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the Senate floor for consideration at any time. Chairman Thune on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hopes to get a long-term FAA reauthorization bill passed in the Senate before the July 4 th recess, but the timeline is fluid. When H.R. 4 does come to the Senate floor for consideration, the chamber will "strike" the House language from H.R. 4 and replace it with their version. During this year's NIW, participants urged their Senators to urge Senate leadership to complete action on a long-term FAA reauthorization bill. • Senate Outlook: The Senate Commerce Committee marked up its FAA bill last June (S. 1405), but it has not come to the Senate floor for consideration yet. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) could potentially hold up the bill because it is the only legislation moving forward with a tax title and he and other lawmakers may seek to add non-FAA-related tax measures to the bill. As a reminder, the House and Senate recess for the entire month of August, and current FAA reauthorization expires September 30. If a long-term bill is not signed into law before then, another short-term extension will be necessary in order to avoid a partial FAA shutdown. • NATCA Impact: NATCA supports H.R. 4, as passed in the House, and has been meeting with staff on the Senate side to urge quick passage of a long-term reauthorization for the FAA. NATCA continues to highlight the need for a stable, predictable funding stream that adequately supports the following: air traffic control services, staffing, hiring and training, long-term modernization projects, preventative maintenance, ongoing modernization to the physical infrastructure, and the timely implementation of NextGen modernization projects. FY 19 APPROPRIATIONS: The government is currently operating under a $1.3 trillion omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 1625) which provides funding for the federal government for this rest of this fiscal year (FY) 2018. Appropriators have been working on FY 19 appropriations bills quickly in order to advance the spending bills in a timely manner. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD), which oversees the FAA, held a markup of its proposed FY 19 THUD appropriations bill on May 16 and the full House Appropriations Committee approved the legislation on May 23. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on THUD plans to consider their version of the FY 19 THUD appropriations bill the week of June 4. The chart below shows current and proposed funding levels for FAA programs. FAA BUDGET LINE FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2019 Enacted House THUD Senate THUD Operations $10.2 billion $10.4 billion TBD Facilities & Equipment $3.25 billion $3.25 billion TBD Research, Engineering & Development $188.9 billion $180 billion TBD • Rescission Cuts: On May 9, the Trump Administration proposed a sweeping $15.3 billion package of spending cuts that slices across 10 federal departments. Congress has until June 22 before the package would lose its filibuster-proof ability (only a simple majority is required for passage) in the Senate. The House and Senate have each introduced their own versions of spending cut proposals

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