funding and set policy priorities for the FAA. The FAA is currently operating under an extension to its authorization through September 30, 2018. FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4) This is the reauthorization legislation that was recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 27, 2018, by a vote of 393-13. If it is passed in the Senate and is signed into law, this legislation would authorize the FAA for five years (through F Y 2023) and would help stabilize the FAA's funding stream. This bill also included several critical policy provisions for NATCA. Federal Contract Tower Program Privately-operated, for-profit air traffic control towers under contract with the FAA. These towers often provide service to rural America. NATCA represents 100 of the 252 federal contract towers in the U.S. Fix-on-Fail Maintenance Maintenance performed only after equipment has failed or when breakdown is imminent. The FAA adopted this philosophy, instead of preventative maintenance, in response to sequestration. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I Committee) This is the committee that oversees FAA reauthorization, amongst many other things. The T&I Committee's Subcommittee on Aviation has jurisdiction over all aspects of civil aviation, including safety, infrastructure, labor, commerce, and international issues. The Committee's chairman is Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) and the ranking member is Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR). The Aviation Subcommittee's chairman is Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) and the ranking member is Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA). NATCA's National Legislative Committee (NLC) NATCA's National Legislative Committee is responsible for organizing and implementing the Union's grassroots legislative efforts, growing the NATCA PAC, and identifying and addressing the legislative education needs of NATCA's members. Additionally, the NLC works as part of NATCA's legislative team to develop training sessions, recruit volunteers, and disseminate information about legislative activities. GLOSSARY D I D Y O U K N O W ? If a bill is vetoed (refused) by the president, it goes back to Congress, who can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses. via government-and-constitution.org 79

• Cover