ACC Legislative News

An e-mail supplement to AirportConsulting, ACC's quarterly magazine
Prepared by T.J. Schulz, ACC Vice President

Senate Clears FAA Reauthorization Bill; Three-Month FAA Extension Bill Pending

• Senate bill funds AIP for two years at $4.0 billion in FY 2010 and $4.1 billion in FY 2011

• House-Senate cleared to work out differences between their bills; major issues to resolve include PFC increase, FedEx unionization, ARFF mandates
• Current FAA extension expires March 31; House cleared three-month extension, Senate action pending

Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted 93-0 in favor of its two-year FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 1586), which provides $34.1 billion in funding through FY 2011. Passage of the measure now allows  the House and Senate to work out differences between the respective measures.

One of the major differences between the bills is the timeframe, with the Senate covering FY 2010 - FY 2011, and the House measure (H.R. 915) covering FY 2010 - FY 2012. Both the House and Senate bills provide a substantial increase in AIP funding from the current $3.5 billion to $4.0 billion in FY 2010 and $4.1 billion in FY 2011. See below for the funding levels provided in both proposals.

Looking to the House and Senate negotiations, there are a few significant differences that must be worked out, including:

-       PFC funding: the House bill raises the cap on PFCs from $4.50 to $7.00, while the Senate bill establishes a pilot program that allows up to six airports to establish PFC charges at any level they desire;

-       FedEx unionization: the House bill includes a provision that would allow FedEx employees to unionize, while the Senate bill does not include a similar provision;

-       ARFF mandates: airports vigorously oppose the new firefighting mandates included in the House measure. This provision is not included in the Senate bill; and

-       Slot limitations at Reagan National Airport: Western Senators are seeking to increase the number of flights from Reagan subject to the perimeter rule.

Most pressing to the airport industry now is the pending expiration of the current FAA extension bill on March 31. Last week the House cleared a bill (H.R. 4851) that extends FAA's contract authority and the federal aviation taxes through July 3. Congress is on recess next week, so the Senate will need to amend and pass the extension bill and send it back to the House for a final vote before Friday to keep FAA spending authority in place. This will be the 12^th extension since the current FAA reauthorization bill expired in October of 2008.

Other noteworthy provisions of the Senate bill:

-       Raise the tax on general aviation fuel from the current 21.9 cents per gallon to 36 cents per gallon;

-       Accelerate the deadlines for adopting existing Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) navigation and surveillance technology, including the development of Required Navigation Performance (RNP) and Area Navigation (RNAV) procedures at the busiest 35 airports by 2014, and for the entire National Airspace System (NAS) by 2018; and

-       Increase authorized funding for Essential Air Service (EAS) to $175 million annually, a $48 million increase.

Questions?

If you have questions, feel free to contact ACC Vice President T.J. Schulz at TJS@ACConline.org.