On July 20, the House approved, 243-177, the 21st short-term extension of Vision-100, the current FAA authorization law.

H.R. 2553 continues FAA operating authority through September 16. The bill also contains language to exclude funding for Essential Air Service (EAS) communities that are located less than 90 miles from the nearest large or medium hub airport or have an average per passenger subsidy rate of $1,000 or more.

While the 90-mile provision was included in the Senate-passed FAA bill, the subsidy language was not, prompting Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) to oppose H.R. 2253 and introduce a clean extension (S. 1387).) through September 16. The Senate is expected to act on the measure in the near future.

The FAA’s operating authority will expire if the House and Senate do not resolve their differences over the EAS cuts and enact an extension before midnight on July 22. Essential FAA employees, such as air traffic controllers, would continue to work; however, the scenario for the rest of the agency’s personnel is uncertain.

ARSA opposes using FAA extensions to enact policy changes because such modifications are better suited for long-term reauthorization bills. However, now that lawmakers are attaching policy riders to short-term continuations, we need to ensure lawmakers don’t use it as a vehicle to enact provisions detrimental to repair stations. Click here to send a note to Capitol Hill urging Congress not to use FAA extensions to detrimentally impact repair stations.

~~~ posted 07/19/11 ~~~

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